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1125019

registered interest
date	07/05/2019
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
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has plans to introduce the Pensions Bill before summer 2019.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough
tabling member printed	Gill Furniss
uin	251381
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2019 answer text <p>This Government has recently published responses to a series of consultations, and have engaged extensively with key stakeholders and the Pensions Regulator.</p><p> </p><p>In these we have committed to strengthen the Pensions Regulator’s powers to both enforce pension’s legislation and to punish those who have acted recklessly or failed to comply with their obligations. We have committed to facilitate industry to make pensions dashboards a reality. We are also compelling pension schemes to make consumers data available to them and to facilitate collective defined contribution schemes.</p><p> </p><p>The Government will bring forward legislation to introduce these measures as soon as parliamentary time permits.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 14/05/2019 15:14:40 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman previous answer version 117711 answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4571 label Biography information for Gill Furniss

1055244

registered interest
date	05/02/2019
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	Pension Credit
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2019 to Question 212389, what estimate she has made of the number of couples affected in (a) 2019-20, (b) 2020-21 and (c) 2021-22 of the changes to be introduced in May 2019 to the eligibility for pension credit of couples where one partner has reached state pension age and the other has not.
tabling member constituency	Wirral West
tabling member printed	Margaret Greenwood
uin	217093
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2019 answer text <p>The Welfare Reform Act 2012 amended entitlement conditions for Pension Credit so as to require both members of a couple to have reached the qualifying age for Pension Credit before the couple can be entitled to it.</p><p> </p><p>The change will not affect mixed age couples who are entitled to Pension Credit and/or pension age Housing Benefit immediately before the implementation date unless their entitlement to both those benefits subsequently ends.</p><p> </p><p>An estimate of the number of mixed age couples who may be affected by the forthcoming changes to be introduced on 15 May 2019 is set out below:</p><p><strong>Estimated mixed age couples affected by policy change</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2019/20</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2020/21</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2021/22</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>15,000</p></td><td><p>30,000</p></td><td><p>40,000</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 12/02/2019 14:04:36 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman previous answer version 100747 answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4400 label Biography information for Margaret Greenwood

1050445

registered interest
date	29/01/2019
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	Pension Credit: North West
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of pension credit claimants in (a) Warrington, (b) Warrington North constituency and (c) the North West who have a partner of working age and will be affected by forthcoming changes to the rules on pension credit.
tabling member constituency	Warrington North
tabling member printed	Helen Jones
uin	213950
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/02/2019 answer text <p>The changes the government announced on January 14 will ensure that the same work incentives will apply to the younger partner as apply to other people of the same age, and that taxpayer support is directed to where it is needed most.</p><p> </p><p>The changes will not affect mixed age couples who are entitled to Pension Credit and/or pension age Housing Benefit immediately before 15 May, unless their entitlement to both those benefits subsequently ends.</p><p> </p><p>The number of future mixed age couples that are estimated to be affected by forthcoming changes is not available.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 05/02/2019 14:58:03 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman previous answer version 99559 answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	432 label Biography information for Helen Jones

1050629

registered interest
date	29/01/2019
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	Universal Credit
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking ensure that there is sufficient public awareness of the changes to universal credit entitlement for mixed-aged couples among people who are affected by that change.
tabling member constituency	Cardiff Central
tabling member printed	Jo Stevens
uin	214138
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/02/2019 answer text <p>The Department announced on 14 January that the mixed age couple policy change will come into force on 15 May. Following the announcement we are implementing plans to raise awareness of the change among people who may be affected.</p><p> </p><p>The Department is writing to mixed-age couples who are already in receipt of Pension Credit or pensioner Housing Benefit. This is in addition to providing information on gov.uk and through existing departmental channels. The Department’s staff in Pension Centres and Jobcentres will also be able to provide such information, as will staff in local authorities who administer Housing Benefit. The Department will also work with relevant organisations to ensure that accurate information is available in the places where people are most likely to seek information.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 05/02/2019 15:19:33 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman previous answer version 99546 answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4425 label Biography information for Jo Stevens

1050630

registered interest
date	29/01/2019
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	Universal Credit
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the date of completion is of the most recent equality impact assessment carried out on the changes to universal credit entitlement for mixed-aged couples.
tabling member constituency	Cardiff Central
tabling member printed	Jo Stevens
uin	214139
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/02/2019 answer text <p>An Equality Impact Assessment for the introduction of Universal Credit was published on 9 November 2011. It contains an assessment of the effect of Universal Credit by age groups, including people aged over 50 and mixed age couples. In line with the DWP’s legal duties, equality impacts have been further considered in developing our plans for implementation.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 05/02/2019 15:04:25 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman previous answer version 99548 answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4425 label Biography information for Jo Stevens

1023922

registered interest
date	12/12/2018
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	State Retirement Pensions: Females
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints of maladministration from women born in the 1950s relating to the change in their state pension age submitted to her Department’s Independent Case Examiner have been (a) resolved, (b) rejected, (c) closed for other reasons.
tabling member constituency	Ceredigion
tabling member printed	Ben Lake
uin	201695
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2018 answer text <p>Individual government departments have long established complaints procedures. That approach has not changed under Labour governments 1997-2010 or successive governments. The DWP has a two tier complaints process which considers formal complaints about our service<strong>. </strong>Once a complainant has exhausted the DWP complaint process they are signposted to the Independent Case Examiner’s Office if they are dissatisfied with the final response to their complaint. The Independent Case Examiner is independent.</p><p>The table below provides information on the method by which complaints submitted to the Independent Case Examiner’s (ICE) Office, concerning changes to women’s State Pension age, were closed.</p><p><ins class="ministerial"></ins></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><ins class="ministerial">Reason for complaint closure</ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">Number</ins> <ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><ins class="ministerial">(a) Resolved (we have interpreted this as meaning closed following issue of an ICE investigation report)</ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">192</ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><ins class="ministerial">(b) Rejected (the complaint failed to meet the ICE acceptance criteria)</ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">1,598</ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><ins class="ministerial">(c) Paused for other reasons (includes withdrawn complaints and those closed following a High Court decision to grant permission for a Judicial Review of the Departments handling of the change to women’s State Pension age – it is not within the ICE remit to consider issues which are, or have been, subject to legal proceedings.)</ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">2,506</ins></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><ins class="ministerial"><strong> </strong></ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The Independent Case Examiner’s Office received the first complaints from women relating to changes in their state pension age in October 2016. The table below provides details of the numbers received in each of the past three reporting years.</ins></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><ins class="ministerial">Year (April to March)</ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">Number received</ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><ins class="ministerial">2016/2017</ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">243</ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><ins class="ministerial">2017/2018</ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">2981</ins></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><ins class="ministerial">2018/2019 (to 13 December 2018)</ins></p></td><td><p><ins class="ministerial">1072</ins></p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 17/12/2018 15:27:52 question first ministerially corrected 18/12/2018 17:16:19 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman previous answer version 92203 answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4630 label Biography information for Ben Lake

1006972

registered interest
date	14/11/2018
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: Advisory Services
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 have had (a) a telephone appointment, (b) a face to face appointment and (c) completed a digital journey with the Pension Wise guidance service in the 12 month period ending October 2018.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	191266
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/11/2018 answer text <p>In the 12 month period ending 31 October 2018, there were (a) 32,440 telephone appointments, (b) 78,961 face to face appointments and (c) 44,969 digital journey completions.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 20/11/2018 14:18:54 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman previous answer version 85865 answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1006977

registered interest
date	14/11/2018
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: Advisory Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Pension Wise guidance service, what information her Department holds on the (a) demographic characteristics of and (b) actions and decisions taken as a result of that guidance being sought by people who have completed a (i) telephone appointment, (ii) face-to-face appointment and (iii) digital journey with that service in the 12 month period ending October 2018.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	191268
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/11/2018 answer text <p>Information on demographic characteristics of Pension Wise Customers and actions and decisions taken as a result of the guidance are published in the Pension Wise Service Evaluation. The latest published report covers 2016/17 and can be found here:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/653621/pension-wise-service-evaluation-full-year-findings.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/653621/pension-wise-service-evaluation-full-year-findings.pdf</a></p><p> </p><p>The demographic profiles of telephone and face-to-face customers are given and compared in Section 2: Customer profiles (pages 4-9). The steps and decisions taken by Pension Wise appointment customers are covered in Section 7: Steps taken and Section 8: Making a decision (pages 32-42).</p><p> </p><p>The Pension Wise Service Evaluation report for 2017/18 is forthcoming and will be similarly available on GOV.UK once published. The sampling for the annual Service Evaluation surveys is based around appointments delivered in the autumn of each year. As there are few seasonal differences in customer profiles, we would expect the data in the successive reports to reflect the profiles, experiences and outcomes of customers across the financial year that they relate to.</p><p> </p><p>The Service Evaluation for 2018/19, is currently in the field and publication of the report is expected to be in Autumn 2019.</p><p> </p><p>Customers completing the digital journey are not covered by the published research findings or the forthcoming report. We are looking to include this channel in the 2018/19 Pension Wise Service Evaluation survey sampling and reporting.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 20/11/2018 14:57:39 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman previous answer version 85872 answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

989657

registered interest
date	17/10/2018
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	Television Licences: Older People
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of pensioners in receipt of free TV licences in each parliamentary constituency in Wales.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	180653
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/10/2018 answer text <p>The department does not hold data on the number of households in receipt of a free television license broken down by Parliamentary constituency.</p><p> </p><p>The number of households in receipt of winter fuel payment (aged 75 and over) by Parliamentary constituency can be used as a proxy for television license (assuming those in receipt of winter fuel payment have a television) and can be found in the dataset ‘Households by Parliamentary constituency and age, Winter Fuel Payment, 2017 to 2018’ via the following link:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/winter-fuel-payment-recipient-and-household-figures-2017-to-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/winter-fuel-payment-recipient-and-household-figures-2017-to-2018</a></p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 22/10/2018 17:16:11 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman previous answer version 80039 answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

973347

registered interest
date	13/09/2018
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	State Retirement Pensions: Females
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the efficacy of the Independent Case Examiner in investigating complaints from women affected by state pension age equalisation measures.
tabling member constituency	Edinburgh West
tabling member printed	Christine Jardine
uin	174839
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/10/2018 answer text <p>The approach of successive governments has been consistent. The Independent Case Examiner is independent. She is appointed under contract to adjudicate on escalated complaints about the DWP, and its contracted service providers, in cases where the complainant has exhausted the relevant internal complaints process and remains dissatisfied. If a complainant is dissatisfied with the outcome of an Independent Case Examiner investigation (or the service provided by the Independent Case Examiner) they can ask their Member of Parliament to escalate their complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman</p><p>Ministers have no role in assessing the efficacy of the Independent Case Examiner in investigating complaints from women affected by State Pension age equalisation measures.</p><p> </p><p>The Independent Case Examiner resources are reviewed on an annual basis. Since October 2017, the Independent Case Examiner has experienced increased levels of referrals associated with legislative changes to State Pension age for women. The Independent Case Examiner responded by dedicating a team of three investigation case managers.</p><p> </p><p>The Independent Case Examiner aims to complete any investigation within 20 weeks of starting work on a case. The Independent Case Examiner reports related to legislative changes to State Pension age for women that have been concluded to date have been completed within an average of 9.75 weeks. To date, the Independent Case Examiner had not upheld any case specific complaints that the DWP failed to provide adequate and timely information relating to the increase in State Pension age. All final Independent Case Examiner reports explain how the complainant can escalate their complaint to the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s Office. The Parliamentary Health and Service Ombudsman make final decisions on complaints that have not been resolved by UK Government Departments. This was set up in 1967 under the then Labour Government.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 174840 question first answered 11/10/2018 12:15:24 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman previous answer version 77326 answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4634 label Biography information for Christine Jardine