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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

1129830

	registered interest
	date	04/06/2019
	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, what recent discussions she has had with representatives from the pensions industry about (a) the divestment of pensions funds from carbon-intensive industries and from fossil fuels and (b) incorporating climate-related risk into their investment decision-making.
	tabling member constituency	Bristol East
	tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
	uin	259913
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/06/2019 answer text <p>The Government wants to support trustees in making responsible investment decisions. However, it does not seek to direct pension schemes to invest or divest in any particular way.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise that climate change is a key national and international issue and we have made sure that pension schemes understand their role responding to its effects. In September 2018, following extensive consultation with the pensions industry, this Government laid regulations to clarify that trustees should be taking account of the financial risks of climate change when developing their investment strategies. The regulations come into force from October this year. The FCA are consulting on corresponding provisions for workplace personal pension schemes.</p><p>As the Minister for Pensions and Financial Inclusion I have spoken extensively about the new requirements and the Government expectations of pension schemes, including during the Westminster Hall debate regarding Pension Funds: Financial and Ethical Investments on the 22 May 2019:</p><p> </p><p>“For too long there has been a perception by too many trustees -I am happy to clarify this as a Government Minister- that the environmental practices of the firms they invest in are purely ethical concerns, which they do not need to worry about: that is utterly wrong. Aside from the ethical considerations, there are real financial risks resulting from climate change. With the long-term horizons of pension investing, trustees must now consider that when they set out their investment strategies. Trustees who do not consider those matters will be breaching their statutory and potentially their fiduciary duties not only to current but future members.”</p><p> </p><p>The full debate can be viewed here:</p><p><a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2019-05-22/debates/D3194408-7581-4635-AEDC-6D22AD6F0EBC/PensionFundsFinancialAndEthicalInvestments" target="_blank">https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2019-05-22/debates/D3194408-7581-4635-AEDC-6D22AD6F0EBC/PensionFundsFinancialAndEthicalInvestments</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 259914 question first answered 13/06/2019 11:32:49 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy

1129831

	registered interest
	date	04/06/2019
	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, what steps the Government is taking to encourage the pension industry to (a) divest pension funds from carbon-intensive industries and fossil fuel and (b) adopt the recommendations of the task force on climate-related financial disclosures on reporting structures.
	tabling member constituency	Bristol East
	tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
	uin	259914
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/06/2019 answer text <p>The Government wants to support trustees in making responsible investment decisions. However, it does not seek to direct pension schemes to invest or divest in any particular way.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise that climate change is a key national and international issue and we have made sure that pension schemes understand their role responding to its effects. In September 2018, following extensive consultation with the pensions industry, this Government laid regulations to clarify that trustees should be taking account of the financial risks of climate change when developing their investment strategies. The regulations come into force from October this year. The FCA are consulting on corresponding provisions for workplace personal pension schemes.</p><p>As the Minister for Pensions and Financial Inclusion I have spoken extensively about the new requirements and the Government expectations of pension schemes, including during the Westminster Hall debate regarding Pension Funds: Financial and Ethical Investments on the 22 May 2019:</p><p> </p><p>“For too long there has been a perception by too many trustees -I am happy to clarify this as a Government Minister- that the environmental practices of the firms they invest in are purely ethical concerns, which they do not need to worry about: that is utterly wrong. Aside from the ethical considerations, there are real financial risks resulting from climate change. With the long-term horizons of pension investing, trustees must now consider that when they set out their investment strategies. Trustees who do not consider those matters will be breaching their statutory and potentially their fiduciary duties not only to current but future members.”</p><p> </p><p>The full debate can be viewed here:</p><p><a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2019-05-22/debates/D3194408-7581-4635-AEDC-6D22AD6F0EBC/PensionFundsFinancialAndEthicalInvestments" target="_blank">https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2019-05-22/debates/D3194408-7581-4635-AEDC-6D22AD6F0EBC/PensionFundsFinancialAndEthicalInvestments</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 259913 question first answered 13/06/2019 11:32:49 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy

1129833

	registered interest
	date	04/06/2019
	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, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on encouraging local government pensions funds to divest from carbon-intensive industries and fossil fuels.
	tabling member constituency	Bristol East
	tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
	uin	259915
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/06/2019 answer text <p>The DWP has regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. However, much like with trustees of occupational pension schemes, the local pension committees of the individual Local Government Pension Funds are responsible for their own investment decisions.</p><p> </p><p>As I said during the Westminster Hall debate regarding Pension Funds: Financial and Ethical Investments on the 22 May 2019:</p><p> </p><p>“For too long there has been a perception by too many trustees -I am happy to clarify this as a Government Minister- that the environmental practices of the firms they invest in are purely ethical concerns, which they do not need to worry about: that is utterly wrong. Aside from the ethical considerations, there are real financial risks resulting from climate change. With the long-term horizons of pension investing, trustees must now consider that when they set out their investment strategies. Trustees who do not consider those matters will be breaching their statutory and potentially their fiduciary duties not only to current but future members.”</p><p> </p><p>The full debate can be viewed here:</p><p><a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2019-05-22/debates/D3194408-7581-4635-AEDC-6D22AD6F0EBC/PensionFundsFinancialAndEthicalInvestments" target="_blank">https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2019-05-22/debates/D3194408-7581-4635-AEDC-6D22AD6F0EBC/PensionFundsFinancialAndEthicalInvestments</a></p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 13/06/2019 11:07:47 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy

1130006

	registered interest
	date	05/06/2019
	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, what discussions she has had with representatives from the pensions industry on (a) the divestment of pensions funds from carbon-intensive industries and fossil fuels and (b) incorporating climate-related risk into their investment decision-making.
	tabling member constituency	Dulwich and West Norwood
	tabling member printed	Helen Hayes
	uin	260692
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/06/2019 answer text <p>The Governments wants to support trustees in making responsible investment decisions. However, it does not seek to direct pension schemes to invest or divest in any particular way.</p><p>We recognise that climate change is a key national and international issue and we have made sure that pension schemes understand their role responding to its effects. In September 2018, following extensive consultation with the pensions industry, this Government laid regulations to clarify that trustees should be taking account of the financial risks of climate change when developing their investment strategies. The regulations come into force from October this year. The FCA are consulting on corresponding provisions for workplace personal pension schemes. As the Minister for Pensions and Financial Inclusion I have spoken extensively about the new requirements and the Government expectations of pension schemes, including at the Westminster Hall debate regarding Pension Funds: Financial and Ethical Investments on the 22 May 2019:</p><p>“For too long there has been a perception by too many trustees -I am happy to clarify this as a Government Minister- that the environmental practices of the firms they invest in are purely ethical concerns, which they do not need to worry about: that is utterly wrong. Aside from the ethical considerations, there are real financial risks resulting from climate change. With the long-term horizons of pension investing, trustees must now consider that when they set out their investment strategies. Trustees who do not consider those matters will be breaching their statutory and potentially their fiduciary duties not only to current but future members.”</p><p>The full debate can be viewed here:</p><p><a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2019-05-22/debates/D3194408-7581-4635-AEDC-6D22AD6F0EBC/PensionFundsFinancialAndEthicalInvestments" target="_blank">https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2019-05-22/debates/D3194408-7581-4635-AEDC-6D22AD6F0EBC/PensionFundsFinancialAndEthicalInvestments</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 260693 question first answered 12/06/2019 14:07:04 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4510 label Biography information for Helen Hayes

1130008

	registered interest
	date	05/06/2019
	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, what steps the Government is taking to encourage the pension industry to (a) divest pension funds from carbon-intensive industries and fossil fuels and (b) adopt the recommendations of The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures in their reporting structures.
	tabling member constituency	Dulwich and West Norwood
	tabling member printed	Helen Hayes
	uin	260693
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/06/2019 answer text <p>The Governments wants to support trustees in making responsible investment decisions. However, it does not seek to direct pension schemes to invest or divest in any particular way.</p><p>We recognise that climate change is a key national and international issue and we have made sure that pension schemes understand their role responding to its effects. In September 2018, following extensive consultation with the pensions industry, this Government laid regulations to clarify that trustees should be taking account of the financial risks of climate change when developing their investment strategies. The regulations come into force from October this year. The FCA are consulting on corresponding provisions for workplace personal pension schemes. As the Minister for Pensions and Financial Inclusion I have spoken extensively about the new requirements and the Government expectations of pension schemes, including at the Westminster Hall debate regarding Pension Funds: Financial and Ethical Investments on the 22 May 2019:</p><p>“For too long there has been a perception by too many trustees -I am happy to clarify this as a Government Minister- that the environmental practices of the firms they invest in are purely ethical concerns, which they do not need to worry about: that is utterly wrong. Aside from the ethical considerations, there are real financial risks resulting from climate change. With the long-term horizons of pension investing, trustees must now consider that when they set out their investment strategies. Trustees who do not consider those matters will be breaching their statutory and potentially their fiduciary duties not only to current but future members.”</p><p>The full debate can be viewed here:</p><p><a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2019-05-22/debates/D3194408-7581-4635-AEDC-6D22AD6F0EBC/PensionFundsFinancialAndEthicalInvestments" target="_blank">https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2019-05-22/debates/D3194408-7581-4635-AEDC-6D22AD6F0EBC/PensionFundsFinancialAndEthicalInvestments</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 260692 question first answered 12/06/2019 14:07:04 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4510 label Biography information for Helen Hayes

1133719

	registered interest
	date	20/06/2019
	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, if she will publish a Pensions Bill before the summer recess.
	tabling member constituency	Canterbury
	tabling member printed	Rosie Duffield
	uin	267344
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2019 answer text <p>This Government is committed to legislation to facilitate collective defined contribution schemes. The Government has recently published responses to a series of consultations, and have engaged extensively with key stakeholders and the Pensions Regulator.</p><p>In these we have committed to strengthen the Pensions Regulator’s powers to both enforce pensions 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>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 grouped question UIN 267345 267346 question first answered 25/06/2019 16:22:18 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4616 label Biography information for Rosie Duffield

1133720

	registered interest
	date	20/06/2019
	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, if she bring forward legislative proposals before the summer recess to introduce collective defined contribution pension schemes.
	tabling member constituency	Canterbury
	tabling member printed	Rosie Duffield
	uin	267345
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2019 answer text <p>This Government is committed to legislation to facilitate collective defined contribution schemes. The Government has recently published responses to a series of consultations, and have engaged extensively with key stakeholders and the Pensions Regulator.</p><p>In these we have committed to strengthen the Pensions Regulator’s powers to both enforce pensions 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>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 grouped question UIN 267344 267346 question first answered 25/06/2019 16:22:18 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4616 label Biography information for Rosie Duffield

1135298

	registered interest
	date	27/06/2019
	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 it is her Department's policy that pension schemes can already invest in funds with performance fees.
	tabling member constituency	Wallasey
	tabling member printed	Ms Angela Eagle
	uin	270297
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/07/2019 answer text <p>Private Pension schemes which are not used for automatic enrolment are free to invest in funds with performance fees.</p><p> </p><p>To protect savers who are automatically enrolled into a pension scheme and make no choice of investment fund, the Government introduced a charge cap on 6 April 2015. Performance fees have always been subject to the charge cap. However, the way that schemes used for automatic enrolment verify compliance with the charge cap limits the use of most performance fees.</p><p> </p><p>Earlier this year DWP consulted on proposals to extend the ways that pension schemes verify compliance with the charge cap to accommodate performance fees (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/defined-contribution-pensions-investments-and-consolidation" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/defined-contribution-pensions-investments-and-consolidation</a>), as long as members invested over the whole year were not charged more than 0.75% of their funds under management or an equivalent combination charge.</p><p> </p><p>Our consultation met with broad support. We are considering next steps, but we do not intend to remove performance fees – in any form – from the automatic enrolment charge cap.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 03/07/2019 14:05:10 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman previous answer version 126653 answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	491 label Biography information for Dame Angela Eagle

1135930

	registered interest
	date	01/07/2019
	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, how many and what proportion of non-advised pension savers used a face-to-face or telephone appointment with the Pension Wise guidance service when accessing their pension benefits in each of the last four years since its introduction.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Erdington
	tabling member printed	Jack Dromey
	uin	271426
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/07/2019 answer text <p>Below are the number of people who have sought guidance from Pension Wise year on year. As well as face-to-face and telephone appointments, since 2017 Pension Wise have also provided digital appointments. Information on the proportions of non-advised pension savers accessing their pension is not available. Over 50s with Defined Contribution pensions are eligible for guidance appointments with Pension Wise. Some of these customers may go on to seek independent financial advice.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Face to Face</p></td><td><p>Telephone</p></td><td><p>Digital</p></td><td><p>Total</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p>40,989</p></td><td><p>19,950</p></td><td><p>NA</p></td><td><p>60,939</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>48,413</p></td><td><p>17,761</p></td><td><p>NA</p></td><td><p>66,174</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>63,185</p></td><td><p>24,289</p></td><td><p>34677</p></td><td><p>122,151</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018/19</p></td><td><p>90,448</p></td><td><p>39,667</p></td><td><p>37,611</p></td><td><p>167,726</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 09/07/2019 13:51:34 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	3913 label Biography information for Jack Dromey