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1725582

	registered interest
	date	30/08/2024
	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
	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 an (a) impact statement and (b) equalities impact assessment of means-testing the winter fuel payment.
	tabling member constituency	Hayes and Harlington
	tabling member printed	John McDonnell
	uin	2710
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2024 answer text <p>The Regulations entered into force on 16 September, the first day of the Winter Fuel Payment qualifying week.</p><p> </p><p>A regulatory impact assessment has not been produced for this legislation because the effect is on individuals and private households rather than businesses or voluntary sector organisations.</p><p> </p><p>In making a decision on Winter Fuel Payment eligibility, the Government had regard to an equality analysis in line with the Public Sector Equality Duty requirements. The equality analysis was published on Friday 13th September, and can be found here: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66e479bfe47cfc6de429d713/FOI2024_65546_13_09_24.pdf" target="_blank">FOI2024_65546_13_09_24.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk)</a>.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Wycombe answering member printed Emma Reynolds question first answered 18/09/2024 15:22:49 answering member 4077 label Biography information for Emma Reynolds
	tabling member	178 label Biography information for John McDonnell

1725867

	registered interest
	date	30/08/2024
	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: Women
	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 by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman entitled Women’s State Pension age: our findings on injustice and associated issues, published on 21 March 2024, HC 638, whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of women born in the 1950s who have been affected by the State Pension age changes considered in that report.
	tabling member constituency	Liverpool Riverside
	tabling member printed	Kim Johnson
	uin	3184
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2024 answer text <p>The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s report published on 21 March 2024 considers the communication to 1950s born women of the equalisation and increase of the State Pension age introduced by the Pensions Acts of 1995, 2007 and 2011. The Acts (collectively) increased the State Pension age for all women born after 5 April 1950. Based on current ONS figures it is estimated that there are around 3.5 million women who saw an increase in their State Pension age and were born in the 1950s.</p> answering member constituency Wycombe answering member printed Emma Reynolds question first answered 18/09/2024 14:00:10 answering member 4077 label Biography information for Emma Reynolds
	tabling member	4824 label Biography information for Kim Johnson

1726053

	registered interest
	date	30/08/2024
	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
	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 plans to take to communicate the changes to Winter Fuel Payments to people affected; and what support she plans to provide to help pensioners (a) understand their eligibility and (b) access alternative support.
	tabling member constituency	Leicester East
	tabling member printed	Shivani Raja
	uin	3344
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2024 answer text <p>From mid-October, all pensioners will receive a letter explaining the changes to Winter Fuel Payments this year and encouraging anyone who may eligible to claim Pension Credit by 21st December.</p><p> </p><p>The Winter Fuel Payment page on <a href="https://www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment/eligibility#:~:text=You can get a Winter,Pension Credit" target="_blank">Gov.uk</a> has been updated with the new eligibility rules.</p><p> </p><p>The Department will proceed at pace with its communication campaign to raise awareness of the changes and to promote Pension Credit. This will be followed by a Paid Partnership and national media campaign.  There will then be continued marketing activity promoting the take-up of Pension Credit.</p><p>The Household Support Fund is also being extended for a further six months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025.   An additional £421 million will be provided to enable the extension of the HSF in England, plus funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion, as usual.</p><p>The Warm Home Discount scheme in England and Wales provides eligible low-income households across Great Britain with a £150 rebate on their electricity bill. This winter, we expect over three million households, including over one million pensioners, to benefit under the scheme.</p> answering member constituency Wycombe answering member printed Emma Reynolds question first answered 18/09/2024 16:36:10 answering member 4077 label Biography information for Emma Reynolds
	tabling member	5068

1726090

	registered interest
	date	30/08/2024
	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: Huntingdon
	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 pensioners in Huntingdon constituency will lose winter fuel payment.
	tabling member constituency	Huntingdon
	tabling member printed	Ben Obese-Jecty
	uin	3378
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2024 answer text <p>The Pension Credit data is based on the 2010 Westminster Parliamentary constituencies, not 2024 in order to be comparable with the Winter Fuel Payments statistics.</p><p></p><p>The estimated number of pensioners in Huntingdon constituency who will lose Winter Fuel Payments is 21,148, this equates to a proportion of 93%. This is based on Feb-24 Pension Credit statistics and 22/23 Winter Fuel Payment statistics, (sources below).</p><p> </p><p>The estimation is calculated by subtracting the number of Pension Credit recipients for Huntingdon Constituency (2010 boundary) from the number of Winter Fuel Payment recipients for Huntingdon constituency. Please note that Pension Credit claimants are the majority of those that will be eligible for Winter Fuel Payments, not all. There are other pensioners who are eligible for Winter Fuel Payments (as they claim other means tested benefits) but they are not considered in these figures as it is not possible to do so.</p><p> </p><p>Furthermore, the above does not take into account any potential increase in Pension Credit take-up we might see as a result of the policy change (means testing Winter fuel payments to those on Pension Credit and other means tested benefits). We do not have data on those additional Pension Credit claims by Parliamentary constituencies or local authorities.</p><p> </p><p>Also, the published Pension Credit figures refer to households rather than individuals, so the number of individuals claiming Pension Credit, will be higher (i.e. taking account of households where it is a couple claiming Pension Credit).</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Sources used:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><a href="https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.publishing.service.gov.uk%2Fmedia%2F6507ffd2fc63f6000d9573a0%2Fwinter-fuel-payments-caseload-2022-to-2023.ods&amp;wdOrigin=BROWSELINK" target="_blank">winter-fuel-payments-caseload-2022-to-2023.ods (live.com)</a></p><p> </p><p><a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/jsf/tableView/tableView.xhtml" target="_blank">Stat-Xplore - Table View (dwp.gov.uk)</a> (Feb-24 data)</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Wycombe answering member printed Emma Reynolds question first answered 18/09/2024 08:48:34 answering member 4077 label Biography information for Emma Reynolds
	tabling member	5089

1726164

	registered interest
	date	30/08/2024
	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 and Winter Fuel Payment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate she has made of the number of pensioners not in receipt of Pension Credit living in (a) relative and (b) absolute poverty; and what estimate she has made of the number of additional pensioners who will be living in (i) relative and (ii) absolute poverty as a result of no longer receiving the Winter Fuel Payment.
	tabling member constituency	Lowestoft
	tabling member printed	Jess Asato
	uin	3440
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2024 answer text <p>For the latest year 2022/23, 1.9 million pensioners were in relative poverty after housing costs (AHC). Of these, 1.6 million pensioners were not in receipt of Pension Credit.</p><p>For the latest year 2022/23, 1.4 million pensioners were in absolute poverty AHC. Of these, 1.2 million pensioners were not in receipt of Pension Credit.</p><p> </p><p>A household is in relative poverty if its income is less than 60 per cent of the median household income in a given financial year. ​A household is in absolute poverty if its income is less than 60% of median household income in 2010/11, uprated by inflation.​</p><p> </p><p>‘Households Below Average Income’ provides estimates on the number of and percentage of people living in low-income households based on their household disposable income. As an income measure, it does not include other available resources that might impact on a household’s poverty levels such as savings.</p><p> </p><p>These numbers have been rounded to the nearest 100,000.</p><p> </p><p>This data is available on Stat-Xplore at <a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk</a> in the ‘Households Below Average Income’ dataset.</p><p> </p><p>More Information on the data included in the ‘Households Below Average Income’ dataset can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-for-financial-years-ending-1995-to-2023/households-below-average-income-series-quality-and-methodology-information-report-fye-2023#income-definition" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-for-financial-years-ending-1995-to-2023/households-below-average-income-series-quality-and-methodology-information-report-fye-2023#income-definition</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: <a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html</a>.</p><p> </p><p>An account is not required to use Stat- Xplore, the ‘Guest Login’ feature gives instant access to the main functions.</p><p></p><p>Recognising the wide-ranging causes of pensioner poverty, we will explore how we can use all the available levers we have across government, external partners and local authorities. This includes boosting the uptake of Pension Credit to ensure that the poorest pensioners get the support they need.</p><p> </p><p>We know there are low-income pensioners who aren’t claiming Pension Credit, and we urge those people to apply. This will passport them to receive Winter Fuel Payment alongside a range of other benefits – depending on circumstances, these could be worth hundreds of pounds that could really help them.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Wycombe answering member printed Emma Reynolds question first answered 18/09/2024 16:30:59 answering member 4077 label Biography information for Emma Reynolds
	tabling member	5156

1726196

	registered interest
	date	30/08/2024
	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: Newcastle-under-Lyme
	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 are claiming Pension Credit in Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
	tabling member printed	Adam Jogee
	uin	3480
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2024 answer text <p>Caseload statistics are routinely published and made publicly available via <a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/jsf/dataCatalogueExplorer.xhtml" target="_blank">DWP Stat-xplore</a>. At February 2024, there were 1,878 people claiming Pension Credit in Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Wycombe answering member printed Emma Reynolds question first answered 18/09/2024 08:59:29 answering member 4077 label Biography information for Emma Reynolds
	tabling member	5168

1726357

	registered interest
	date	30/08/2024
	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: South Devon
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of people in South Devon constituency who will be affected by the decision to change eligibility requirements for the winter fuel payment.
	tabling member constituency	South Devon
	tabling member printed	Caroline Voaden
	uin	3541
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2024 answer text <p>To be comparable with the Winter Fuel Payment statistics, the Pension Credit data that has been used is based on the 2010 Westminster Parliamentary constituencies, not 2024.</p><p></p><p>Due to Westminster Constituencies boundary changes, data isn’t explicitly available/ published for South Devon constituency. Therefore, to obtain the above figure, the statistics for Totnes constituency (now abolished and replaced by South Devon constituency) has been used. The estimation is calculated by subtracting the number of Pension Credit recipients for Totnes Constituency from the number of Winter Fuel Payment recipients for Totnes constituency.</p><p></p><p>The estimated number of pensioners in South Devon constituency (2010 boundary) who will lose Winter Fuel Payments is 22,279. This is based on Feb-24 Pension Credit statistics and 22/23 Winter Fuel Payment statistics, (sources below).</p><p> </p><p>Please note that Pension Credit claimants are the majority of those that will be eligible for Winter Fuel Payments, not all. There are other pensioners who are eligible for Winter Fuel Payments (as they claim other means tested benefits) but they are not considered in these figures as it is not possible to do so.</p><p> </p><p>Furthermore, the above does not take into account any potential increase in Pension Credit take-up we might see as a result of the policy change (means testing Winter fuel payments to those on Pension Credit and other means tested benefits). We do not have data on those additional Pension Credit claims by Parliamentary constituencies or local authorities.</p><p> </p><p>Also, the published Pension Credit figures refer to households rather than individuals, so the number of individuals claiming Pension Credit, will be higher (i.e. taking account of households where it is a couple claiming Pension Credit).</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Sources used:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><a href="https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.publishing.service.gov.uk%2Fmedia%2F6507ffd2fc63f6000d9573a0%2Fwinter-fuel-payments-caseload-2022-to-2023.ods&amp;wdOrigin=BROWSELINK" target="_blank">winter-fuel-payments-caseload-2022-to-2023.ods (live.com)</a></p><p> </p><p><a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/jsf/tableView/tableView.xhtml" target="_blank">Stat-Xplore - Table View (dwp.gov.uk)</a> (Feb-24 data)</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Wycombe answering member printed Emma Reynolds question first answered 18/09/2024 09:05:04 answering member 4077 label Biography information for Emma Reynolds
	tabling member	5216

1726467

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2024
	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: Pension Credit
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of removing Winter Fuel Payments, without further warning, on (1) pensioners whose incomes are a small amount above the Pension Credit threshold, and (2) those who are entitled to Pension Credit but do not claim it.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
	uin	HL556
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2024 answer text <p>The Department continues to maximise opportunities to promote Pension Credit and to raise awareness of its wider benefits and to encourage pensioners to apply. The department uses a range of creative media including TV, press, radio and social media to boost awareness of the benefit. We engage with stakeholders, including other Government Departments, Councils, and charities, to harness their help and support to raise awareness through their networks and channels.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is ensuring pensioners are supported through our commitment to protect the Triple Lock, over 12 million pensioners will benefit, with many expected to see their new State Pension increase by around £1700 over the course of this Parliament.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, the Government will invest an extra £6.6 billion over this Parliament in clean heat and energy efficiency through the Warm Homes Plan, upgrading five million homes through solutions like low carbon heating and improved insulation to reduce emissions and cut bills.</p><p>The Household Support Fund is also being extended for a further six months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025.   An additional £421 million will be provided to enable the extension of the HSF in England, plus funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion, as usual.</p><p>The Warm Home Discount scheme in England and Wales provides eligible low-income households across Great Britain with a £150 rebate on their electricity bill. This winter, we expect over three million households, including over one million pensioners, to benefit under the scheme.</p> answering member printed Baroness Sherlock question first answered 18/09/2024 12:51:49 answering member 4147 label Biography information for Baroness Sherlock
	tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

1726527

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2024
	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
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they propose to help the poorest pensioners who will lose their winter fuel allowance.
	tabling member printed	Lord Foulkes of Cumnock
	uin	HL604
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2024 answer text <p>Over the next five years we expect over 12 million pensioners are likely to see their State Pensions increase by thousands of pounds as a result of our commitment to the Triple Lock.</p><p>We are providing support for pensioners through our Warm Homes Plan which will support investment in insulation and low carbon heating – upgrading millions of homes over this Parliament. Our long-term plan will protect billpayers permanently, reduce fuel poverty, and get the UK back on track to meet our climate goals.</p><p>The Household Support Fund is also being extended for a further six months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025.   An additional £421 million will be provided to enable the extension of the HSF in England, plus funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion, as usual.</p><p>The Warm Home Discount scheme in England and Wales provides eligible low-income households across Great Britain with a £150 rebate on their electricity bill. This winter, we expect over three million households, including over one million pensioners, to benefit under the scheme.</p><p>We know there are low-income pensioners who aren’t claiming Pension Credit, and we urge those people to apply. This will passport them to receive Winter Fuel Payment alongside other benefits – hundreds of pounds that could really help them. We will ensure that the poorest pensioners get the support they need.</p> answering member printed Baroness Sherlock question first answered 18/09/2024 12:52:28 answering member 4147 label Biography information for Baroness Sherlock
	tabling member	579 label Biography information for Lord Foulkes of Cumnock

1726528

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2024
	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
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the proposals from (1) Age UK, and (2) Martin Lewis, to mitigate the losses faced by the poorest pensioners who will lose their winter fuel allowance.
	tabling member printed	Lord Foulkes of Cumnock
	uin	HL605
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2024 answer text <p>Over the course of this Parliament we expect over 12 million pensioners are likely to see their new State Pensions increase by £1700 as a result of our commitment to the Triple Lock.</p><p> </p><p>We are also providing support through our Warm Homes Plan which pensioners will benefit from. This will support investment in insulation and low carbon heating – upgrading millions of homes over this Parliament. Our long-term plan will protect billpayers permanently, reduce fuel poverty, and get the UK back on track to meet our climate goals.</p><p> </p><p>The Warm Home Discount scheme in England and Wales provides eligible low-income households across Great Britain with a £150 rebate on their electricity bill. This winter, we expect over three million households, including over one million pensioners, to benefit under the scheme.</p><p>The Household Support Fund is also being extended for a further six months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025.   An additional £421 million will be provided to enable the extension of the HSF in England, plus funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion, as usual.</p><p>With regards to the suggestion that Winter Fuel Payments are paid to pensioners according to their council tax band, this would not be possible as my Department does not hold data on people’s council tax banding. Additionally council tax band is not always an accurate reflection of someone’s income.</p><p> </p><p>We know there are low-income pensioners who aren’t claiming Pension Credit, and we urge those people to apply. This will passport them to receive Winter Fuel Payment alongside other benefits – hundreds of pounds that could really help them. We will ensure that the poorest pensioners get the support they need.</p> answering member printed Baroness Sherlock question first answered 18/09/2024 12:53:03 answering member 4147 label Biography information for Baroness Sherlock
	tabling member	579 label Biography information for Lord Foulkes of Cumnock