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448215

registered interest
date	27/01/2016
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Pensions: Fees and Charges
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department has taken to ensure transparency of commission and other charges, levied by private pension funds on individuals.
tabling member constituency	Tonbridge and Malling
tabling member printed	Tom Tugendhat
uin	24449
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2016 answer text <p>The Department has regularly commissioned surveys on the types and levels of charges faced by savers in defined contribution workplace pension schemes. The latest pension charges survey was published on 17 December 2015 and can be found at:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-charges-survey-2015-charges-in-defined-contribution-pension-schemes" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-charges-survey-2015-charges-in-defined-contribution-pension-schemes</a></p><p> </p><p /><p> </p><p>It is important that savers know what costs and charges they are paying. As a first step towards achieving this, most occupational pension schemes offering money purchase benefits are now required to report the charges levied on members and, as far as they are able, transaction costs, via an annual Chair’s Statement. The Chair’s Statement, which must be given to beneficiaries and recognised trade unions on request, must also report the trustees’ view on the extent to which these costs present value for members.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Similarly, the Financial Conduct Authority have made rules requiring Independent Governance Committees to report annually on the value for money offered by workplace personal pension schemes, taking into account scheme charges and transaction costs.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Government is also actively considering how to make the costs of pension schemes more visible to savers, and is committed, in line with the duties of the Pensions Act 2014, to make regulations which require information on transaction costs to be given to members and both costs and charges to be published. To help achieve this, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Financial Conduct Authority published a joint call for evidence last year on disclosure of transaction costs.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>In addition, the Chancellor recently announced that the Government will take action to limit early exit fees by introducing a new duty on the Financial Conduct Authority to cap early exit charges in relation to contract-based schemes, and will mirror these requirements in relation to trust-based schemes. This will ensure that individuals do not face financial barriers where they wish to access their pension benefits flexibly.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 24461 question first answered 04/02/2016 17:30:59 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4462 label Biography information for Tom Tugendhat

448222

registered interest
date	27/01/2016
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Pensions: Fees and Charges
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information his Department holds on charges other than commission payments levied on private pension funds by individuals.
tabling member constituency	Tonbridge and Malling
tabling member printed	Tom Tugendhat
uin	24461
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2016 answer text <p>The Department has regularly commissioned surveys on the types and levels of charges faced by savers in defined contribution workplace pension schemes. The latest pension charges survey was published on 17 December 2015 and can be found at:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-charges-survey-2015-charges-in-defined-contribution-pension-schemes" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-charges-survey-2015-charges-in-defined-contribution-pension-schemes</a></p><p> </p><p /><p> </p><p>It is important that savers know what costs and charges they are paying. As a first step towards achieving this, most occupational pension schemes offering money purchase benefits are now required to report the charges levied on members and, as far as they are able, transaction costs, via an annual Chair’s Statement. The Chair’s Statement, which must be given to beneficiaries and recognised trade unions on request, must also report the trustees’ view on the extent to which these costs present value for members.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Similarly, the Financial Conduct Authority have made rules requiring Independent Governance Committees to report annually on the value for money offered by workplace personal pension schemes, taking into account scheme charges and transaction costs.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Government is also actively considering how to make the costs of pension schemes more visible to savers, and is committed, in line with the duties of the Pensions Act 2014, to make regulations which require information on transaction costs to be given to members and both costs and charges to be published. To help achieve this, the Department for Work and Pensions and the Financial Conduct Authority published a joint call for evidence last year on disclosure of transaction costs.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>In addition, the Chancellor recently announced that the Government will take action to limit early exit fees by introducing a new duty on the Financial Conduct Authority to cap early exit charges in relation to contract-based schemes, and will mirror these requirements in relation to trust-based schemes. This will ensure that individuals do not face financial barriers where they wish to access their pension benefits flexibly.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 24449 question first answered 04/02/2016 17:30:59 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4462 label Biography information for Tom Tugendhat

448446

registered interest
date	27/01/2016
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cases have come before the Court of Appeal challenging the lawfulness of the under-occupancy penalty on the grounds of the effect of that policy on (a) victims of domestic violence and (b) seriously disabled children who need overnight care.
tabling member constituency	Carmarthen East and Dinefwr
tabling member printed	Jonathan Edwards
uin	24516
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/02/2016 answer text <p>(a) One victim of domestic violence has challenged the removal of the spare room subsidy in the Court of Appeal.</p><p>(b) One challenge in the Court of Appeal from a case with a disabled child who requires overnight care from a non-resident carer.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 01/02/2016 15:51:19 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	3943 label Biography information for Jonathan Edwards

448448

registered interest
date	27/01/2016
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Pensioners: Poverty
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the triple lock pension policy of the number of pensioners living in poverty in (a) Windsor, (b) the South East and (c) the UK.
tabling member constituency	Windsor
tabling member printed	Adam Afriyie
uin	24574
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2016 answer text <p>While we can’t draw a direct link between the triple lock and pensioner poverty, pensioner poverty is at one of the lowest rates since records began. Pensioners are less likely to be in relative and absolute low income after housing costs than the population as a whole. The Government continues to support the poorest pensioners and from April 2016, Pension Credit will top up income to a guaranteed minimum level of £155.60 for a single person and £237.55 for couples.</p><p>The Government wants all pensioners to have a decent and secure income in retirement. We are committed to the triple lock, the guarantee that the basic State Pension will increase by the highest of the growth in average earnings, price increase or 2.5%. From April 2016, the basic State Pension will be over £1,100 a year higher than at the start of the last Parliament. This will benefit many of the 18,000 recipients of State Pension in Windsor, the 1.7 million recipients in the South East and the 13 million recipients in the UK.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 04/02/2016 17:06:54 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	1586 label Biography information for Adam Afriyie

448449

registered interest
date	27/01/2016
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Access to Work Programme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people took part in the Access to Work programme in each year from 2010 to 2013.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	24563
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/02/2016 answer text <p>The number of people helped by Access to Work in each year from 2010 to 2013 is published in the Access to Work Official Statistics which can be found at the following link:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/access-to-work-statistics-on-recipients--2" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/access-to-work-statistics-on-recipients--2</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 01/02/2016 13:11:36 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

447808

registered interest
date	26/01/2016
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Pensioners: Income
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to protect pensioners' incomes in (a) Kettering and (b) England.
tabling member constituency	Kettering
tabling member printed	Mr Philip Hollobone
uin	24226
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2016 answer text <p>This Government wants all pensioners to have a decent and secure income in retirement. We are committed to the ‘triple lock’, the guarantee that the basic and new State Pension will increase by the highest of the growth in average earnings, price increases or 2.5%. From April 2016, the full basic State Pension will rise to £119.30 a week, an increase of £3.35 and the biggest real terms increase to the basic State Pension since 2001. This will benefit many of the 18000 recipients of State Pension in Kettering and the 10 million recipients in England.</p><p>For the poorest pensioners, from April 2016 Pension Credit will top up income to a guaranteed minimum level of £155.60 for a single person and £237.55 for couples. We are protecting key benefits for older people including Winter Fuel Payments, free eye tests, free NHS prescriptions, free bus passes and free television licences for those aged 75 and over.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 29/01/2016 09:52:20 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	1537 label Biography information for Mr Philip Hollobone

447814

registered interest
date	26/01/2016
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Members: Correspondence
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Birkenhead to him dated 19 January 2016 on the state pension.
tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
tabling member printed	Frank Field
uin	24182
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2016 answer text <p>The information requested in the Rt. Hon Member’s letter was sent to the Work and Pensions Select Committee on Friday 29 January 2016.</p><br /> <br /> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 29/01/2016 13:27:53 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

447815

registered interest
date	26/01/2016
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Occupational Money Purchase Schemes
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data his Department holds on the distribution of contributions to defined-contribution pension schemes for each (a) income level and (b) age.
tabling member constituency	Ashton-under-Lyne
tabling member printed	Angela Rayner
uin	24178
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2016 answer text <p>There are no breakdowns available by income level either for DC personal pensions or for DC workplace pensions.</p><p>There is also no breakdown available by age for DC personal pensions, but data on the distribution of employee contribution rates to workplace DC schemes, by age, can be found within Reference Table 5.1 of the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) 2014 publication available here: <del class="ministerial"><a href="http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-400776" target="_blank">http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-400776</a></del> <ins class="ministerial"><a href="http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm:77-387081" target="_blank">http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-387081</a></ins></p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 29/01/2016 12:46:31 question first ministerially corrected 11/02/2016 10:09:03 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson previous answer version 42084 answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4356 label Biography information for Angela Rayner

447816

registered interest
date	26/01/2016
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Workplace Pensions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data his Department holds on the distribution of deemed contributions to defined-benefit pension schemes for each (a) income level and (b) age.
tabling member constituency	Ashton-under-Lyne
tabling member printed	Angela Rayner
uin	24179
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2016 answer text <p>Distributions of deemed contributions to defined-benefit (DB) schemes broken down by income level or age, are not readily available, and have not been previously published as official statistics.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 29/01/2016 12:39:23 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4356 label Biography information for Angela Rayner

447817

registered interest
date	26/01/2016
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Health
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people who have suffered a six-month or longer period of sickness in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Harrow West
tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
uin	24187
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/01/2016 answer text <p>Department for Work and Pensions does not routinely capture management information on the number of people who have suffered a six-month or longer period of sickness.</p><br /> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 29/01/2016 12:36:01 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas