Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Pension Credit applications have been made in each region since 29 July 2024.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
On 28 November we published national Pension Credit applications and award statistics. This publication provides application volumes from 29 July 2024 to 17 November 2024. Pension Credit applications and awards: November 2024 - GOV.UK
These statistics show that 150,000 Pension Credit claims were received between 29 July 2024 and 17 November 2024.
Please note, the figures presented are from DWP’s Pension Credit system which has previously been collected for internal departmental operations use only and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics publication standards.
We do not currently hold data at a regional level.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Warrington North, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, if the Committee will make an assessment of the potential merits of commissioning an independent review of (a) IPSA's operational effectiveness and (b) the value for money provided by that organisation.
Answered by Charlotte Nichols
The Speaker’s Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (SCIPSA) is a statutory Committee established under the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009. The Committee’s functions are set out in that Act. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) was also created by 2009 Act, as a statutorily independent body.
Each year the Speaker's Committee reviews IPSA’s annual estimate of the resources it needs to discharge its functions. SCIPSA is required by statute to ensure that the estimate is consistent with the efficient and cost-effective discharge of IPSA’s functions. The Committee carries out public scrutiny of the estimate prior to it being laid before the House of Commons by the Speaker.
IPSA’s accounts are audited annually by the National Audit Office (NAO) and are presented to Parliament. The NAO audit includes consideration of value for money of both IPSA’s spend and MPs’ spend which IPSA oversees. IPSA is also subject to a rigorous internal audit programme overseen by its own Audit, Risk, and Assurance Committee.
As part of its work, SCIPSA also reviews IPSA’s performance against its Business Plan and has noted significant improvements in its performance in recent years. SCIPSA is planning to hold a public session with IPSA early in the new year and a further session in March 2025.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Warrington North, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, if the Committee will make a comparative assessment of the value for money provided by (a) IPSA and (b) the pre-2010 system for reimbursing MPs' staffing and business costs.
Answered by Charlotte Nichols
The Speaker’s Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (SCIPSA) is a statutory Committee established under the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009. The Committee’s functions are set out in that Act. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) was also created by 2009 Act, as a statutorily independent body.
Each year the Speaker's Committee reviews IPSA’s annual estimate of the resources it needs to discharge its functions. SCIPSA is required by statute to ensure that the estimate is consistent with the efficient and cost-effective discharge of IPSA’s functions. The Committee carries out public scrutiny of the estimate prior to it being laid before the House of Commons by the Speaker.
IPSA’s accounts are audited annually by the National Audit Office (NAO) and are presented to Parliament. The NAO audit includes consideration of value for money of both IPSA’s spend and MPs’ spend which IPSA oversees. IPSA is also subject to a rigorous internal audit programme overseen by its own Audit, Risk, and Assurance Committee.
As part of its work, SCIPSA also reviews IPSA’s performance against its Business Plan and has noted significant improvements in its performance in recent years. SCIPSA is planning to hold a public session with IPSA early in the new year and a further session in March 2025.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Warrington North, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, how many employee settlement agreements there were in IPSA in each year since 2020; and what the total value of such agreements was.
Answered by Charlotte Nichols
As with other public bodies, IPSA's Annual Report and Accounts provides information on special payments made each financial year, which can include the costs of employee settlement agreements. In line with IPSA's statutory responsibility to protect personal data, I can inform the Member that there were two such agreements made between 2020 and 2024 totalling £106,870.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of pensioners eligible for but not claiming Pension Credit in each region.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
No estimate has been made of the number of pensioners eligible for Pension Credit by region.
According to the latest available data, in financial year ending 2023, an estimated 2,134,000 households were eligible for Pension Credit in Great Britain. This has been calculated by adding the estimated number of households who are entitled to but not receiving Pension Credit to the number of eligible households that received Pension Credit. It is not possible to break this figure down by region.
In published DWP Pension Credit Take-up statistics, it is estimated that up to 760,000 households who were entitled to receive Pension Credit did not claim the benefit. These statistics are only available at Great Britain level and cannot be broken down to smaller geographical areas. The latest available Pension Credit take-up statistics for Great Britain cover the financial year 2022 to 2023 and are available at: Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up: financial year ending 2023 - GOV.UK
The published Pension Credit caseload for Great Britain, for financial year 2022 to 2023 shows that an estimated 1,374,000 households received Pension Credit. This is obtained from the latest published Benefit expenditure and caseload tables 2024 and is available at: Benefit expenditure and caseload tables 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of pensioners eligible for Pension Credit in each region.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
No estimate has been made of the number of pensioners eligible for Pension Credit by region.
According to the latest available data, in financial year ending 2023, an estimated 2,134,000 households were eligible for Pension Credit in Great Britain. This has been calculated by adding the estimated number of households who are entitled to but not receiving Pension Credit to the number of eligible households that received Pension Credit. It is not possible to break this figure down by region.
In published DWP Pension Credit Take-up statistics, it is estimated that up to 760,000 households who were entitled to receive Pension Credit did not claim the benefit. These statistics are only available at Great Britain level and cannot be broken down to smaller geographical areas. The latest available Pension Credit take-up statistics for Great Britain cover the financial year 2022 to 2023 and are available at: Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up: financial year ending 2023 - GOV.UK
The published Pension Credit caseload for Great Britain, for financial year 2022 to 2023 shows that an estimated 1,374,000 households received Pension Credit. This is obtained from the latest published Benefit expenditure and caseload tables 2024 and is available at: Benefit expenditure and caseload tables 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many employee settlement agreements there were in his Department in each year since 2020; and what the total value of such agreements is.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Between 2020 and 2024 to date, Defra has agreed six settlement agreements: one in 2021, two in 2022, two in 2023 and one in 2024 to date. The total cost of these settlements is £234,200.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take legislative steps to protect designated outdoor pub smoking and vaping areas.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill was introduced to Parliament on 5 November 2024, and passed its second reading in the House of Commons on 25 November 2024. The bill will put us on track to a smoke-free United Kingdom, helping to reduce approximately 80,000 preventable deaths and reduce the burden on the National Health Service and on the taxpayer.
The bill contains powers to extend the ban on smoking indoors to certain outdoor settings, to reduce the harms of second-hand smoking, particularly around children and vulnerable people. In England, we are considering extending smoke-free outdoor places to outside schools, children’s playgrounds, and hospitals, but not to outdoor hospitality settings such as pub gardens. The bill also has powers to make most public places and workplaces that are smoke-free, vape-free.
Exactly which settings should become smoke-free and vape-free will be a matter for secondary legislation, with all proposed reforms subject to a full consultation.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the Protected Savings threshold from £85,000.
Answered by Tulip Siddiq - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Deposits held by UK banks, building societies and credit unions that are authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) up to £85,000, with joint accounts protected up to £170,000.
The PRA sets this limit and is required to review it every five years, with its next review due by 2025 at the latest. Any changes to the limit must be approved by HM Treasury and the government would expect to carefully consider any potential changes proposed by the PRA.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many employee settlement agreements there were in her Department in each year since 2020; and what the total value of such agreements is.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The table below shows the number of employee settlement agreements since 2020.
| Number of employee settlement agreements | Total value (£) |
2020/21 | 0 | 0 |
2021/22 | 0 | 0 |
2022/23 | <5 | <£10,000 |
2023/24 | <5 | £25,001 - £50,000 |
2024/25* | <5 | £10,000 - £25,000 |
*Until 30 November 2024
For 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25 details where numbers are five or fewer are being withheld under section 40(2) of the Act that relates to Personal Information, as releasing the numbers may potentially lead to the identification of individual(s).