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1169792

registered interest
date	09/01/2020
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	Workplace Pensions: West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine
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 people in West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine constituency have (a) opted out after being auto-enrolled into a workplace pension and (b) saved more than the auto-enrolment minimum contribution.
tabling member constituency	West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine
tabling member printed	Andrew Bowie
uin	1780
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/01/2020 answer text <p>Automatic enrolment has achieved a quiet revolution through getting employees into the habit of pension saving. It has reversed the decline in workplace pension participation seen in the decade prior to its introduction. Since automatic enrolment started in 2012 participation rates have been transformed with 87% of eligible employees saving into a workplace pension in 2018, up from 55% in 2012.</p><p> </p><p>The Department does not hold data for individual constituencies in relation to opt outs or the number of individuals who have saved above the automatic enrolment minimum contribution level. However, we do know that overall around 9% of automatically enrolled workers have chosen to opt out which is significantly below original estimates; and our latest evaluation report shows that, in April 2017, approximately 5.9 million eligible employees were already meeting the April 2019 minimum contribution rates.</p><p> </p><p>I am providing the following information about the impact of automatic enrolment in your constituency, as of November 2019.</p><p> </p><p>In the West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine constituency, since 2012, approximately 10,000 eligible jobholders have been automatically enrolled and 1,870 employers have met their duties.</p><p> </p><p>Automatic Enrolment Evaluation Report 2018, available via the following weblink: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/764964/Automatic_Enrolment_Evaluation_Report_2018.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/764964/Automatic_Enrolment_Evaluation_Report_2018.pdf</a>.</p><p> </p><p>The Pensions Regulator’s data on Automatic enrolment declaration of compliance by constituency, available via the following weblink: https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/document-library/research-and-analysis/data-requests</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 13/01/2020 14:20:06 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4601 label Biography information for Andrew Bowie

1169824

registered interest
date	09/01/2020
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	Universal Credit: Telephone Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she will make it her policy that all universal credit claimants making phone calls to her Department should be informed that staff can phone them back free of charge.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	1663
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2020 answer text <p>The Department takes seriously the need to support claimants, and wants Universal Credit to be easy to access. It is designed to be a ‘digital-first’ service, ensuring we make best use of technology to deliver a modern and effective working-age welfare system. This allows our staff to concentrate on those people who require additional support through different channels.</p><p> </p><p>Since 29 November 2017 all Universal Credit telephone lines are Freephone ‘0800’ numbers. Once connected to this service, a virtual telephone network will route the call to the most appropriate agent available with required skills to support the caller. Should a claimant call a previous chargeable Universal Credit telephone number, they will be redirected to our current numbers and the call will terminate.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 14/01/2020 15:19:44 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1169826

registered interest
date	09/01/2020
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	Universal Credit: Telephone Services
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 universal credit claimants who have been offered a free of charge call back by her Department have accepted that offer in the latest period for which figures are available.
tabling member constituency	East Ham
tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
uin	1664
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2020 answer text <p>The Department does not hold the data requested.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 14/01/2020 15:22:58 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

1169837

registered interest
date	09/01/2020
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	Carer's Allowance
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 have been prosecuted for Carer's Allowance (a) overpayments and (b) wrongful payment in the last 10 years.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	1757
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2020 answer text <p>To provide this information would incur a disproportionate cost to the Department.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The Department would only seek to prosecute an individual where there was strong evidence to suggest that the individual had committed benefit fraud.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 14/01/2020 12:58:21 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1169838

registered interest
date	09/01/2020
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	Department for Work and Pensions: Disclosure of Information
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 her Department's policy on whistleblowing.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	1758
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2020 answer text <p>DWP supports the right of employees to raise any concerns they have about alleged wrongdoing and to be able to do this confidentially, if they wish, without fear of retribution. Within DWP, we encourage this and a Whistleblowing Policy is already published on the Department’s Intranet and is accessible by all employees. A copy of this policy will be placed in the Library of the House.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 14/01/2020 16:17:46 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1169844

registered interest
date	09/01/2020
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	Independent Case Examiner
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints regarding quality of service were received by the Independent Case Examiner in 2018-19; and how many of those complaints related to delays in commencing or completing an investigation.
tabling member constituency	Bethnal Green and Bow
tabling member printed	Rushanara Ali
uin	1732
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2020 answer text <p>During the 2018/19 reporting year the Independent Case Examiner’s Office received 418 complaints about the service it provided; of which 289 concerned delays in commencing or completing an investigation (of those 164 took the form of a standard letter, from those complaining about communications associated with changes to women’s State Pension age).</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 14/01/2020 16:08:09 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4138 label Biography information for Rushanara Ali

1169845

registered interest
date	09/01/2020
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	Independent Case Examiner
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons the Independent Case Examiner’s Annual Report for 2018-19 only includes data on the number of weeks taken for a full investigation to be completed from the date of commencement and not from the date on which the complaint was made.
tabling member constituency	Bethnal Green and Bow
tabling member printed	Rushanara Ali
uin	1733
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2020 answer text <p>The Independent Case Examiner (ICE) is an Office Holder, appointed under contract to review complaints about DWP and its contracted service providers. In addition to adjudicating on escalated complaints and making case specific findings and recommendations for redress, the ICE looks to identify wider systemic issues associated with service failures: one of their contractual requirements is to report annually on their work to the Permanent Secretary. DWP provides an Office to support the ICE discharge their contractual obligations, but they have no role in the management of that Office or its resources. Their Annual Report therefore has its focus on findings associated with case examinations and outcomes, rather than the wider administration of the ICE Office.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 14/01/2020 16:15:49 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4138 label Biography information for Rushanara Ali

1169847

registered interest
date	09/01/2020
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	Independent Case Examiner
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average length of time taken was by the Independent Case Examiner to (a) begin and (b) complete an investigation into a complaint against her Department in the first six months of 2019.
tabling member constituency	Bethnal Green and Bow
tabling member printed	Rushanara Ali
uin	1734
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2020 answer text <p>In the first six months of 2019 (January to June 2019) it took the Independent Case Examiner’s Office an average of: 59 weeks to commence an investigation (from the point at which the complaint was accepted for examination); and 23 weeks to complete an investigation (from the point at which it was allocated to an investigation case manager).</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 14/01/2020 16:08:45 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4138 label Biography information for Rushanara Ali

1169575

registered interest
date	08/01/2020
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	Social Security Benefits: Wales
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints her Department received in relation to processing claims for (a) universal credit and (b) personal independence payments in Wales in the last six months.
tabling member constituency	Cardiff South and Penarth
tabling member printed	Stephen Doughty
uin	1436
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2020 answer text <p>The customer’s address is not a mandatory field when registering complaints on the Department’s complaints system. From the available data, the Department has received a total of 13 Universal Credit and 22 Personal Independence Payment complaints in relation to processing claims for Wales during the period July to December 2019.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 14/01/2020 16:11:45 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4264 label Biography information for Stephen Doughty

1169090

registered interest
date	07/01/2020
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	Thomas Cook: Insolvency
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 implications for her policies of reports that former Thomas Cook staff are having difficulties accessing and navigating the benefits system.
tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
uin	1038
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2020 answer text <p>The Department is offering a range of support to anyone affected by the closure of Thomas Cook, through our Rapid Response Service (RRS) and wider services. This is designed to give practical support and advice to employers and their employees when faced with redundancy.</p><p> </p><p>The RRS is delivered in partnership with a range of national and local partners, including National Careers Service and local service providers. It was mobilised for former Thomas Cook employees to help people find a new job as soon as possible by offering tailored and individual support. Each Jobcentre Plus district area deploys resources according to the local situation and the needs of their claimants.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, Citizens Advice (England and Wales) and Citizens Advice Scotland continue to deliver ‘Help to Claim’ support to claimants making a new Universal Credit claim. Help to Claim have offered locally tailored support to former Thomas Cook employees in need of assistance face to face, and through prioritised telephony and web-chat channels.</p><p> </p><p>The Department keeps information we provide surrounding redundancies under review. This includes how we explain RRS and entitlements to benefits such as New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance and Universal Credit. We are committed to having the right level of resource in place to support and direct people to the correct benefit type.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 14/01/2020 13:09:45 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury