Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed grouped question UIN question first answered question first ministerially corrected answering member label attachment file name title previous answer version answering member constituency answering member printed answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

444564

registered interest
date	13/01/2016
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Workplace Pensions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people who do not qualify to be auto-enrolled into a pension because their qualifying earnings are achieved by income from more than one job.
tabling member constituency	Leeds West
tabling member printed	Rachel Reeves
uin	22296
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/01/2016 answer text <p>The Department’s estimate of this figure can be found in <em>Workplace pensions: Update of analysis on Automatic Enrolment</em>, DWP, available at:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/460867/workplace-pensions-update-analysis-auto-enrolment.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/460867/workplace-pensions-update-analysis-auto-enrolment.pdf</a></p><p>Automatic enrolment was designed to help more people save for their retirement, including lower earners and those with more than one job. We want to ensure that as many people as possible have the opportunity to save for retirement, and we have seen great success in this so far. However, we need to strike a balance between ensuring as many people as possible have access to saving, and administrative simplicity for employers.</p><p>Workers earning more than £10,000 a year (£192 a week) and aged between 22 and state pension age must be automatically enrolled by their employer. Workers who do not qualify for automatic enrolment and who are aged between 16 and 75 years can choose to opt-in to a workplace pension scheme; and if the worker earns more than £5,824 a year (£112 a week) they will be entitled to a mandatory contribution from their employer.</p><br /> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 18/01/2016 14:58:11 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4031 label Biography information for Rachel Reeves

444777

registered interest
date	13/01/2016
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Conditions of Employment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of staff working in his Department are employees on fixed-term contracts.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
uin	22249
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/01/2016 answer text <p>There are 2,006 employees on fixed term contracts out of a workforce of 84,429, which equates to 2.4%.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 19/01/2016 11:43:47 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

444781

registered interest
date	13/01/2016
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Atos Healthcare
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the value is of the personal independence payment assessment contract with ATOS; what the main key performance indicators (KPIs) are under that contract; and what the (a) financial and (b) other penalties are for failure to meet KPIs.
tabling member constituency	Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill
tabling member printed	Phil Boswell
uin	22348
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/01/2016 answer text <p>The Department has two Personal Independence Payment (PIP) contracts with Atos, each covering a geographical area. North of England &amp; Scotland (Lot 1) has a value of £206,703,507. London &amp; South of England (Lot 3) has a value of £183,894,556.</p><br /><p>There are a number of Service Levels (Key Performance Indicators are not used in PIP contracts) which Atos are required to deliver to meet the Department’s service requirements. These are detailed in the attached Annex 1. In addition, a number of interim Service Levels have been introduced to address specific performance targets.</p><br /><p>In the event Atos fail to achieve a key service level, contracts provide for Service Credits to be applied. Service Credits are a contractual remedy applied to Atos to recognise the loss of service received and to ensure any performance issues are rectified quickly.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 19/01/2016 12:10:53 question first ministerially corrected 26/01/2016 17:27:46 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson attachment 1 file name 22348 Annex 1.docx title Annex 1 previous answer version 39773 answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4388 label Biography information for Philip Boswell

444784

registered interest
date	13/01/2016
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Housing Benefit: Burnley
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 in Burnley receive housing benefit.
tabling member constituency	Burnley
tabling member printed	Julie Cooper
uin	22333
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/01/2016 answer text <p>The information requested is published and available at:</p><br /><p><a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk</a></p><br /> <br /><p>Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:</p><br /><p><a href="https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started---SuperWEB2.html" target="_blank">https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started---SuperWEB2.html</a></p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 19/01/2016 11:04:44 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4405 label Biography information for Julie Cooper

444787

registered interest
date	13/01/2016
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	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 estimate he has made of how many people will receive a lower pension credit entitlement as a result of the rise of the single saving credit threshold by 5.8 per cent and of the couples' threshold by 5.5 per cent.
tabling member constituency	Pontypridd
tabling member printed	Owen Smith
uin	22382
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/01/2016 answer text <p>The single rate of the Savings Credit threshold will rise by 5.8 per cent and the couple rate by 5.5 per cent in April 2016; anyone in receipt of Savings Credit will be affected by this change. The latest estimates of Pension Credit recipients split by those in receipt of Guarantee Credit only, Guarantee Credit and Savings Credit, and Savings Credit only are available from the DWP tabtool:</p><p><a href="http://tabulation-tool.dwp.gov.uk/100pc/tabtool.html" target="_blank">http://tabulation-tool.dwp.gov.uk/100pc/tabtool.html</a></p><p>The actual impact of up-rating on someone’s Pension Credit depends on a variety of factors, including the make-up of their other income and how or if it increases annually. For example, the basic State Pension will be increased with earnings under the “triple lock”, and the Standard Minimum Guarantee in Pension Credit will also be increased with earnings. Those in receipt of Savings Credit should be better off overall from April 2016 if their State Pension or other income increases.</p><br /> <br /> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 21/01/2016 09:59:02 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4042 label Biography information for Owen Smith

444788

registered interest
date	13/01/2016
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Winter Fuel Payment: 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, what the results were of temperature tests to determine eligibility to receive winter fuel allowance of people living abroad in 2015.
tabling member constituency	Pontypridd
tabling member printed	Owen Smith
uin	22383
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/01/2016 answer text <p>The winter fuel payment eligibility criteria for people who normally live in the EEA, was changed for winter 2015-16. A temperature criterion was introduced by the DWP using information from a report it commissioned from the Met Office. This report showed the average winter temperature data for each EEA country and Switzerland and for the regions of the UK. The Met Office report was produced in 2012 and used information from a dataset for the reference period 1961-1990 available through the Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia.</p><br /><p>The average winter temperature in the warmest part of the UK, the South West, is 5.6<sup>o</sup>C. This point is the basis for the changes made to the winter fuel payment eligibility criteria. People living in countries with an average winter temperature of no more than 5.6<sup>o</sup>C, or a temperature that is close enough to that to be statistically equivalent, are eligible for a winter fuel payment.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 18/01/2016 12:31:55 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4042 label Biography information for Owen Smith

444789

registered interest
date	13/01/2016
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Winter Fuel Payment: 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, how many temperature tests there were to determine eligibility to receive winter fuel allowance of people living abroad in 2015.
tabling member constituency	Pontypridd
tabling member printed	Owen Smith
uin	22384
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/01/2016 answer text <p>The winter fuel payment eligibility criteria for people who normally live in the EEA, was changed for winter 2015-16. A temperature criterion was introduced by the DWP using information from a report it commissioned from the Met Office. This report showed the average winter temperature data for each EEA country and Switzerland and for the regions of the UK. The Met Office report was produced in 2012 and used information from a dataset for the reference period 1961-1990 available through the Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia.</p><br /><p>The average winter temperature in the warmest part of the UK, the South West, is 5.6<sup>o</sup>C. This point is the basis for the changes made to the winter fuel payment eligibility criteria. People living in countries with an average winter temperature of no more than 5.6<sup>o</sup>C, or a temperature that is close enough to that to be statistically equivalent, are eligible for a winter fuel payment.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 18/01/2016 12:35:53 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4042 label Biography information for Owen Smith

444803

registered interest
date	13/01/2016
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Department for Work and Pensions: Legal Costs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department's legal costs were in Ashley Hurley, Mary Jarrett and Lee Palmer v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, CO/2717/2014 and CO/3220/2014.
tabling member constituency	Pontypridd
tabling member printed	Owen Smith
uin	22377
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/01/2016 answer text <p>The government has to date spent approximately £53,000 on legal costs associated with the case of Hurley and Others v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2015]</p><p>It should be noted that this figure includes VAT where this is payable (e.g. on Counsel’s fees) but do not include costs attributable to the time spent by government advisory lawyers on these cases. Time spent by such advisory lawyers is not recorded in a manner that allows it to be attributed to individual cases. Nor does it include any costs payable by the Secretary of State to the other parties to these cases or received from the other parties.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 19/01/2016 12:23:57 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	4042 label Biography information for Owen Smith

444804

registered interest
date	13/01/2016
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Personal Independence Payment: Disability Premium
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 no longer receive the disability premium following their transfer from receipt of disability living allowance to personal independence payments.
tabling member constituency	Bishop Auckland
tabling member printed	Helen Goodman
uin	22434
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/01/2016 answer text <p>Disability premium is an extra amount automatically added to Income Support or income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) for those who qualify.</p><br /><p>Information on the payment of this premium for those who were also receiving Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and have now transferred to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 19/01/2016 12:01:14 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	1484 label Biography information for Helen Goodman

444310

registered interest
date	12/01/2016
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Personal Independence Payment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of how many claimants for personal independence payment have been asked to pay for a letter from their GP explaining their impairments or disability whilst being moved from disability living allowance to personal independence payment.
tabling member constituency	Edinburgh South
tabling member printed	Ian Murray
uin	22081
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/01/2016 answer text <p>Claimants are advised during the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claim process that they should not request any documents from their GP that they may be charged fees for. Where an Assessment Provider requires further medical evidence to assist in completing the assessment report they may request a GP Factual Report (GPFR). GPs are paid a prearranged fee by assessment providers for GPFRs as the information requested is not included in their contractual agreement. As independent contractors GPs are permitted to charge their patient a fee as the provision of the report is outside their contractual obligations. The BMA provides guidance on appropriate levels of fees for different types of reports.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 22082 question first answered 18/01/2016 14:42:18 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	3966 label Biography information for Ian Murray