Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the oral contribution of The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions during the debate on Defined-Benefit Pension Schemes of 17 January 2024 Official Report, column 329WH, whether the Minister has had discussions with the Pensions Regulator.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
I know this is an important issue for many people and I am intending to meet with the Pensions Regulator when diaries allow. This will help me to look at the situation, try to understand what has happened and take a view on whether the arrangements currently in place are working as intended.
Asked by: Patricia Gibson (Scottish National Party - North Ayrshire and Arran)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to help support eligible individuals following the McCloud Remedy.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022 provides remedy for discrimination that arose when new public service pensions schemes were introduced between 2014 and 2016. The remedy has two main elements: older “legacy” pension schemes were closed as of 1 April 2022 to equalise future accrual in newer “reformed” schemes; and, from 1 October 2023 all affected members are being given a choice at retirement (or within 18 months of 1 October 2023 for those who have already retired) as to whether to receive legacy or reformed scheme benefits for the remedy period.
Asked by: Jane Hunt (Conservative - Loughborough)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to help people with complex disabilities find suitable employment opportunities.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government has a wide range of initiatives to support disabled people and people with health conditions, including people with complex disabilities, to start, stay and succeed in work. These include:
Building on existing provision and the £2 billion investment announced at the Spring Budget 2023, we announced a new package of support in Autumn Statement 2023. This includes:
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to Q338 of the evidence given by the Minister for Pensions on 10 January 2024, HC144, what the (a) scope of and (b) timeline for the extensive piece of work he has commissioned on indexation of pre-1997 savings from pension contributions is; and whether he plans to publish the findings of this work.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
While all pensions legislation is kept under review as a matter of course, there are currently no plans to amend the Pension Protection Fund rules on pre-97 indexation of pension contributions. The evidence given by the Minister for Pensions, on 10 January 2024, was clear that these are complex issues which will need careful consideration. DWP will continue to consider this issue, determining the scope and taking the time required for full consideration. There is no intention of publishing this advice.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
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 real-terms change as a result of inflation in the value of pension payments that were not index linked for Allied Steel and Wire pensioners under the FAS since 2007.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information required to carry out such an assessment is not readily available and to obtain it would incur disproportionate costs. The Department has therefore made no such assessment and does not intend to do so, at this time.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
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 support disabled people with mobility problems into employment.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government has a wide range of initiatives to support disabled people and people with health conditions, including people with mobility problems, to start, stay and succeed in work. These include:
Building on existing provision and the £2 billion investment announced at the Spring Budget, we announced a new package of support in Autumn Statement 2023. This includes:
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether Ministers from his Department have had discussions with Stonewall on recording equality in the workplace.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There has been no recent discussions with the Department for Work and Pensions Ministers and Stonewall on this subject as this is not within the remit of this department.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will have discussions with the Health and Safety Executive on the safety of engineered stone production; and if he will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential merits of banning the (a) production and (b) use of engineered stone.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
In Great Britain the responsibility for the regulation in the workplace for the production and use of engineered stone falls under the remit of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The link between engineered stone production and the risk of silicosis in workers is already known. Similar to processing natural stone, dust containing respirable crystalline silica (RCS) can be created when workers cut, shape or polish engineered stone.
HSE has advised the Government that is not currently considering restricting the use of engineered stone as the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations already require employers to put in place measures to protect the health of workers when using it. COSHH sets out the requirements for protecting workers from exposure to RCS, which include making a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risk created by that work to the health of employees and of the steps that need to be taken to meet the requirements of the COSHH regulations.
The range of control measures in place to protect workers from exposure to RCS include water suppression, equipment enclosure, extraction and personal protective equipment, such as respirator masks. The COSHH regulations also require workers to be trained and competent to use such controls.
HSE carries out targeted research on measures to protect workers, including methods to adequately measure RCS. HSE also works with industry to raise awareness of managing the risks of exposure to RCS and continues to inspect and investigate in industries where there is potential for exposure to RCS. It has delivered several national inspection campaigns and have worked proactively with key stakeholders and trade associations, for example, in the construction industry.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will commission research on potential links between engineered stone production and silicosis in workers.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
In Great Britain the responsibility for the regulation in the workplace for the production and use of engineered stone falls under the remit of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The link between engineered stone production and the risk of silicosis in workers is already known. Similar to processing natural stone, dust containing respirable crystalline silica (RCS) can be created when workers cut, shape or polish engineered stone.
HSE has advised the Government that is not currently considering restricting the use of engineered stone as the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations already require employers to put in place measures to protect the health of workers when using it. COSHH sets out the requirements for protecting workers from exposure to RCS, which include making a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risk created by that work to the health of employees and of the steps that need to be taken to meet the requirements of the COSHH regulations.
The range of control measures in place to protect workers from exposure to RCS include water suppression, equipment enclosure, extraction and personal protective equipment, such as respirator masks. The COSHH regulations also require workers to be trained and competent to use such controls.
HSE carries out targeted research on measures to protect workers, including methods to adequately measure RCS. HSE also works with industry to raise awareness of managing the risks of exposure to RCS and continues to inspect and investigate in industries where there is potential for exposure to RCS. It has delivered several national inspection campaigns and have worked proactively with key stakeholders and trade associations, for example, in the construction industry.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will have discussions with the Health and Safety Executive on the adequacy of the (a) use of equipment and (b) other steps taken by silica-related industries to detect silica dust.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
In Great Britain the responsibility for the regulation in the workplace for the production and use of engineered stone falls under the remit of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The link between engineered stone production and the risk of silicosis in workers is already known. Similar to processing natural stone, dust containing respirable crystalline silica (RCS) can be created when workers cut, shape or polish engineered stone.
HSE has advised the Government that is not currently considering restricting the use of engineered stone as the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations already require employers to put in place measures to protect the health of workers when using it. COSHH sets out the requirements for protecting workers from exposure to RCS, which include making a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risk created by that work to the health of employees and of the steps that need to be taken to meet the requirements of the COSHH regulations.
The range of control measures in place to protect workers from exposure to RCS include water suppression, equipment enclosure, extraction and personal protective equipment, such as respirator masks. The COSHH regulations also require workers to be trained and competent to use such controls.
HSE carries out targeted research on measures to protect workers, including methods to adequately measure RCS. HSE also works with industry to raise awareness of managing the risks of exposure to RCS and continues to inspect and investigate in industries where there is potential for exposure to RCS. It has delivered several national inspection campaigns and have worked proactively with key stakeholders and trade associations, for example, in the construction industry.