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168617

registered interest
date	08/12/2014
answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Fire Services: Pensions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the conclusion in Dr Tony William's report entitled Normal Pension Age for Firefighters, published in December 2012, in paragraph 12.2.6, that more women are likely to drop below the required aerobic fitness standard as they age, what assessment he has made of (a) the ability of women firefighters to maintain aerobic fitness as they age relative to men and (b) whether the provisions of the Firefighters' Pension Scheme (England) Regulations 2014 disadvantage women firefighters relative to men.
tabling member constituency	Leeds Central
tabling member printed	Hilary Benn
uin	217754
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/12/2014 answer text <p>Dr Tony Williams, Medical Director of Working Fit, was commissioned to review the Normal Pension Age for firefighters. Dr Williams found that the decline in fitness for women follows a similar rate to men when activity levels and body mass index are similar. Dr Williams also established that firefighters who remain physically active and maintain a health lifestyle should still be operational at age 60.</p><p> </p><p><br>Fifty six percent of regular and retained female firefighters are members of the New Firefighters’ Pension Scheme 2006, which already has a Normal Pension Age of 60. These women will see no change to their Normal Pension Age as a result of the reforms. Due to the transitional protections in place, no firefighter will have to work beyond their current Normal Pension Age until beyond 2022.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 11/12/2014 16:54:58 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	413 label Biography information for Hilary Benn

89995

registered interest
date	01/09/2014
answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Fire Services: Pensions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will provide additional funds to Essex Fire and Rescue Service to cover the cost of payments to the Firefighters Injury Pension scheme incurred in each financial year since 2006.
tabling member constituency	Colchester
tabling member printed	Sir Bob Russell
uin	207773
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2014 answer text <p>The regulations governing the Firefighters’ Pension Schemes set out which payments are eligible for annual pension top-up grant claims by fire and rescue authorities and is paid by the Department. The statutory ‘<em>Guidance for fire and rescue authorities on new financial arrangements for firefighter pensions with effect from April 2006</em>’ issued by the Department in 2006 provides guidance for fire and rescue authorities to implement the finance arrangements, including setting out which specific payments are eligible for top-up grant expenditure and which are not eligible. The guidance sets out that injury awards are not eligible expenditure for the top up grant.</p><p> </p><p>We understand that, since the changes were implemented in 2006, Essex Fire and Rescue Authority has incorrectly claimed certain injury payments as eligible expenditure through the top-up grant. We are in discussions with the fire authority on this issue.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 09/09/2014 15:32:30 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	35 label Biography information for Sir Bob Russell

89515

registered interest
date	29/08/2014
answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Fire Services: Pensions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will introduce transitional protection in the proposed 2015 pension scheme for those firefighters who joined the service and the pension scheme at age 18 years, and will have made a full contribution before the earliest age at which they could retire within the scheme.
tabling member constituency	West Ham
tabling member printed	Lyn Brown
uin	207279
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2014 answer text <p>The Firefighters' Pension Scheme 2015 does not have a cap on the amount of pension that a firefighter can earn. This means that every year that the firefighter pays employee contributions into the 2015 scheme, they will earn more pension. This is the case whatever age the firefighter joined the 2015 scheme, including if they transferred across from the Firefighters' Pension Scheme 1992 after joining at age 18.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 05/09/2014 13:32:12 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	1583 label Biography information for Ms Lyn Brown

89516

registered interest
date	29/08/2014
answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Fire Services: Pensions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy that the firefighters' pension scheme be subject to a formal actuarial evaluation every three years.
tabling member constituency	West Ham
tabling member printed	Lyn Brown
uin	207278
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2014 answer text <p>Valuations of the Firefighters' Pension Schemes in England are undertaken in accordance with Directions issued by the Treasury under the Public Service Pensions Act 2013. The Directions ensure that valuations of the Firefighters' Pension Schemes are carried out every four years and that there is a transparent and consistent approach to valuations across public service pension schemes.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 05/09/2014 13:34:06 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	1583 label Biography information for Ms Lyn Brown

78388

registered interest
date	16/07/2014
answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Fire Services: Pensions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential liability to Government should the take-up rate in the proposed 2015 firefighters' pension scheme be lower than anticipated.
tabling member constituency	West Ham
tabling member printed	Lyn Brown
uin	206187
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/08/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The Government is committed to providing good quality public service pension schemes and encouraging saving for retirement. Firefighters will continue to get one of the most generous public service pensions available – over £19,000 at age 60 after a full career (based on a firefighters’ salary of £29,000). Many firefighters who transfer to the firefighters’ pension scheme 2015 will see a reduction in their employee contribution rate of around 2 percentage points in 2015-16.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>If a firefighter opts out of the pension scheme, this reduces the long term liability for the taxpayer but increases the short term top-up grant paid by the Department to fund the shortfall in scheme income. Overall, this would be likely to result in a long-term net saving for taxpayers, but we have not undertaken the actuarial work to calculate a precise assessment. This is because we would encourage firefighters to remain in the scheme, given it remains an extremely good defined benefit scheme – an equivalent private pension pot would need over half a million pounds of funding and require firefighters to contribute twice as much.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 21/08/2014 12:08:26 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	1583 label Biography information for Ms Lyn Brown

77875

registered interest
date	15/07/2014
answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Fire Services: Pensions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, for what reasons the actuarial reduction for a firefighter who retires earlier than normal pension age under the proposed new pension scheme for firefighters is calculated from the state pension age and not the scheme's normal pension age.
tabling member constituency	West Ham
tabling member printed	Lyn Brown
uin	205715
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>Under the terms of the Proposed Final Agreement for the firefighters’ pension scheme 2015 in England the actuarial reduction for a firefighter who retired earlier than the scheme’s Normal Pension Age but at the age of 57 or above would have been calculated from the Normal Pension Age. The actuarial reduction for a firefighter who retired between the ages of 55 and 57 would have been calculated from their state pension age. However, in the light of responses received to the second consultation on the firefighters’ pension scheme 2015, the Government decided to reinstate its offer, first made in June 2013, under which all actuarial reductions in the case of early retirement are calculated from the Normal Pension Age. This decision was communicated in a letter to Chief Fire Officers and Chairs of fire authorities on 9 July 2014. The letter can be found at</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/firefighters-pension-scheme-reforms" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/firefighters-pension-scheme-reforms</a> and I have placed a copy in the Library of the House.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 21/07/2014 15:17:59 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	1583 label Biography information for Ms Lyn Brown

77876

registered interest
date	15/07/2014
answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Fire Services: Pensions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether a formal valuation of the existing firefighters' pensions schemes has been carried out since the Government Actuary's Department published its formal valuation in 2009.
tabling member constituency	West Ham
tabling member printed	Lyn Brown
uin	205716
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The Government Actuary’s Department is currently undertaking a valuation of the firefighters’ pension schemes in England as at 31 March 2012, which is expected to report later this year. There have been no other valuations of the schemes since 2009.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 21/07/2014 15:20:23 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	1583 label Biography information for Ms Lyn Brown

77883

registered interest
date	15/07/2014
answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Fire Services: Pensions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the annual administrative costs of the firefighters pension scheme 1992 and the new firefighters pension scheme 2006.
tabling member constituency	West Ham
tabling member printed	Lyn Brown
uin	205754
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The Firefighters’ Pension Schemes are administered locally by individual fire and rescue authorities. No assessment has been made of the administrative costs of the schemes by this Department.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt grouped question UIN 205713 question first answered 22/07/2014 13:40:14 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	1583 label Biography information for Ms Lyn Brown

77886

registered interest
date	15/07/2014
answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Fire Services: Pensions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether the Government Actuary's Department has considered what accrual rate for the proposed 2015 firefighters' pension scheme would allow retirement at 55 without an actuarial reduction.
tabling member constituency	West Ham
tabling member printed	Lyn Brown
uin	205755
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>A reformed firefighters’ pension scheme that provided for early retirement before the Normal Pension Age of 60, without an actuarial reduction, would be unlawful under the terms of the Public Service Pensions Act 2013.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 21/07/2014 15:22:44 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	1583 label Biography information for Ms Lyn Brown

77888

registered interest
date	15/07/2014
answering body	Department for Communities and Local Government
answering dept id	7
answering dept short name	Communities and Local Government
answering dept sort name	Communities and Local Government
hansard heading	Fire Services: Pensions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the administration costs of the proposed 2015 firefighters' pension scheme.
tabling member constituency	West Ham
tabling member printed	Lyn Brown
uin	205713
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>The Firefighters’ Pension Schemes are administered locally by individual fire and rescue authorities. No assessment has been made of the administrative costs of the schemes by this Department.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt grouped question UIN 205754 question first answered 22/07/2014 13:40:14 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	1583 label Biography information for Ms Lyn Brown