Oral Answers to Questions

Shailesh Vara Excerpts

Monday 2nd November 2015 Commons Chamber

[John Mann (Bassetlaw) (Lab)]

1. What estimate he has made of the number of pensioners accessing up-to-date pension advice from his Department.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mr Shailesh Vara)]

The Department itself does not give advice. Regulated financial advice can be given only by a Financial Conduct Authority-authorised adviser. Pension Wise, set up by the Government, offers free, impartial guidance to people aged over 50 with defined contribution pensions. So far, over 20,000 people have received a guidance appointment since April 2015.

[John Mann]

Twenty thousand is a drop in the ocean, considering the enormity of the changes. How will the Government ensure that pensioners are getting good, sound advice—and quantify that they are—in order that pensioners are not ripped off by people advising them badly and therefore lose out in future years?

[Mr Vara]

May I bring the hon. Gentleman into the 21st century? There have been over 1.5 million visits to the Pension Wise website. We are confident we will make sure that the public are aware of what Pension Wise has to say, and that people can access the website or have face-to-face, telephone or online interviews.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

I am getting a growing number of inquiries from women in their early 60s who seem to be unaware of the changes to the retirement age. I am worried that these ladies have not been contacted by the relevant Department and seem to be unaware that their retirement date will be rather later than they had imagined. What can be done to help them?

[Mr Vara]

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. May I put on the record the facts and circumstances? Between April 2009 and March 2011, the Department proactively mailed all women born between 6 April 1950 and 5 April 1953, informing them of their state pension age under the Pensions Act 1995. Following the 2011 changes, the Department wrote to all individuals directly affected to inform them of the change to their state pension age. Sending mail to those individuals, who are due to reach state pension age between 2016 and 2026, was completed between January 2012 and November 2013.

[Nick Thomas-Symonds (Torfaen) (Lab)]

Ministers will be aware of the recent Work and Pensions Committee report, which contained stark warnings about pension scams since the advent of pensions freedoms and about the risk of people being conned out of their life savings. I am sure that Ministers are also aware of the recent survey showing that one in seven over-55s—about 1 million people—have been targeted by pension scams since April, when the pensions freedoms were introduced. Will the Minister reassure the House that he takes the Work and Pensions Committee report and the findings of the survey very seriously, and will he outline what the Government intend to do to protect people from fraudsters?

[Mr Vara]

I assure the hon. Gentleman that we do take this issue very seriously. That is why we set up Pension Wise. Let me make it absolutely clear: the Government are not complacent about scams. We are making sure that the public are aware of how to detect a scam, how to deal with it and how to report it. The two regulators are also working with us. Indeed, the hon. Gentleman will find that the Pension Wise website and those giving guidance do advise people on how to deal with scams.

[Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire) (Con)]

I was about to ask the same question as the Minister just answered. May I take this opportunity to say to him that a large number of my constituents are being badly affected by scams, particularly over the internet? This is a matter of great concern. I am delighted that the Government have taken such strides to deal with it.

[Mr Speaker]

As I have often had cause to observe, repetition in the House of Commons Chamber is not a novel phenomenon.

[Mr Vara]

I refer to my previous answer.

[Kevin Foster (Torbay) (Con)]

As it is one of the best places in the UK to retire, many people in Torbay welcome the freedoms that are being created, but they do need to be protected from scams, as has been mentioned. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that pensioners can access the advice they need before making a crucial decision about their future?

[Mr Vara]

Pension Wise is there to give impartial and free advice. When necessary, it will direct people towards professional advisers. The Money Advice Service has on its books a directory of some 2,300 firms throughout the country. In Scotland, there are 162 firms. The total number of advisers is more than 6,000. We are trying to make sure that the public have proper access whenever advice is required.

[Callum McCaig (Aberdeen South) (SNP)]

2. If he will make an assessment of the potential effect of benefit sanctions on claimants’ mental health.

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[Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con)]

18. What assessment he has made of the effect of auto-enrolment on private sector pension saving.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mr Shailesh Vara)]

Since the gradual introduction of automatic enrolment began in 2012, participation in workplace pension saving in the private sector has increased by 21 percentage points, from 42%, or 5.9 million workers, in 2012, to 63%, or 9.2 million workers, in 2014.

[Henry Smith]

Will my hon. Friend join me in congratulating B&CE, based in my constituency, on so expertly rolling out its people’s pension, an important provision for workers across the country?

[Mr Vara]

I am happy to congratulate B&CE on its people’s pension product and the work it does. It is important that the roll-out of automatic enrolment receives as much support as possible so that people can make choices that are right for them. I also commend my hon. Friend for his excellent work, which was evident when I visited his constituency.

[Pauline Latham]

On 4 December, I will hold my second workplace pensions event in my constituency. Does my hon. Friend agree that small businesses need to advise their employees about the pension changes, and what efforts are his Department making to ensure they do?

[Mr Vara]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on her efforts in helping to spread the important message about this groundbreaking reform. I agree that small businesses need to advise their employees of the changes, which is why the Government have launched a new national communications campaign for small and micro-employers, as well as for individuals.

[Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North) (Lab)]

Would it not be much more sensible, financially secure and efficient and beneficial to pensioners to establish a compulsory state earnings-related pensions scheme for all, with defined benefits, in place of the Government’s auto-enrolment scheme?

[Mr Vara]

It is important that we get people to recognise they need to think about the future. Some 10 million eligible people will qualify for auto-enrolment, of whom 9 million will be saving more or saving for the first time. I am also happy to say that 3 million to 4 million of them are women.

[Ian Blackford (Ross, Skye and Lochaber) (SNP)]

We on the SNP Benches are happy to support the Government’s policy of auto-enrolment, as we think it important that people save for the longer-term. Last week, however, Australia announced it would be stepping back from its policy of pensions freedom after many over-70s ran out of cash. Will the Government reconsider giving guidance to pensioners advising them to secure an income in retirement?

[Mr Vara]

We are giving as much guidance as we can. Pension Wise is there; the Money Advice Service, which I have mentioned, has its advisory firms; and there is also the internet. If people want further advice, they will be guided to it by Pension Wise.

[Matthew Pennycook (Greenwich and Woolwich) (Lab)]

4. What assessment he has made of the effect of poverty on increases in the number of people living in temporary accommodation since 2010.

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[Peter Kyle (Hove) (Lab)]

According to the Department’s own figures, pension contributions by the self-employed have fallen year on year for the past five years. What is the Secretary of State going to do to reverse that trend?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Shailesh Vara)]

We are liaising with companies and individuals and also ensuring that people take some individual responsibility, by looking at their statements and contributions and thinking ahead. We are also encouraging companies to be proactive and to ensure that their workers take part in the auto-enrolment process and that those workers are protected.

[Tom Pursglove (Corby) (Con)]

Building a broad skills set is crucial for entering the world of work, so is the Department actively promoting schemes such as the National Citizen Service, which provides a really unique opportunity to do exactly that?

--- Later in debate ---

[Barbara Keeley (Worsley and Eccles South) (Lab)]

The Under-Secretary of State for Justice, the hon. Member for North West Cambridgeshire (Mr Vara), said earlier that letters were sent to all women born in the 1950s to inform them of changes to the state pension age. I have to say to him that the campaigning group, Women Against State Pension Inequality, disagrees with him. I have constituents who were not informed of the changes, and they suddenly discovered that they were not going to retire soon and that they had many years to retirement. Will the Minister look again at that issue and reconsider whether that group of women affected—there are many hundreds of thousands of them—can now have transitional protection?

[Mr Vara]

I am surprised to hear what the hon. Lady says, but I am happy to look into the matter further. The information that I have is that there was communication with those people, but I will correspond with her.