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1469606

	registered interest
	date	13/06/2022
	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	Employment and Support Allowance
	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 potential impact of not providing supplementary fuel payments to people who receive Contributory Employment and Support Allowance on those claimants.
	tabling member constituency	Falkirk
	tabling member printed	John McNally
	uin	16994
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2022 answer text <p>Winter Fuel Payments are an age-related payment payable to those who have reached state pension age. The payment provides reassurance to older customers that Government help is available during the winter months to help with their energy bills. This winter 2022/23 winter fuel payments will be increased by £300 and households with someone of state pension age and under 80 will receive £500 and households with someone aged 80 or over will receive £600.</p><p> </p><p>Cold Weather Payments are made to people in receipt of certain income-related benefits. People who receive contribution-based benefits, such as contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance, are not eligible for Cold Weather Payments. This is because the Cold Weather Payment scheme was specifically designed to target the most vulnerable people in society, by providing help with additional heating costs during periods of severe weather. The Government firmly believes that the fairest way of managing this is by linking eligibility to income-related benefits, as this ensures that public funds are used in the most effective way possible.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 20/06/2022 14:21:50 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4424 label Biography information for John McNally

1244841

	registered interest
	date	20/10/2020
	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	Children: Maintenance
	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 paying parents who receive income from rental property being required to pay more in child maintenance payments as a result of changes in the calculation of their gross income, if she will make a make an assessment of (a) the equity of that policy, (b) the effect of those changes on the amount affected individuals are required to pay and (b) the effect on paying parents affected by those circumstances.
	tabling member constituency	Falkirk
	tabling member printed	John McNally
	uin	106380
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/10/2020 answer text <p>We believe that both parents have a financial responsibility to contribute towards the cost of bringing up their child. The calculation represents an amount of money that is broadly similar to the amount that a paying parent would spend on the child if they were still living with them.</p><p> </p><p>Variations of a Child Maintenance calculation can be requested on grounds of unearned income; such as rental income from property or land, where the paying parent receives unearned income of at least £2,500 a year. This amount is then included in the gross income figure used to calculate the amount of maintenance owed.</p><p> </p><p>As landlords can claim tax relief for certain costs linked to their properties, the rental income used in the calculation is usually net of HMRC allowable expenses (i.e. mortgages, maintenance of the property, rent, ground rent and service charges).</p><p> </p><p>The Service runs through broad rules set out in child support legislation. The statutory scheme aims to provide the best overall outcome and protect the welfare of all of its clients.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 23/10/2020 13:18:11 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4424 label Biography information for John McNally

1400050

	registered interest
	date	05/01/2022
	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: Medical Equipment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of financial support available to people who operate and require the use of medical equipment within their homes.
	tabling member constituency	Falkirk
	tabling member printed	John McNally
	uin	98328
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/01/2022 answer text <p>We are committed to supporting disabled people and people with health conditions to realise their potential and live independently. Dedicated financial support for equipment at home is available to some disabled people and can be explored through <a href="https://www.gov.uk/apply-home-equipment-for-disabled" target="_blank">Apply for equipment for your home if you're disabled - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a> or <a href="https://www.gov.uk/financial-help-disabled" target="_blank">Financial help if you're disabled - GOV.UK</a>.</p><p> </p><p>The Department recognises the extra costs disabled people can face in their everyday lives. Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance and Personal Independence Payment are intended to help with these extra costs. Claimants are able to use their benefit according to their own priorities. These benefits are tax-free, non-contributory and are uprated annually in line with inflation. They are paid in addition to other benefits which someone may be able to receive.</p> answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith question first answered 12/01/2022 12:33:27 answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
	tabling member	4424 label Biography information for John McNally

1484725

	registered interest
	date	29/06/2022
	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	Cost of Living Payments: Universal Credit
	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 make it her policy to allow those in the process of transferring from legacy benefits to Universal Credit to also receive the cost of living support package.
	tabling member constituency	Falkirk
	tabling member printed	John McNally
	uin	27644
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/07/2022 answer text <p>Universal Credit claimants entitled to at least 1p during assessment periods ending between 26 April 2022 to 25 May 2022 will be eligible for the £326 Cost of Living Payment.</p><p> </p><p>Those entitled to a payment of income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance and Income Support on any day in the period 26 April 2022 to 25 May 2022 will be eligible for the first Cost of Living payment.</p><p> </p><p>Finally, tax credit customers who have received a payment, or an annual award of at least £26, of tax credits for any day in the period 26 April 2022 to 25 May 2022 are eligible for the first Cost of Living payment.</p><p> </p><p>This ensures that any legacy benefit customer who met the above qualifying criteria and transferred to Universal Credit during the qualifying period would receive a Cost-of-Living payment through their passporting legacy benefit.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 07/07/2022 14:56:03 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	4424 label Biography information for John McNally

1078451

	registered interest
	date	27/02/2019
	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	State Retirement Pensions
	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 4 July 2018 to Question 160779, how many (a) men and (b) women in private sector pensions schemes were contracted-out between 1978-79 and 1987-88; and how many of those (i) men and (ii) women (A) have reached state retirement age since the introduction of the single tier pension and (B) are still to reach state retirement age.
	tabling member constituency	Falkirk
	tabling member printed	John McNally
	uin	226688
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/03/2019 answer text <p>Under the old State Pension, there was a basic State Pension, based on the number of years of employment, and an earnings-related element (additional State Pension). From 1978 until April 2016 it was possible for employees and employers to contract-out of the additional State Pension (SERPS and, from 6 April 2002, State Second Pension) on condition that the employer provided a pension of, at least, a statutory minimum.</p><p> </p><p>Prior to 1988 contracting-out was restricted to Defined Benefit schemes and there was no individual choice. Until April 2012 it was possible to contract-out by joining a Defined Contribution workplace pension scheme or a personal pension scheme which met certain conditions instead. Contracting-out for salary-related Defined Benefit schemes remained open until 5 April 2016. Contracted-out through a salary-related workplace pension scheme meant that the employee and employer paid lower National Insurance contributions and, in doing so, the employee would receive a lower (or no) additional State Pension. However, they would be receiving a workplace pension instead.</p><p> </p><p>An individual’s basic State Pension is not affected. Separate rules apply if an individual is a member of a salary-related pension scheme before 6 April 1997. These rights, known as the Guaranteed Minimum Pension, cannot be taken before age 65 (men) or 60 (women). Contracting-out finally ended on 6 April 2016, and this means that all employees now pay the same rate of NI.</p><p> </p><p>The specific information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 07/03/2019 11:11:00 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4424 label Biography information for John McNally

1420277

	registered interest
	date	07/02/2022
	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	Social Security Benefits: Cost of Living
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the sufficiency of legacy benefits in supporting constituents with rising fuel costs and costs of living; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of backdating the £20 uplift to those who were ineligible.
	tabling member constituency	Falkirk
	tabling member printed	John McNally
	uin	119651
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/02/2022 answer text <p>The uplift to Universal Credit was a temporary measure. We have no plans to complete an assessment of backdating it.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 11/02/2022 14:43:34 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
	tabling member	4424 label Biography information for John McNally

1105758

	registered interest
	date	27/03/2019
	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	Work Capability Assessment
	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 whether Maximus is meeting the SC12 and SC13 targets in schedule 2.2 of the Health and Disability Assessment Services contract; and whether the Government collates data from individual assessment centres on those targets.
	tabling member constituency	Falkirk
	tabling member printed	John McNally
	uin	237797
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2019 answer text <p>The supplier aims to deliver quality assessments as efficiently as possible. Our priority is to ensure that claimants who attend an assessment centre are seen and the supplier is achieving the SC1<ins class="ministerial">3</ins><del class="ministerial">2</del> target which measures the percentage of claimants sent home unseen. Currently, more people are waiting longer in assessment centres than we would like; the supplier is currently just below the SC1<ins class="ministerial">2</ins><del class="ministerial">3</del> target level which measures waiting times in assessment centres. SC12 and SC13 are national contractual service levels, but the Department does monitor performance at assessment centre-level. We are working closely with the supplier to improve waiting times for more claimants while ensuring the length of the assessment meets the individual claimant’s needs and claimants who attend for an assessment are seen.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 04/04/2019 13:46:25 question first ministerially corrected 29/04/2019 16:36:42 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson previous answer version 112078 answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4424 label Biography information for John McNally

934702

	registered interest
	date	04/07/2018
	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
	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 report, The impact of state pension reforms on people with guaranteed minimum pensions, published by the National Audit Office in March 2016, what steps her Department has taken to identify people with guaranteed minimum pensions affected by the introduction of the new State Pension; and what guidance her Department has issued to affected people to help them make informed decisions on their future pension arrangements.
	tabling member constituency	Falkirk
	tabling member printed	John McNally
	uin	160779
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/07/2018 answer text <p>The impact of recent pension reforms on people who were contracted out of the additional pension system (and therefore have an entitlement to a guaranteed minimum pension as part of their private pension provision) is dependent on personal circumstances, and there are a multitude of scenarios which can result in a range of different outcomes, both positive and negative. It is not, therefore, practical for government to give general advice to this group; and nor is it an effective use of resources to issue personalised advice to everyone in this situation. The best way for someone who is has been contracted out to find out their state pension provision, and therefore plan their overall later life finances, is to use the ‘Check your state pension’ service.</p><p>The forecasts contained in the Check your State Pension service, as far as is practical, take all impacts into account for an individual when determining their state pension entitlement. Since February 2016, over nine million Check your State Pension forecasts have been viewed.</p><p>In the paper ‘New State Pension: impact on an individual’s pension entitlement – longer term effects’ published by the Department on 14 January 2016, we said:</p><p><em>The final group potentially affected by changes in uprating mechanisms are those who have been contracted-out of the additional pension system at some point in their working life. This is particularly the case where people were contracted-out between 1978/79 and 1987/88. Under the current system these people are awarded an amount of SERPS which is uprated by CPI once in payment. A contracted-out deduction is also made to account for the fact they paid a lower rate of National Insurance, which reduces the amount of SERPS they receive. The individual receives a broadly equivalent amount to the contracted-out deduction of Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) which is paid by the scheme. There is no requirement on schemes under general occupational pensions and social security legislation to uprate GMPs accrued between 1978/79 and 1987/88. Therefore under the current State Pension system contracted-out deductions relating to this period are not uprated. Since SERPs is uprated by CPI, the amount of SERPS received after a contracting-out deduction is made can grow over time. This complex arrangement will end under the new State Pension system and could lead to some people getting a lower notional outcome.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em>However, there are two key factors that offset these potential notional losses. Firstly, this group will be highly likely to benefit from more of their pension being uprated by the triple lock as explained above. Secondly, people with periods of contracting-out on their National Insurance record are likely to be able to build additional qualifying years from 2016/17 which will add 1/35th of the full nSP amount to the amount they receive, up to the full rate.</em></p><p>We have reformed the system to replace it with a simpler one for the future which allows people a clear idea early in their careers of what the state will provide, so they can make their own additional savings plans. www.gov.uk/check-state-pension</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 10/07/2018 15:11:37 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4424 label Biography information for John McNally

1194143

	registered interest
	date	11/05/2020
	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	Females: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	What steps she is taking to ensure that her Department’s response to the covid-19 outbreak does not disadvantage women.
	tabling member constituency	Falkirk
	tabling member printed	John McNally
	uin	902419
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/05/2020 answer text <p>The government is committed to ensuring that the services and benefits it offers works for everyone including women, as we tackle the Covid 19 crisis. This Government has invested over £6.5bn in strengthening the safety net overall, including making changes to the benefits system to ensure claimants receive the support they need. Notably Universal Credit claimants, and people receiving Working Tax Credits, are receiving an increase in the standard rate of up to £1040 per year for the next 12 months, additional to the uprating announced in November 2019.</p><p>Local Housing Allowance rates for Universal Credit and Housing Benefit claimants have also been increased.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 11/05/2020 16:21:20 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4424 label Biography information for John McNally

1122094

	registered interest
	date	18/04/2019
	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	Work Capability Assessment
	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 4 April 2019 to Question 237797 on Work Capability Assessments, what performance is monitored at assessment-centre level; and what proportion of SC12 and SC13 targets were met for each year that Maximus held the contract.
	tabling member constituency	Falkirk
	tabling member printed	John McNally
	uin	245839
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/04/2019 answer text <p>The department monitors Assessment Centre level performance on waiting times (SC12), claimants sent home unseen (SC13) and recent performance trends. Whilst we are able to produce much longer performance trends, the information required to do so is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>The proportion of SC12 and SC13 targets that were met for each year that Maximus has held the contract are shown in the table below: -</p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Contract Period</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of months target was met in each year</strong></p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>SC12</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>SC13</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Year 1 (Mar 2015- Feb 2016)</p></td><td><p>10</p></td><td><p>4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Year 2 (Mar 2016- Feb 2017)</p></td><td><p>3</p></td><td><p>6</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Year 3 (Mar 2017- Feb 2018)</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Year 4 (Mar 2018- Feb 2019)</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>7</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>**Data extracted from the monthly Performance Monitoring reports</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The attached annex (annex A) contains a breakdown of each contract year, showing for each month whether target SC12 and SC13 were met.</p><p>We are continuing to work closely with the supplier to improve waiting times for more claimants.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 30/04/2019 10:33:23 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson attachment 1 file name Annex A.docx title annex A
	tabling member	4424 label Biography information for John McNally