Asked by: Barry Gardiner (Labour - Brent West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason the Health and Safety Executive no longer assesses a risk of continuing harm to staff from wood dust exposure at Drax Power Station.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Under health and safety legislation, it is the operator of the site who has a legal duty to assess and control the health and safety risks to staff and others. There is also an obligation to keep risk assessments and control measures under review. The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) role as a regulator is to make sure that those who create risk, take responsibility for controlling risk through proportionate enforcement and targeted regulatory work. HSE does not operate a permissioning regime for use and handling of substances hazardous to health, including wood dust. Wood dust is one of the most common causes of occupational asthma in Great Britain. This has been a focus of recent HSE proactive interventions to reduce workplace ill health. An inspection visit to Drax Power Ltd by HSE is planned for early 2026 to examinehow well the operator is currently controlling exposure to wood dust.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the potential impact of the salary sacrifice pension scheme changes announced in the Autumn Budget 2025 on the value of occupational pension funds.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to pensions salary sacrifice.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) set out in their November 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook that they do not expect a material impact on savings behaviour as a result of Budget 2025 tax changes.
The government supports all individuals to save into pensions through a generous system of income tax and NICs reliefs worth over £70 billion a year.
Asked by: Zöe Franklin (Liberal Democrat - Guildford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Department is taking to ensure that the Child Maintenance Service has effective mechanisms to prevent high earners from reducing their maintenance liabilities through the diversion of income into pension contributions.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The paying parent's (PP) gross income, after occupational or personal pension scheme contributions are deducted, is taken directly from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for the latest tax year available. This is because either pension contributions themselves or the earnings from which they are paid qualify for income tax relief.
Either parent can ask the CMS to consider where they believe a paying parent is deliberately making excessive contributions into a private pension in order to reduce the calculation.
This is called a diversion of income variation. If the CMS considers that the deduction in the gross weekly income is unreasonable then the maintenance calculation can be adjusted.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to extend pre-1997 pension indexation changes for members of the Pension Protection Fund and Financial Assistance Scheme to members of ongoing occupational pension schemes whose pre-1997 contributions remain frozen.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government tabled an amendment to the Pension Schemes Bill which provides that compensation payments from the Pension Protection Fund and Financial Assistance Scheme on pensions accrued before April 1997 will now be linked to CPI-inflation (capped at 2.5%). This will apply prospectively for pensioners whose former schemes provided these increases.
In private sector defined benefit pension schemes, analysis published by the Pensions Regulator indicates that, as of March 2023, around 17 per cent of members do not receive any pre-1997 indexation on benefits. This information can be found at: thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/document-library/research-and-analysis/data-requests
The reforms in our Pension Schemes Bill give trustees more flexibility to share surplus with sponsoring employers, and negotiate benefits for members, including discretionary increases. Trustees will be in the driving seat in all decision making on surplus release and must act in the best interest of scheme beneficiaries.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of members of ongoing occupational pension schemes who will not receive pre-1997 indexation.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government tabled an amendment to the Pension Schemes Bill which provides that compensation payments from the Pension Protection Fund and Financial Assistance Scheme on pensions accrued before April 1997 will now be linked to CPI-inflation (capped at 2.5%). This will apply prospectively for pensioners whose former schemes provided these increases.
In private sector defined benefit pension schemes, analysis published by the Pensions Regulator indicates that, as of March 2023, around 17 per cent of members do not receive any pre-1997 indexation on benefits. This information can be found at: thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/document-library/research-and-analysis/data-requests
The reforms in our Pension Schemes Bill give trustees more flexibility to share surplus with sponsoring employers, and negotiate benefits for members, including discretionary increases. Trustees will be in the driving seat in all decision making on surplus release and must act in the best interest of scheme beneficiaries.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of occupational pension schemes whose pre-1997 pension rights remain unindexed on retired members of those schemes.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government tabled an amendment to the Pension Schemes Bill which provides that compensation payments from the Pension Protection Fund and Financial Assistance Scheme on pensions accrued before April 1997 will now be linked to CPI-inflation (capped at 2.5%). This will apply prospectively for pensioners whose former schemes provided these increases.
In private sector defined benefit pension schemes, analysis published by the Pensions Regulator indicates that, as of March 2023, around 17 per cent of members do not receive any pre-1997 indexation on benefits. This information can be found at: thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/document-library/research-and-analysis/data-requests
The reforms in our Pension Schemes Bill give trustees more flexibility to share surplus with sponsoring employers, and negotiate benefits for members, including discretionary increases. Trustees will be in the driving seat in all decision making on surplus release and must act in the best interest of scheme beneficiaries.
Asked by: Lincoln Jopp (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 28 November 2025 to Question 94068 on Universal Credit: Veterans, if he will set out the reasons for differences in how Armed Forces Pensions and service attributable pensions are taken into account for the purposes of calculating Universal Credit payments.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In common with the legacy benefits it replaces, Universal Credit takes into account money available from other sources which allow a claimant to support themselves, allowing a fair balance to be struck between those in the greatest financial need and taxpayers who fund the welfare system. The general principle is that income, other than earnings, which is provided to meet everyday living costs is fully taken into account in the calculation of Universal Credit
As occupational and private pensions are paid to provide support to help people meet their living costs, they are taken fully into account in the assessment of entitlement to Universal Credit. This includes regular Armed Forces pensions, which are treated the same as any other occupational pension.
However, income which is provided to meet additional costs relating to disability is not taken into account. Therefore, payments relating to special schemes for compensation, and those relating to personal injury, are not taken into account as unearned income. Consequently, War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Payments are not taken into account in Universal Credit. Guaranteed Income Payments, Service Attributable Pensions and service-attributable, non-taxable Service Invalidity Pensions are also not taken into account.
Asked by: Lincoln Jopp (Conservative - Spelthorne)
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 Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential impact of salary sacrifice pension scheme changes on the value of occupational pension funds.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
We are taking a pragmatic approach to reforming pension contributions made via salary sacrifice, the costs of which were set to nearly triple to £8bn between 2017 and the end of this decade. The £2,000 cap means that only 5% of workers earning below £30,000 making salary sacrificed contributions will be affected. And the government continues to support pension saving with no changes to pensions tax relief, worth over £70 billion a year.
Asked by: Lincoln Jopp (Conservative - Spelthorne)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether an armed forces pension is treated as unearned income for the purpose of calculating Universal Credit.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Regular, unearned income payments that are paid to meet living costs cause reductions in the customer’s Universal Credit entitlement pound for pound. This includes occupational pensions such as Armed Forces Pensions.
War Pensions and Armed Forces Compensation Payments are not taken into account in Universal Credit. Guaranteed Income Payments, Service Attributable Pensions and service-attributable, non-taxable Service Invalidity Pensions are also not taken into account.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has to support the development of (a) accredited training routes and (b) apprenticeships for advice and information roles.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
At present nine awarding organisations offer 18 different knowledge only qualifications at levels 2 to 5 in information, advice and guidance (IAG) and careers advice. They are listed on Ofqual’s register of regulated qualifications: Find a regulated qualification - GOV.UK
Regarding apprenticeships, there are four apprenticeship standards relating to information and advice roles, including Level 3 Learning and Development Practitioner and Level 4 Employability Practitioner.
Where there is a genuine occupational gap not met by an existing apprenticeship standard and there will be sufficient demand for apprentices, employers are able to work with Skills England to develop an apprenticeship standard which meets their need.