Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many officials in his Department in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency and (b) the UK have been awarded (i) upper and (ii) lower tier level ill-health retirement when applying as a result of long covid in each of the last three years.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP does not request nor obtain evidence to assess applications for ill health retirement due to long covid.
The Department does monitor levels and trends in short- and long-term sickness absence across all types of sickness absence recorded on DWP’s own HR data system, including short- and long-term sickness absence generally that may be attributed to Covid, but we do not receive any personal data that will help assess IHR applications.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many officials in his Department in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency and (b) the UK have applied for ill-health retirement as a result of long covid in each of the last three years.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP does not request nor obtain evidence to assess applications for ill health retirement due to long covid.
The Department does monitor levels and trends in short- and long-term sickness absence across all types of sickness absence recorded on DWP’s own HR data system, including short- and long-term sickness absence generally that may be attributed to Covid, but we do not receive any personal data that will help assess IHR applications.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool, Walton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what evidence his Department requests in order to assess applications for ill health retirement due to long covid.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP does not request nor obtain evidence to assess applications for ill health retirement due to long covid.
The Department does monitor levels and trends in short- and long-term sickness absence across all types of sickness absence recorded on DWP’s own HR data system, including short- and long-term sickness absence generally that may be attributed to Covid, but we do not receive any personal data that will help assess IHR applications.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason eligible pensioners who have experienced delays in receiving their State Pension invitation do not have the option to apply for their pension via an online form or via a form that can be downloaded and printed from the Government website.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
If a customer’s State Pension age is pre 6th April 2016 they can download a BR1 claim form from Gov.uk.
For customers whose State Pension Age is after 6th April 2016 they can use the online ‘Get Your State Pension’ (GySP) digital service to complete their claim. Customers who do not receive an invitation to claim their State Pension can use the online service to request a claim invitation to be sent to them. A claim invitation code can be used for up to 15 months from being issued.
If a customer does not wish to use the online service and requires a clerical claim form to complete, this can be obtained by contacting the new claims telephony line. Additionally, claims can be made by telephone where the claim may be gathered and processed while the customer is on the phone. If the customer requires an accessible version of the form that can also be provided on request.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average length of time in days is for her Department to process new State Pension claims received online.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
DWP holds the average clearance times for State Pension claims as a whole. However, we do not retain separate data for claims received online (via the Get Your State Pension portal). Therefore, this information is only available at disproportionate cost to The Department for Work & Pensions as the Department does not have a business requirement for this information to be retained.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average length of time in days was for her Department to process new State Pension claims received by letter in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
DWP holds the average clearance times for State Pension claims as a whole. However, we do not retain separate data for claims received by letter (BR1 claim form). Therefore, this information is only available at disproportionate cost to The Department for Work & Pensions as the Department does not have a business requirement for this information to be retained.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of GPs wait over (a) six months, (b) 12 months and (c) 18 months to receive their NHS Pension scheme pension since their date of retirement due to errors in their NHS Pension record administrated by Primary Care Support England, delivered by Capita; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
NHS Pensions rules prevent an AW8 form from being processed earlier than 105 days before the retirement date. However, it is not unusual for AW8s to be submitted to Primary Care Support England (PCSE) at an earlier date. General practitioners (GPs) and non-GP partners are responsible for ensuring all pension administration for the duration of their NHS Pension membership is updated before AW8 forms are submitted.
Every GP now has access to PCSE Online. This provides transparency and allows all information to be checked before AW8 forms are submitted. PCSE is developing a retirement guide with the British Medical Association and NHS Pensions to assist GPs with this process.
Within six months of PCSE being permitted to process an application upon receipt of an AW8 form, 78% of retirements are processed. The remaining 22% processed after six months are either awaiting more information from the GP or approval from the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). If a GP wishes to retire from the National Performers List, notification can be given through PCSE Online. The Performers List Regulations requests three months’ notice of the intention to retire. GP partners and principals require approval from the CCG.
Upon receipt of the AW8 form and once 105 calendar days before the retirement date has been reached, the entirety of the pension scheme member’s administration is checked for completeness and accuracy. Approximately 11% of applications require further information from the member to ensure their record is correct before it can be progressed and all applications require approval either by the CCG or GP practice.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of GPs wait over (a) six months, (b) 12 months and (c) 18 months to receive their NHS Pension scheme pension after submitting their AW8 form to Primary Care Support England, delivered by Capita.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
NHS Pensions rules prevent an AW8 form from being processed earlier than 105 days before the retirement date. However, it is not unusual for AW8s to be submitted to Primary Care Support England (PCSE) at an earlier date. General practitioners (GPs) and non-GP partners are responsible for ensuring all pension administration for the duration of their NHS Pension membership is updated before AW8 forms are submitted.
Every GP now has access to PCSE Online. This provides transparency and allows all information to be checked before AW8 forms are submitted. PCSE is developing a retirement guide with the British Medical Association and NHS Pensions to assist GPs with this process.
Within six months of PCSE being permitted to process an application upon receipt of an AW8 form, 78% of retirements are processed. The remaining 22% processed after six months are either awaiting more information from the GP or approval from the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). If a GP wishes to retire from the National Performers List, notification can be given through PCSE Online. The Performers List Regulations requests three months’ notice of the intention to retire. GP partners and principals require approval from the CCG.
Upon receipt of the AW8 form and once 105 calendar days before the retirement date has been reached, the entirety of the pension scheme member’s administration is checked for completeness and accuracy. Approximately 11% of applications require further information from the member to ensure their record is correct before it can be progressed and all applications require approval either by the CCG or GP practice.
Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the involvement of CVC Capital in the bid by Sisal S.p.A for the National Lottery Licence, whether his Department has plans to introduce measures to ensure that (a) CVC Capital upholds obligations to Debenhams pension fund and (b) National Lottery funds will not be used to pay dividends to CVC Capital partners.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The competition for the next licence to run the National Lottery is run by the Gambling Commission. Government is not involved in selecting the winning bid. The Commission has received four final applications to run the licence. This is the highest number of applications received since the first licence was awarded in 1994 and reflects the strength of the competition, and the market’s recognition of the opportunity which exists.
While the competition remains on-going it is not appropriate to comment on whether an individual, or organisation, has participated in any stage of it. We have no plans to publish any correspondence received by the Department from either CVC Capital Group or Sisal partners.
As part of the Department’s public appointments process, applicants to public bodies roles, including to the Gambling Commission’s board, must declare in their application any private interests which would result in actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interest. On taking up an appointment to the Gambling Commission, Commissioners are required to adhere to principles in Nolan Principles and the Gambling Commission’s own Code of Conduct for Commissioners. Further to this:
All Commissioners are required to declare interests at least annually, and ensure in year changes are notified as necessary;
Their interests are published on the Gambling Commission’s website;
Declarations of interest are sought at the beginning of every board and committee meeting; and
When an interest is declared, it is reviewed by the Head of Governance and the Chair of the Commission to identify if any action is required as a result (up to and including asking my Department to terminate the appointment/asking them to terminate their interest).
The purpose of the National Lottery, as set out in legislation, is to raise monies for the four good cause pillars. The National Lottery must be run by a single purpose vehicle, with controls in place to ensure that proceeds cannot be diverted to another area of the operator’s business. The mechanism by which proceeds are divided between good cause returns and profits will be set out in the licence while decisions about the use of their profits will be a matter for the operator.
Defined benefit pension schemes are an important source of retirement income for many people in the UK, and the Government is committed to ensuring that they are protected. Whilst it is not appropriate for Ministers to comment on the arrangements of particular pension schemes, the Pensions Regulator monitors private Defined Benefit pension schemes and has the powers to act where they believe a breach of the law has taken place. The Government is committed to strengthening the powers at the disposal of the Regulator and new sanctions, within the Pension Schemes Act 2021, will strengthen the punishment for irresponsible management of pension schemes.
Asked by: Mark Tami (Labour - Alyn and Deeside)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what processes are in place to ensure that members of the Board of Commissioners have no conflict of interest pertaining to the Fourth National Lottery Licence process.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The competition for the next licence to run the National Lottery is run by the Gambling Commission. Government is not involved in selecting the winning bid. The Commission has received four final applications to run the licence. This is the highest number of applications received since the first licence was awarded in 1994 and reflects the strength of the competition, and the market’s recognition of the opportunity which exists.
While the competition remains on-going it is not appropriate to comment on whether an individual, or organisation, has participated in any stage of it. We have no plans to publish any correspondence received by the Department from either CVC Capital Group or Sisal partners.
As part of the Department’s public appointments process, applicants to public bodies roles, including to the Gambling Commission’s board, must declare in their application any private interests which would result in actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interest. On taking up an appointment to the Gambling Commission, Commissioners are required to adhere to principles in Nolan Principles and the Gambling Commission’s own Code of Conduct for Commissioners. Further to this:
All Commissioners are required to declare interests at least annually, and ensure in year changes are notified as necessary;
Their interests are published on the Gambling Commission’s website;
Declarations of interest are sought at the beginning of every board and committee meeting; and
When an interest is declared, it is reviewed by the Head of Governance and the Chair of the Commission to identify if any action is required as a result (up to and including asking my Department to terminate the appointment/asking them to terminate their interest).
The purpose of the National Lottery, as set out in legislation, is to raise monies for the four good cause pillars. The National Lottery must be run by a single purpose vehicle, with controls in place to ensure that proceeds cannot be diverted to another area of the operator’s business. The mechanism by which proceeds are divided between good cause returns and profits will be set out in the licence while decisions about the use of their profits will be a matter for the operator.
Defined benefit pension schemes are an important source of retirement income for many people in the UK, and the Government is committed to ensuring that they are protected. Whilst it is not appropriate for Ministers to comment on the arrangements of particular pension schemes, the Pensions Regulator monitors private Defined Benefit pension schemes and has the powers to act where they believe a breach of the law has taken place. The Government is committed to strengthening the powers at the disposal of the Regulator and new sanctions, within the Pension Schemes Act 2021, will strengthen the punishment for irresponsible management of pension schemes.