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1142694

registered interest
date	02/09/2019
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, what steps she is taking to increase the take-up of pensions credit by people who are entitled to claim it; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Tewkesbury
tabling member printed	Mr Laurence Robertson
uin	284185
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2019 answer text <p>It is important to highlight that there are over 1.6 million people already claiming some £5.4 billion in Pension Credit but the Government wants to ensure that <em>all</em> pensioners eligible can claim the Pension Credit to which they are rightly entitled.</p><p>On a national basis the DWP targets activity on engaging with people who may be eligible to benefits at pivotal stages, such as when they claim State Pension or report a change in their circumstances. The DWP uses a wide range of channels to communicate information about benefits to potential customers; including information on <a href="https://gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://gov.uk/</a>, in leaflets and by telephone. DWP staff in Pension Centres and Jobcentres including visiting officers are able to provide help and advice about entitlement to benefits, as are staff in Local Authorities who administer Housing Benefit.</p><p>Potential customers can use the Pension Credit <a href="https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit-calculator" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit-calculator</a> to check if they are likely to be eligible and get an estimate of what they may receive. People wishing to claim Pension Credit can do so by calling the Freephone number 0800 99 1234.</p><p>One of the best ways to reach eligible customers is through trusted stakeholder working in the community and we have developed the Pension Credit toolkit, as an on-line tool for agencies and welfare rights organisations to use in order to encourage Pension Credit take-up. It can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkit" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkit</a></p><p>The toolkit contains resources for anyone working with pensioners and includes guides to Pension Credit. It also contains publicity material and guidance designed to help older people understand how they could get Pension Credit and help organisations support someone applying for Pension Credit as well as ideas for encouraging take-up. The toolkit also provides links to information about disability and carers benefits.</p><p>Most recently we have provided to relevant stakeholders a fact sheet about Pension Credit and the changes introduced on 15 May for mixed age couples to ensure that accurate information is available in the places where people are most likely to seek information.</p><p /> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 05/09/2019 10:59:09 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	253 label Biography information for Mr Laurence Robertson

1142752

registered interest
date	02/09/2019
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: British Nationals Abroad
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 take steps to ensure that state pensions for UK citizens living overseas increase at the same rate as pensions for pensioners who remain in the UK.
tabling member constituency	Warrington South
tabling member printed	Faisal Rashid
uin	284333
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2019 answer text <p>The UK State Pension is payable worldwide. It is up-rated for overseas residents where there is a legal requirement to do so and it is up-rated abroad at the same rate as in the UK. <strong> </strong></p><p /> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 05/09/2019 15:31:04 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4670 label Biography information for Faisal Rashid

1142927

registered interest
date	02/09/2019
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: Females
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has any plans to (a) change the rules on the state pension age for women and (b) compensate those affected by the change in rules.
tabling member constituency	Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk
tabling member printed	John Lamont
uin	284405
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/09/2019 answer text <p>Successive Governments have made necessary decisions to equalise and increase the State Pension age. State Pension age reform has focused on maintaining the right balance between sustainability of State Pension, equality and fairness between generations in the face of demographic change.</p><p> </p><p>Even after equalising women’s State Pension age with men’s, women will spend more than 2 years longer on average in receipt of their state pension because of their longer life expectancy. If we had not equalised State Pension age, women would be expected to spend on average over 40 per cent of their adult lives in retirement.</p><p> </p><p>During the passage of the Pensions Act 2011, the Government listened to the concerns of those affected and this is why we introduced a concession worth over £1 billion in order to limit the impact on those women who would be most affected by the changes. This concession reduced the proposed increase in State Pension age for over 450,000 men and women, and means that no woman will see her pension age change by more than 18 months, relative to the 1995 Act timetable.</p><p> </p><p>For people who simply can’t work, our welfare system will continue to provide a strong safety net, as it does for people of all ages now. Any women experiencing hardship, including problems such as unemployment, disability, and coping with caring responsibilities, can already claim support from the welfare system. The Government is committed to supporting the vulnerable and spends over £50 billion a year on benefits to support disabled people and people with health conditions. The new State Pension is more generous for many women. Over three million women stand to gain an average of £550 extra per year by 2030 as a result of recent State Pension reforms.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 06/09/2019 13:22:12 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4608 label Biography information for John Lamont

1143010

registered interest
date	02/09/2019
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: Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has to ensure maximum uptake of pension credits in Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk constituency.
tabling member constituency	Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk
tabling member printed	John Lamont
uin	284570
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/09/2019 answer text <p>It is important to highlight that there are over 1.6 million people already claiming some £5.4 billion in Pension Credit but the Government wants to ensure that <em>all</em> pensioners eligible can claim the Pension Credit to which they are rightly entitled. In Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk there are around 2,600 pensioners already claiming Pension Credit.</p><p> </p><p>On a national basis the DWP targets activity on engaging with people who may be eligible to benefits at pivotal stages, such as when they claim State Pension or report a change in their circumstances. The DWP uses a wide range of channels to communicate information about benefits to potential customers; including information on <a href="https://gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://gov.uk/</a>, in leaflets and by telephone. DWP staff in Pension Centres and Jobcentres including visiting officers are able to provide help and advice about entitlement to benefits, as are staff in Local Authorities who administer Housing Benefit.</p><p> </p><p>Potential customers can use the Pension Credit Calculator <a href="https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit-calculator" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit-calculator</a> to check if they are likely to be eligible and get an estimate of what they may receive. People wishing to claim Pension Credit can do so by calling the Freephone number 0800 99 1234.</p><p> </p><p>We welcome and encourage initiatives to promote take up of Pension Credit by local organisations who may often be best placed to understand the local circumstances and needs in the community. To help facilitate this, we have developed the Pension Credit toolkit, as an on-line tool for agencies and welfare rights organisations to use in order to encourage Pension Credit take-up. It can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkit" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkit</a></p><p> </p><p>The toolkit contains resources for anyone working with pensioners and includes guides to Pension Credit. It also contains publicity material and guidance designed to help older people understand how they could get Pension Credit and help organisations support someone applying for Pension Credit as well as ideas for encouraging take-up. The toolkit also provides links to information about disability and carers benefits.</p><p> </p><p>Most recently we have provided to relevant stakeholders a fact sheet about Pension Credit and the changes introduced on 15 May for mixed age couples to ensure that accurate information is available in the places where people are most likely to seek information.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 06/09/2019 13:19:25 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4608 label Biography information for John Lamont

1143562

registered interest
date	02/09/2019
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, what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of eligible pensioners claiming pension credit.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
uin	285190
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/09/2019 answer text <p>It is important to highlight that there are over 1.6 million people already claiming some £5.4 billion in Pension Credit but the Government wants to ensure that <em>all</em> pensioners eligible can claim the Pension Credit to which they are rightly entitled.</p><p>On a national basis the DWP targets activity on engaging with people who may be eligible to benefits at pivotal stages, such as when they claim State Pension or report a change in their circumstances. The DWP uses a wide range of channels to communicate information about benefits to potential customers; including information on <a href="https://gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://gov.uk/</a>, in leaflets and by telephone. DWP staff in Pension Centres and Jobcentres including visiting officers are able to provide help and advice about entitlement to benefits, as are staff in Local Authorities who administer Housing Benefit.</p><p> </p><p>Potential customers can use the Pension Credit <a href="https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit-calculator" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit-calculator</a> to check if they are likely to be eligible and get an estimate of what they may receive. People wishing to claim Pension Credit can do so by calling the Freephone number 0800 99 1234.</p><p> </p><p>One of the best ways to reach eligible customers is through trusted stakeholder working in the community and we have developed the Pension Credit toolkit, as an on-line tool for agencies and welfare rights organisations to use in order to encourage Pension Credit take-up. It can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkit" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkit</a></p><p> </p><p>The toolkit contains resources for anyone working with pensioners and includes guides to Pension Credit. It also contains publicity material and guidance designed to help older people understand how they could get Pension Credit and help organisations support someone applying for Pension Credit as well as ideas for encouraging take-up. The toolkit also provides links to information about disability and carers benefits.</p><p> </p><p>Most recently we have provided to relevant stakeholders a fact sheet about Pension Credit and the changes introduced on 15 May for mixed age couples 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 06/09/2019 13:13:15 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1143798

registered interest
date	02/09/2019
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: Females
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 the Secretary of State for Wales on the economic effect of changes to the state pension entitlement age on women in (a) Newport West constituency, (b) Wales and (c) the UK.
tabling member constituency	Newport West
tabling member printed	Ruth Jones
uin	285053
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/09/2019 answer text <p>The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues, including the Secretary of State for Wales, on a range of economic and social issues.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 06/09/2019 13:06:40 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4716 label Biography information for Ruth Jones

1143871

registered interest
date	02/09/2019
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	Post Office Card Account
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason her Department decided to close the Post Office Card Account; and whether her Department has plans to introduce a replacement for that account.
tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
uin	285337
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 09/09/2019 16:34:52 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1143874

registered interest
date	02/09/2019
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	Social Security Benefits: Overpayments
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what processes her Department uses to agree a repayment rate with claimants for over-payments of welfare payments before making collections.
tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
uin	285023
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>The Department seeks to recover benefit overpayments as quickly as possible without creating any undue financial hardship to the claimant. The initial rate of repayment applied for the recovery of a benefit overpayment is calculated based on three factors:</p><p> </p><ul><li>How the overpayment occurred (through either fraud or error).</li><li>Whether the claimant is in work.</li><li>Whether any other deductions are applied to their Universal Credit award which might affect the amount that can be deducted.</li></ul><p>The Department understands that claimants’ individual circumstances can vary widely. If a claimant contacts the Department to say that they cannot afford the proposed rate of repayment, we will discuss this with the claimant and can re-evaluate their repayment rate. This re-evaluation will be based on income and expenditure, alongside internal data and the industry standard credit information we can access, with the aim of agreeing a sustainable rate of repayment.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 09/09/2019 16:29:06 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1143938

registered interest
date	02/09/2019
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	Post Office Card Account
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of the end on the Post Office Card Account on vulnerable people that use that service.
tabling member constituency	Cardiff West
tabling member printed	Kevin Brennan
uin	285121
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2019 answer text <p>The Department’s contract with Post Office Limited for the Post Office Card Account is due to end in 2021.</p><p>For vulnerable customers who are unable to open or operate a standard account, the Department will implement a replacement payment service.</p><p>Customer insight has influenced business requirements for the new service which outline the positive outcomes that must be achieved to ensure that the payment needs of individuals who are in a vulnerable situation are met. This includes the ability to obtain cash payments from a network of payment outlets in their local area (including suburban and rural locations).</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 05/09/2019 11:08:58 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	1400 label Biography information for Kevin Brennan

1142055

registered interest
date	25/07/2019
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	National Employment Savings Trust Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her Department's policy is on ensuring that the investment strategy for NEST remains independent.
tabling member constituency	Wallasey
tabling member printed	Ms Angela Eagle
uin	282209
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>The Nest Corporation is the Trustee of the National Employment Savings Trust (Nest) pension scheme. It is a public corporation, established by the Government in 2010 to support the delivery of automatic enrolment. Nest has more than 8 million members and assets under management of over £6 billion.</p><p> </p><p>The Nest Corporation operates independently of central Government and is responsible for the day to day operation of the scheme, including its approach to investments. The Pensions Act 2008 establishes that investment decisions in the Nest pension scheme are the responsibility of the Trustee, in accordance with existing trust and pension law. This ensures that investment decisions remain independent and are made free from political pressures. Nest Corporation has sole power to invest the assets of Nest.</p><p> </p><p>Like every other Trustee, Nest Corporation has a duty to run the scheme in the best interest of its members. The Trustee of Nest produces a Statement of Investment Principles which sets out how the Trustee will invest Nest members’ money. The Statement of Investment Principles is prepared in accordance with all relevant legislation and best practice guidelines. It outlines the principles and policies governing investment decisions made by, or on behalf of, the Trustee for the management of Nest’s assets.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 282210 question first answered 03/09/2019 15:14:19 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	491 label Biography information for Dame Angela Eagle