Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Hinckley and Bosworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many doctors have had to file an estimate for their tax returns as a result of not receiving the appropriate Pension Savings Statements before 31 January 2026.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department, the NHS Business Services Authority, and HM Revenue and Customs do not hold this information.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of making injury-related pension enhancement and compensation elements protected within divorce settlements.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
People may be able to access a workplace or private pension earlier than the scheme’s normal minimum pension age due to ill health, subject to the rules of the individual scheme. These rules vary, and it is for schemes to determine the conditions under which benefits can be paid before the normal pension age and/or on enhanced terms.
Where an ill health pension is paid from an arrangement that meets the legal definition of an occupational pension scheme, it is generally a shareable asset in the event of a divorce. This applies even where the pension has been brought into payment early for ill health reasons.
There is a specific exception in legislation for benefits that arise solely due to disablement, or death resulting from an accident suffered by a person that occurs during their pensionable service. These rights are not shareable on divorce.
The division of assets in divorce proceedings is a matter for family courts, which make decisions based on the law of the country in which the divorce takes place. In England and Wales, this falls under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, for which responsibility rests with the Ministry of Justice.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with The Pensions Regulator on what estimate it has made of how many and what proportion of UK pension scheme assets invested in (a) thermal coal-fired and (b) any other fossil fuel-fired power generation capacity; what assessment it has made of the potential impact of using UK pensions funds for expanding the use of fossil fuel on the markets of (i) the UK, (ii) Europe and (iii) any other country; and what estimate it has made of the value of UK pension funds invested in fossil fuels that are at risk of becoming stranded.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has not produced such estimates. As part of its supervision and to assist in understanding the link between performance and asset allocation, TPR now gets access to investment data from workplace pension schemes – including increased transparency on scheme decision-making, as well as probing investment governance standards.
Occupational pension schemes are required to set out how they consider financially material environmental, social and governance factors in their Statements of Investment Principles and to report annually on implementation. Larger schemes must also disclose their climate related risks and opportunities in line with the Task Force on Climate related Financial Disclosures framework. A 2024 TPR review found that more than 60% of sampled schemes had set a net zero goal for 2050 or earlier. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is currently undertaking a Post Implementation Review of the TCFD regime. We will report our findings this year.
In parallel, Government is working on the adoption of UK Sustainability Reporting Standards aligned with international standards and on mandating climate transition plans. TPR’s Transition Plan Working Group, which includes representatives from across the pensions industry, will report to the DWP in the spring. These initiatives will continue to strengthen transparency around scheme exposures to climate related risks and support the UK’s net-zero goals and broader green agenda.
Asked by: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much was paid to retired teachers in pension payments in 2024; and what estimate they have made of the total pension payments to retired teachers in (1) 2040, and (2) 2050.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
A total of £2.921 billion was paid by members into the Teachers’ Pension Scheme in the 2024/25 financial year, and £8.866 billion was paid by employers over the same period.
In the 2024/25 financial year, £10.253 billion was paid to retired members of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme.
The Teachers’ Pension Scheme does not produce long‑term forecasts beyond its normal planning horizon. Estimates for 2040 and 2050 are therefore not available.
Asked by: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much in total was paid to the Teachers' Pension Scheme by (1) teachers, and (2) employers, in 2024.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
A total of £2.921 billion was paid by members into the Teachers’ Pension Scheme in the 2024/25 financial year, and £8.866 billion was paid by employers over the same period.
In the 2024/25 financial year, £10.253 billion was paid to retired members of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme.
The Teachers’ Pension Scheme does not produce long‑term forecasts beyond its normal planning horizon. Estimates for 2040 and 2050 are therefore not available.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish guidance for members of the Civil Service Pension Scheme who are employed by civil service contractors on how they can access their pensions.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The process for all members wishing to access their Civil Service Pension is the same and can be viewed at https://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/memberhub/
The guidance for members to claim their pension benefits is available on the Civil Service Pension website.
Asked by: Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle barriers to work for disabled people in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Good work is good for health, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. Backed by £240 million investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched in November 2024 is driving forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity.
Disabled people are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems.
Existing measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers (DEAs) in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies, Individual Placement and Support (IPS) in Primary Care and WorkWell. We are also rolling out Connect to Work, our supported employment programme for anyone who is disabled, has a health condition or is experiencing more complex barriers to work.
DWP is working with the NHS and Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) as part of the Get Hertfordshire Working strategic plan. DWP and the NHS co-chair the Work and Health subgroup of the plan. This group is working with local employers and key partners from the statutory, education and voluntary sectors, to support residents with health conditions to both stay in and return to work through a range of activities such as employment and skills training and providing support in managing their health conditions. The group is also developing employment pathways such as work experience, internships, and apprenticeships with partner agencies.
DEAs in the Jobcentres supporting the constituency hold in-depth Work Ability conversations that focus on strengths, suitable work options, workplace adjustments and confidence building. There is a Weekly Wednesday Job Club for Berkhamsted customers. As part of the Pathways to Work initiative DEAs work in collaboration with HCC to deliver joined up services for residents by supporting disabled people into employment through our Connect to Work programme, referrals to Employment Advisors in Talking Therapies and IPS.
We set out our plan for the Pathways to Work Guarantee in our Pathways to Work Green Paper and are building towards our guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for disabled people and people with health conditions on out of work benefits. The guarantee is backed by £1 billion a year of new, additional funding by the end of the decade. We anticipate the guarantee, once fully rolled out, will include: a support conversation to identify next steps, one-to-one caseworker support, periodic engagement, and an offer of specialist long-term work health and skills support.
The 10 Year Health Plan, published in July, builds on existing work to better integrate health with employment support and incentivise greater cross-system collaboration, recognising good work is good for health. The Plan also states the Government’s intention to break down barriers to opportunity by delivering the holistic support that people need to access and thrive in employment by ensuring a better health service for everyone, regardless of condition or service area. It outlines how the neighbourhood health service will join up support from across the work, health and skills systems to help address the multiple complex challenges that often stop people finding and staying in work.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will include the British Standard Institution's health and safety document entitled BS 30416 on Menstruation, Menstrual Health and Menopause in the Workplace, published on 31 May 2023, in her Department's guidance on the Employment Rights Act 2025.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We recognise that employers already have access to a wide range of guidance on supporting employees experiencing menopause, including resources produced by the British Standards Institution. While current government guidance does not specifically reference BS 30416: Menstruation, Menstrual Health and Menopause in the Workplace, our aim is to ensure that current and future government advice complements and aligns with such materials.
As part of the Employment Rights Act 2025, this government took the first step towards requiring large employers to publish an action plan detailing what steps they are taking to support employees through the menopause. To support employers to develop these plans, the Office for Equality and Opportunity will provide guidance on recommended actions. This will be drawn from existing evidence, such as DWP's own Menopause in the Workplace Literature Review, while recognising that some actions may also support women managing other reproductive health conditions at work.
Additionally, as part of Government’s wider commitment to Make Work Pay, DWP committed to publishing guidance, including for small employers, on measures to consider relating to uniform and temperature, flexible working and recording menopause-related leave and absence. This is available on the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS): Managing the menopause - Menopause at work - Acas. Actions set out in this guidance are aligned with, and complement, the advice set out in BS 30416 on Menstruation, Menstrual Health and Menopause in the Workplace.
We will keep the evidence base and our guidance under review to ensure it reflects emerging research and best practice in supporting employees experiencing menopause and wider reproductive health conditions.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Government Legal Department’s position statement, published on 8 July 2025, what assessment his Department has made of the steps required to implement pension buy back for pre-2000 retained firefighter claimants.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The administration of the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme, including delivery of the pensions remedy for retained firefighters, is the responsibility of local fire and rescue authorities in their role as scheme managers.
My department does not issue operational instructions to administrators. However, we continue to work closely with the Government Actuary’s Department and the Local Government Association to provide the support and guidance scheme managers need to implement the remedy for retained firefighters correctly. We are aware of delays in some areas and are engaging with partners to help fire and rescue authorities resolve these as swiftly as possible.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when he expects pension administrators to be given instructions to implement buy back for pre-2000 retained firefighter claimants.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The administration of the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme, including delivery of the pensions remedy for retained firefighters, is the responsibility of local fire and rescue authorities in their role as scheme managers.
My department does not issue operational instructions to administrators. However, we continue to work closely with the Government Actuary’s Department and the Local Government Association to provide the support and guidance scheme managers need to implement the remedy for retained firefighters correctly. We are aware of delays in some areas and are engaging with partners to help fire and rescue authorities resolve these as swiftly as possible.