Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of increasing (a) digitalisation and (b) automation in the provision of welfare services.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has already implemented many automation initiatives and remains dedicated to identifying future opportunities for further enhancements. To date, 58 automations have been deployed across the DWP, with 38 of them currently active. These automation processes have handled a total of 44.46 million claims and saved 3.4 million staff hours.
We will continue to explore additional automation and digitisation prospects which will help reduce operating costs, enabling agents to dedicate more time to citizens, and expedite claims processing where possible.
Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her planned timetable is for making the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper accessible for persons with disabilities online.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Further accessible formats will be published on GOV.UK in due course. The consultation will close 12 weeks after the point at which all accessible versions of this Green Paper are available.
We have published this paper ahead of all accessible versions to put detailed information about the matters subject to consultation in the public domain at the earliest opportunity, although the production of accessible versions requires additional time. The consultation will run for a full 12 weeks after all of the accessible versions of the paper are published.
Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to help ensure that women on maternity leave are not subject to discrepancies in their pension employer contributions.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to raising labour standards and protecting workers' rights.
Employer compliance with Automatic Enrolment is high with over 2.4 million employers complying with their duties to date. The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has a statutory objective to maximise and enforce employer compliance with Automatic Enrolment.
Some employers can make common errors in relation to Automatic Enrolment by missing important steps in respect of calculating pensions contributions and communications to staff. These errors can include miscalculating contributions for staff receiving maternity pay. DWP does not hold data on how many women have been affected by any specific error.
TPR provides guidance and engages with employers, pension schemes and advisory bodies to raise awareness of common errors and maximise employer compliance. Where the Regulator is made aware of an error or discovers one in its regular on-site visits and data monitoring, it will work with the employer where possible to notify them of their error and how to correct it. Pension scheme managers and trustees also have a responsibility to ensure the correct management of schemes including monitoring the payment of accurate and timely contributions. Where employees themselves identify errors, they can raise these with their employer in the first instance and should they need to, they can report issues and seek resolution by contacting The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) or The Pensions Regulator.
Individuals can find guidance on pension entitlements during maternity and paternity leave via the Money Helper website Maternity and paternity leave and your pension | MoneyHelper
We would encourage any women who find discrepancies in their employer pensions contributions to alert their employer, and TPR or TPO if necessary, so that they can receive the pension contributions they are entitled to. MoneyHelper also provides further information as to what to do if you think your employer is failing to pay into your pension correctly: Help if your employer fails to pay into your pension | MoneyHelper
Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many women have been affected by pension employer contribution discrepancies while on maternity since auto-enrolment began in 2012.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to raising labour standards and protecting workers' rights.
Employer compliance with Automatic Enrolment is high with over 2.4 million employers complying with their duties to date. The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has a statutory objective to maximise and enforce employer compliance with Automatic Enrolment.
Some employers can make common errors in relation to Automatic Enrolment by missing important steps in respect of calculating pensions contributions and communications to staff. These errors can include miscalculating contributions for staff receiving maternity pay. DWP does not hold data on how many women have been affected by any specific error.
TPR provides guidance and engages with employers, pension schemes and advisory bodies to raise awareness of common errors and maximise employer compliance. Where the Regulator is made aware of an error or discovers one in its regular on-site visits and data monitoring, it will work with the employer where possible to notify them of their error and how to correct it. Pension scheme managers and trustees also have a responsibility to ensure the correct management of schemes including monitoring the payment of accurate and timely contributions. Where employees themselves identify errors, they can raise these with their employer in the first instance and should they need to, they can report issues and seek resolution by contacting The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) or The Pensions Regulator.
Individuals can find guidance on pension entitlements during maternity and paternity leave via the Money Helper website Maternity and paternity leave and your pension | MoneyHelper
We would encourage any women who find discrepancies in their employer pensions contributions to alert their employer, and TPR or TPO if necessary, so that they can receive the pension contributions they are entitled to. MoneyHelper also provides further information as to what to do if you think your employer is failing to pay into your pension correctly: Help if your employer fails to pay into your pension | MoneyHelper
Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to increase support for (a) Citizens Advice and (b) other charitable organisations in (i) Norfolk and (ii) England.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWPs funding will be confirmed once the outcome of the Spending Review is known.
Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on steps to help create skilled jobs in South West Norfolk constituency.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
South-West Norfolk Jobcentres Plus engage directly with local businesses as well as employment and skills forums across the region to both understand local labour market need and to influence the delivery of skills provision in line with these requirements, including training provision needed to deliver our successful Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAPs).
As outlined in the Get Britain Working White Paper, the Government is committed to creating in England a new single universal service that will provide a stronger focus on skills and careers by bringing together Jobcentre Plus and the National Careers Service. The service will be crucial in ensuring more of our domestic workforce, especially those in regions of higher unemployment and economic inactivity can take full advantage of the opportunities and job creation that the Industrial Strategy and Government’s wider sectoral priorities will bring.
As the HR department for the Government’s growth mission, the DWP ministerial team and officials work closely with colleagues across to help employers including those in sectors crucial to growth, including Industrial Strategy sectors, to help meet their recruitment needs and break down barriers to opportunity across the country.
This includes the steps announced by DWP Secretary of State to overhaul our relationship with employers https://www.gov.uk/government/news/dedicated-team-to-serve-businesses-amongst-dwp-overhaul-of-employer-support-to-get-britain-working and the forthcoming joint ministerial Get Britain Working sectoral workforce summits, starting with construction, health and social care and clean energy.
Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to increase access to work capability assessments in South West Norfolk.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have interpreted your question as referring to the accessibility of Work Capability Assessments (used in supporting the department in the determination of the health element of Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance and other specialist benefits) within the South-West Norfolk area.
We take our responsibility to ensure all individuals have access to our services, without disadvantage, very seriously. We have a range of provisions in place to ensure assessments are accessible to all individuals, in line with the standards under the Equality Act 2010. DWP meets legal accessibility requirements by ensuring individuals can access our services.
Consideration will be given to individuals who need a specific assessment channel due to their health condition or circumstances. At all stages of the claim, individuals are asked to advise us of any mobility restrictions. If the assessment supplier is made aware of mobility restrictions, they will consider booking a different assessment channel.
As part of the Functional Assessment Services process, the feasibility of a paper-based assessment will always be considered in the first instance. Where a paper-based review is not possible individuals will be invited to an assessment.