Department for Work and Pensions: Fringe Benefits

(asked on 10th February 2016) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff in his Department and non-departmental public bodies receive (a) home to work travel allowance, (b) a car allowance and (c) subsidised health insurance.


Answered by
Justin Tomlinson Portrait
Justin Tomlinson
This question was answered on 24th February 2016

The information below is as at 31 January 2016.

  • Home to work travel allowance - DWP and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) pay excess fares only when an employee is

    1. compulsorily transferred to another office at the department’s instigation and the cost of travelling to the new workplace is greater than the cost met by the employee in travelling to the previous workplace. Currently, there are 2,144 DWP employees (2.5% of workforce) and 44 HSE employees (1.59% of workforce) receiving excess fares. These payments are normally time-limited to 3 years, although can be for 5 years in exceptional circumstances. No other DWP non-departmental public bodies are making such payments.

  • Car allowance – DWP currently pays a car allowance to 117 (0.14%) employees, who transferred into DWP from another employer. This is not an allowance that is available to other DWP employees, but DWP is legally obliged to honour the previous contractual agreement following the transfer. No other DWP non-departmental public bodies are making such payments.

  • Subsidised health insurance – From 31/03/16 no DWP employees will receive subsidised health insurance. The Pensions Advisory Service currently pays Benenden for healthcare cover on behalf of its 44 employees which was originally paid as a recruitment and retention benefit. This attracts a tax liability which is paid by TPAS as an organisation.

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