Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with stakeholders on removing the lower earnings limit as a result of the Automatic Enrolment Review 2017 in the last 12 months.

As part of its 2017 Review the Government committed to build on the consensus on automatic enrolment, which has been a hallmark of the success of the development and operation of the policy.

Our ambition is to implement the proposals in the Review, including the removal of the lower earnings limit in the mid-2020s – this is subject to discussions with stakeholders on the implementation approach, finding ways to make these changes affordable, and evidence of the impact of the increases in statutory minimum contribution rates from April 2019.

We recognise that employers, payroll and other delivery partners need time to plan for these changes, so that they can manage costs with certainty. Over the past 12 months Ministers and officials have and continue to engage regularly with employers, pension providers, consumer groups and other delivery partners on a range of matters including these areas and have debated Automatic Enrolment in parliament on several occasions. We will continue to do so to inform future consultation on implementation plans.