Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of offering secured e-mail as a communications option for his Department's customers upon request.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP utilises technology which allows encryption with most providers of personal email services, such as Gmail or Outlook, helping this stay secure. As such, email communication with customers is currently permitted in certain circumstances, for example, where the customer has a reasonable adjustment in place.

The Department is keen to utilise the benefits provided by email communication and is currently exploring the possibilities of expanding its use of email to communicate with customers.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether any Minister in his Department has sent Departmental information from their personal email addresses since December 2019.

Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Cabinet Office has published guidance to departments on the use of private email that covers how information is held for the purposes of access to information, and how formal decisions are recorded for the official record. This guidance is being updated to reflect changes in technology and ways of working, and will be published by the Cabinet Office in due course.

It is Government policy not to comment on individual Ministers’ security arrangements. Ministers receive support and expert advice to help them meet their obligations in the most appropriate and secure fashion. That includes regular security briefings for Ministers, and advice on protecting their personal data and mitigating cyber threats.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she or any of the Ministers in her Department use personal email addresses to conduct Government business.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Ministers will use a range of digital forms of communication for discussions in line with relevant guidance on information handling and security.

Ministers will have informal conversations from time to time, in person or remotely, and significant content relating to government business from such discussions is passed back to officials.

The Cabinet Office has previously published guidance on how information is held for the purposes of access to information, and how formal decisions are recorded for the official record. Ministers are also given advice on managing the security risks inherent in electronic communications.

Found: homepage Contact Details Participation and Contributions Team Pensions and Later Life Analysis Department

Found: homepage Contact Details Participation and Contributions Team Pensions and Later Life Analysis Department

Found: homepage Contact Details Participation and Contributions Team Pensions and Later Life Analysis Department

Found: Contact 15.1 Clare Glass at the Department for Work and Pensions email: londoncaxtonhouse.statepensionsenquiries