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604189

	registered interest
	date	17/10/2016
	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	Đuro Đaković
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what representations he has received on Duro Dakovic TEP and its treatment of its employees.
	tabling member constituency	Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
	tabling member printed	Tom Blenkinsop
	uin	48988
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/10/2016 answer text <p>DWP has received no representations on Duro Dakovic TEP and its treatment of its employees.</p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 20/10/2016 16:17:47 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
	tabling member	4037 label Biography information for Tom Blenkinsop

226789

	registered interest
	date	11/03/2015
	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	Young People: Government Assistance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what financial support his Department provides to 18 and 19 year olds in employment who have never attended college or university.
	tabling member constituency	East Renfrewshire
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Murphy
	uin	227221
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/03/2015 answer text <p /> <p>18 and 19 year olds who are working fewer than 16 hours per week may be entitled to out of work benefits. In areas where Universal Credit has been rolled out, 18 and 19 year olds who are on a low income or out of work may be entitled to claim Universal Credit.</p> answering member constituency Wirral West answering member printed Esther McVey question first answered 18/03/2015 12:58:06 answering member 4084 label Biography information for Esther McVey
	tabling member	595 label Biography information for Mr Jim Murphy

524312

	registered interest
	date	09/06/2016
	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	Young Offenders: Restraint Techniques
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there is any provision for people claiming Personal Independence Payments who have difficulty in completing questions by hand to be able to complete the forms electronically; and if not, whether they plan to introduce such a facility.
	tabling member printed	The Countess of Mar
	uin	HL583
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2016 answer text <p>We are developing a digital service for claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP) which brings the current PIP telephony claim and paper form together.</p><p>We have tested a number of different design approaches with users and, based on feedback, are developing an application process that is more tailored to individual needs. From April 2016 we started making the online PIP claim available to a small number of PIP claimants on a voluntary basis. This will allow us to get direct feedback, make ongoing improvements and ensure this new service is effective and secure before it is available nationally.</p> answering member printed Baroness Altmann question first answered 16/06/2016 14:20:46 answering member 4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann
	tabling member	1861 label Biography information for The Countess of Mar

523665

	registered interest
	date	07/06/2016
	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	Young Offenders: Housing
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 on access to housing for post-release young offenders.
	tabling member constituency	Ealing, Southall
	tabling member printed	Mr Virendra Sharma
	uin	39688
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/06/2016 answer text <p>The Government set out its assessment of the impacts of the welfare policies in the Welfare Reform and Work Act on 20<sup>th</sup> July 2015. It set out its assessment of the impacts of the social rents policies in the Act on 28<sup>th</sup> September 2015.</p><p> </p><p>A link to the impact assessments is included:</p><p> </p><p><a href="http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2015-16/welfarereformandwork/documents.html" target="_blank">http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2015-16/welfarereformandwork/documents.html</a></p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 39685 39686 39687 39689 question first answered 14/06/2016 10:44:29 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	1604 label Biography information for Mr Virendra Sharma

170548

	registered interest
	date	15/12/2014
	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	Written Questions
	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 savings to his Department from the Q&A system in the (a) 12 months and (b) five years since 4 June 2014; what additional ICT systems or improvements to existing systems his Department has introduced or plans to introduce that would not have been feasible without the Q&A system; and what assessment he has made of the extent to which the system has made it easier to answer questions from hon. Members on time.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	218795
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2015 answer text <p /> <p>No estimate has been made of savings arising from the introduction of the Q&amp;A system. The introduction of the Q&amp;A system has had no impact on existing or planned ICT systems.</p><p> </p><p>One of the benefits of the new system is the possibility for the reporting of the timeliness of answers to Parliamentary Questions to be delivered with greater consistency and accuracy across all answering bodies. It will be for the Procedure Committee to evaluate the effectiveness of the new system in improving performance when it assesses the evidence following the end of the session.</p> answering member constituency Wirral West answering member printed Esther McVey question first answered 05/01/2015 14:07:04 answering member 4084 label Biography information for Esther McVey
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

63003

	registered interest
	date	19/06/2014
	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	Written Questions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many parliamentary questions tabled to his Department in the last parliamentary session did not receive a substantive answer by the time of the 2014 prorogation; and when each such question was first tabled.
	tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Moor View
	tabling member printed	Alison Seabeck
	uin	201548
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/06/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>The Department provided substantive answers to all parliamentary questions in the 2013-14 parliamentary Session.</p> answering member constituency Wirral West answering member printed Esther McVey question first answered 26/06/2014 14:35:52 answering member 4084 label Biography information for Esther McVey
	tabling member	1552 label Biography information for Alison Seabeck

90882

	registered interest
	date	05/09/2014
	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	Written Questions
	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 named day written questions were answered by his Department within the prescribed period in the (a) 2012-13 session, (b) 2013-14 session and (c) 2014-15 session to date.
	tabling member constituency	Leeds Central
	tabling member printed	Hilary Benn
	uin	208435
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/09/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p /> <p /> <p>In the 2014-15 session, as at the end of August 2014, the department had answered 89% of named day questions on the named day</p><p> </p><p>Departmental performance information, for ordinary and named day Parliamentary Questions, is collated by the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons and submitted to the Procedure Committee. This is published on a sessional basis by the committee, and includes evidence regarding departmental performance. The monitoring report relating to the 2012-13 session was published on 13 February 2014 as HC1046. The report covering statistics relating to performance during the 2013-14 session will be published very shortly by the Procedure Committee.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 10/09/2014 12:19:46 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	413 label Biography information for Hilary Benn

576991

	registered interest
	date	06/09/2016
	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: Tax Allowances
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action the Department for Work and Pensions has taken to inform employers and pension scheme members of the implications for those on low pay of using a net-pay scheme rather than a relief-at-source scheme that adds the tax relief due.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
	uin	HL1588
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/09/2016 answer text <p>Pensions’ taxation is a matter for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.</p><p> </p><p>The noble Baroness may, however, find it helpful to note that the Pensions Regulator’s website provides comprehensive guidance for employers about their duties under workplace pensions’ legislation. This guidance covers pension scheme choice and the implications for an employer’s workforce of net-pay arrangements and relief-at-source schemes.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 15/09/2016 11:43:31 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
	tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

747343

	registered interest
	date	03/07/2017
	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: Tax Allowances
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government whether they have estimated the number of workers earning below the personal tax threshold who have been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension scheme that operates on a Net Pay basis; and if not, why not.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
	uin	HL320
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/07/2017 answer text <p>The Government does not collect data on the number of workers earning less than the personal allowance who are also members of pension schemes that operate a net pay system. The Government does not hold employee level data on employees enrolled in net pay pension schemes, as such schemes are not obliged to report pension contributions to HM Revenue and Customs. The Government does not, therefore, hold information on the value of tax reliefs paid out to employees in net pay schemes.</p><p> </p><p>The latest official analysis of the eligibility of workers for automatic enrolment was published on 13 October 2016 in ‘Workplace Pensions: Update of analysis on Automatic Enrolment’. Information on age and earnings breakdowns for all workers can be found in table 3a on page 6.</p><p> </p><p>The Pensions Regulator provides guidance to employers on choosing a pension scheme for their staff in order to discharge their statutory obligations under automatic enrolment. This guidance covers the choice between net pay and relief at source schemes, and the implications of net pay schemes for employees who do not pay tax. Provided an employer has selected a qualifying pension scheme for automatic enrolment, they have complied with their automatic enrolment duties with respect to scheme choice.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe grouped question UIN HL321 HL322 HL323 question first answered 11/07/2017 15:55:57 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

747344

	registered interest
	date	03/07/2017
	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: Tax Allowances
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government against whom a worker earning £11,500 can claim if they discover that their employer has used a workplace pension scheme operating on a Net Pay basis for auto-enrolment, in order to recover the 25% taxpayer bonus they could have received in a Relief at Source scheme.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
	uin	HL321
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/07/2017 answer text <p>The Government does not collect data on the number of workers earning less than the personal allowance who are also members of pension schemes that operate a net pay system. The Government does not hold employee level data on employees enrolled in net pay pension schemes, as such schemes are not obliged to report pension contributions to HM Revenue and Customs. The Government does not, therefore, hold information on the value of tax reliefs paid out to employees in net pay schemes.</p><p> </p><p>The latest official analysis of the eligibility of workers for automatic enrolment was published on 13 October 2016 in ‘Workplace Pensions: Update of analysis on Automatic Enrolment’. Information on age and earnings breakdowns for all workers can be found in table 3a on page 6.</p><p> </p><p>The Pensions Regulator provides guidance to employers on choosing a pension scheme for their staff in order to discharge their statutory obligations under automatic enrolment. This guidance covers the choice between net pay and relief at source schemes, and the implications of net pay schemes for employees who do not pay tax. Provided an employer has selected a qualifying pension scheme for automatic enrolment, they have complied with their automatic enrolment duties with respect to scheme choice.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe grouped question UIN HL320 HL322 HL323 question first answered 11/07/2017 15:55:57 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

747346

	registered interest
	date	03/07/2017
	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: Tax Allowances
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of low paid workers' claims against their employers for the money they are due in tax relief if it is denied to them by their employer's choice of pension scheme.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
	uin	HL322
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/07/2017 answer text <p>The Government does not collect data on the number of workers earning less than the personal allowance who are also members of pension schemes that operate a net pay system. The Government does not hold employee level data on employees enrolled in net pay pension schemes, as such schemes are not obliged to report pension contributions to HM Revenue and Customs. The Government does not, therefore, hold information on the value of tax reliefs paid out to employees in net pay schemes.</p><p> </p><p>The latest official analysis of the eligibility of workers for automatic enrolment was published on 13 October 2016 in ‘Workplace Pensions: Update of analysis on Automatic Enrolment’. Information on age and earnings breakdowns for all workers can be found in table 3a on page 6.</p><p> </p><p>The Pensions Regulator provides guidance to employers on choosing a pension scheme for their staff in order to discharge their statutory obligations under automatic enrolment. This guidance covers the choice between net pay and relief at source schemes, and the implications of net pay schemes for employees who do not pay tax. Provided an employer has selected a qualifying pension scheme for automatic enrolment, they have complied with their automatic enrolment duties with respect to scheme choice.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe grouped question UIN HL320 HL321 HL323 question first answered 11/07/2017 15:55:57 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

747348

	registered interest
	date	03/07/2017
	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: Tax Allowances
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government whether low paid workers who earn less than the personal tax threshold may claim against the Pensions Regulator for failing to ensure that employers use a suitable auto-enrolment scheme that does not force them to pay more than they should for their pensions.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
	uin	HL323
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/07/2017 answer text <p>The Government does not collect data on the number of workers earning less than the personal allowance who are also members of pension schemes that operate a net pay system. The Government does not hold employee level data on employees enrolled in net pay pension schemes, as such schemes are not obliged to report pension contributions to HM Revenue and Customs. The Government does not, therefore, hold information on the value of tax reliefs paid out to employees in net pay schemes.</p><p> </p><p>The latest official analysis of the eligibility of workers for automatic enrolment was published on 13 October 2016 in ‘Workplace Pensions: Update of analysis on Automatic Enrolment’. Information on age and earnings breakdowns for all workers can be found in table 3a on page 6.</p><p> </p><p>The Pensions Regulator provides guidance to employers on choosing a pension scheme for their staff in order to discharge their statutory obligations under automatic enrolment. This guidance covers the choice between net pay and relief at source schemes, and the implications of net pay schemes for employees who do not pay tax. Provided an employer has selected a qualifying pension scheme for automatic enrolment, they have complied with their automatic enrolment duties with respect to scheme choice.</p> answering member printed Baroness Buscombe grouped question UIN HL320 HL321 HL322 question first answered 11/07/2017 15:55:57 answering member 3349 label Biography information for Baroness Buscombe
	tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

425493

	registered interest
	date	02/11/2015
	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: Small Businesses
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that small and medium-sized businesses are aware of their obligations relating to workplace pensions.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	14445
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2015 answer text <p>We are committed to supporting small and micro-businesses to adapt to their new automatic enrolment duties. Together with The Pensions Regulator, we have launched a new broadcast-led communications campaign to raise awareness of automatic enrolment amongst small employers.</p><p>The Pensions Regulator has also recently launched a new interactive and simplified online step by step guide to automatic enrolment, designed to meet the specific needs of employers who may not have pensions experience, including those with just one or two staff. Employers using the website can access tailored information relevant to their circumstances. The Pensions Regulator also provides online content for business advisers who play an important role in supporting smaller employers to meet their legal duties. To raise awareness and understanding, the Regulator has had over 500 meetings with intermediary firms and spoken at over 300 events around the UK during the last year</p><p>The Regulator sends a series of letters to every employer starting at least 12 months before their staging date, which is the date that the law applies to them. These letters set out what an employer needs to do and by when to comply with the law and signposts to the relevant information on the Regulator’s website.</p><p>To help employers adjust to the costs of automatic enrolment the minimum employer contribution level starts at 1% and increases gradually to 3% by October 2018. In addition, to ensure that all firms have access to quality, low-cost pension provision, The National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) was established by the Government and has a public service obligation to accept any employer that chooses NEST for automatic enrolment.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 14316 question first answered 05/11/2015 15:05:46 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

425498

	registered interest
	date	02/11/2015
	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: Small Businesses
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department has given to micro-businesses in adapting to new automatic enrolment pension schemes.
	tabling member constituency	Sefton Central
	tabling member printed	Bill Esterson
	uin	14316
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2015 answer text <p>We are committed to supporting small and micro-businesses to adapt to their new automatic enrolment duties. Together with The Pensions Regulator, we have launched a new broadcast-led communications campaign to raise awareness of automatic enrolment amongst small employers.</p><p>The Pensions Regulator has also recently launched a new interactive and simplified online step by step guide to automatic enrolment, designed to meet the specific needs of employers who may not have pensions experience, including those with just one or two staff. Employers using the website can access tailored information relevant to their circumstances. The Pensions Regulator also provides online content for business advisers who play an important role in supporting smaller employers to meet their legal duties. To raise awareness and understanding, the Regulator has had over 500 meetings with intermediary firms and spoken at over 300 events around the UK during the last year</p><p>The Regulator sends a series of letters to every employer starting at least 12 months before their staging date, which is the date that the law applies to them. These letters set out what an employer needs to do and by when to comply with the law and signposts to the relevant information on the Regulator’s website.</p><p>To help employers adjust to the costs of automatic enrolment the minimum employer contribution level starts at 1% and increases gradually to 3% by October 2018. In addition, to ensure that all firms have access to quality, low-cost pension provision, The National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) was established by the Government and has a public service obligation to accept any employer that chooses NEST for automatic enrolment.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 14445 question first answered 05/11/2015 15:05:46 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4061 label Biography information for Bill Esterson

425499

	registered interest
	date	02/11/2015
	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: Small Businesses
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of his proposals for automatic enrolment of employees in pension schemes on businesses with fewer than 10 employees.
	tabling member constituency	Sefton Central
	tabling member printed	Bill Esterson
	uin	14313
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2015 answer text <p>In 2010 the independent Making Automatic Enrolment Work (MAEW) review considered the impact of automatic enrolment on small and micro businesses. DWP’s impact assessments and on-going evaluation of Automatic Enrolment continue to monitor the costs and benefits of automatic enrolment on small businesses, including those with fewer than 10 employees.</p><br /><p>DWP’s evaluation reports and impact assessments are all available online.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 05/11/2015 14:06:41 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4061 label Biography information for Bill Esterson

432864

	registered interest
	date	26/11/2015
	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: Small Businesses
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress he has made on pensions auto-enrolment to small and micro businesses; and if he plans to complete that auto-enrolment for those businesses by 2018.
	tabling member constituency	East Ham
	tabling member printed	Stephen Timms
	uin	17853
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2015 answer text <p>Automatic enrolment has been a great success to date, with 5.57 million people automatically enrolled into a workplace pension by 67,892 employers.</p><p>From June 2015 onwards, small and micro employers with 49 or less workers began enrolling all eligible workers into a qualifying workplace pension scheme.</p><br /><p>We remain on track to complete the roll out of automatic enrolment to all employers from 2012 to 2018.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 01/12/2015 15:30:05 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	163 label Biography information for Sir Stephen Timms

449074

	registered interest
	date	26/01/2016
	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: Small Businesses
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that small and micro-employers are able to comply with automatic enrolment for workplace pensions.
	tabling member constituency	Hazel Grove
	tabling member printed	William Wragg
	uin	903363
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/02/2016 answer text <p>5.81 million people have already been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension by 78,789 employers</p><p> </p><p>We are focused on making compliance with automatic enrolment duties as straightforward as possible –especially for small and micro employers, to continue to build on this success.</p><p> </p><p>As part of this, the Pensions Regulator has launched a new, simplified and much shorter ‘Step by Step’ guide on their website. This interactive Step by Step guide will help employers easily find out what they will need to do to comply by way of an easier to navigate, personalised journey. The number of steps an employer now has to take has reduced from 11 to just 5. This is designed to meet the specific needs of smaller employers who may well not have pensions experience, including those with just one or two staff. In addition, The Regulator provides online content for business advisers who play an important role in supporting smaller employers to meet their legal duties.</p><p> </p><p>The Regulator has simplified and tailored all letters and guides to ensure that their guidance is easy for small employers to follow; and is working with the key providers in the automatic enrolment market to ensure that employers are offered a consistent automatic enrolment journey.</p><p> </p><p>The Regulator’s website also provides guidance on what to consider when choosing a scheme and includes the list of independently audited, high quality ‘master trusts’ pension schemes. This will make scheme choice (one of the biggest challenges for small employers) easier.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 01/02/2016 17:50:30 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4429 label Biography information for Mr William Wragg

754257

	registered interest
	date	19/07/2017
	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: Self-employed
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to bring self-employed workers into auto enrollment.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	6007
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/09/2017 answer text <p>The Department is undertaking a review of the policy and operation of automatic enrolment, supported by an external Advisory Group. I refer you to the scope of this review set out by my Hon Friend Richard Harrington MP on 12 Dec 2016. It will look at the diverse group of self-employed people and how they might be better enabled to save for their retirement. The review report will be laid before Parliament at the end of the year.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 06/09/2017 10:16:01 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

416364

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2015
	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: Private Sector
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of auto-enrolment on private sector pension saving.
	tabling member constituency	Crawley
	tabling member printed	Henry Smith
	uin	8900
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/09/2015 answer text <p /> <p>Over 5.43 million workers have now been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension by their employer, many for the first time. This has reversed the downwards trend seen in workplace pension participation rates since 2003.</p><p> </p><p>So far opt out has been around 10 per cent, which is significantly lower than the original DWP estimate of around 30 per cent. This has seen the programme opt out assumption being adjusted to 15 per cent overall for the lifetime of the programme.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Automatic Enrolment will give around 10 million people the opportunity to save into a workplace pension - we expect to see 8 to 9 million people newly saving or saving more, generating £11 billion a year more in workplace pension saving by 2020.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 14/09/2015 11:35:08 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

717841

	registered interest
	date	04/04/2017
	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: Pension Funds
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to introduce legislation (1) prohibiting companies withdrawing moneys from their pension funds for any reason, or (2) requiring them to keep their funds topped up to the level recommended by actuaries.
	tabling member printed	Lord Blencathra
	uin	HL6650
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/04/2017 answer text <p><ins class="ministerial">Current legislation already requires schemes to have sufficient and appropriate assets to cover the cost of paying future pensions when they fall due, or to put in place a recovery plan to ensure that the scheme returns to full funding within a reasonable period. It also prohibits the transfer of funds from the scheme to the employer apart from some limited circumstances and where there is a surplus.</ins></p><p>The Government’s Security and Sustainability in Defined Benefit Pension Schemes Green Paper explores a number of aspects of defined benefit pensions, including scheme funding arrangements and invites views. This paper was laid before Parliament on 20 February 2017.</p><p>The closing date for comments is 14 May 2017; responses can be submitted to the following postal address:</p><p>DB Consultation Private Pensions</p><p>First Floor</p><p>Caxton House</p><p>6-12 Tothill Street</p><p>London</p><p>SW1A 9NA</p> answering member printed Lord Henley question first answered 20/04/2017 09:35:00 question first ministerially corrected 20/04/2017 13:45:24 answering member 2616 label Biography information for Lord Henley previous answer version 44619 answering member printed Lord Henley answering member 2616 label Biography information for Lord Henley
	tabling member	497 label Biography information for Lord Blencathra

461347

	registered interest
	date	11/03/2016
	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: Pay
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his policy is on employers offering higher salaries to employees who opt of occupational pension schemes.
	tabling member constituency	Ashton-under-Lyne
	tabling member printed	Angela Rayner
	uin	30792
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/03/2016 answer text <p>Section 54 of the Pensions Act 2008 prohibits employers from taking any action for the sole or main purpose of inducing a worker to leave a workplace pension scheme.</p><p>The Government takes potential inducement by employers very seriously. The Pensions Regulator (TPR) is responsible for all matters relating to employers’ compliance with their enrolment duties, including investigations into individual cases of potential inducement by employers.</p><p>Through automatic enrolment we are delivering a fundamental shift in workplace pension saving that is changing the way that people are enabled to save for retirement. Already 100,668 employers have completed their declaration of compliance with the Regulator, resulting in more than 6 million eligible jobholders being automatically enrolled into a qualifying pension scheme.</p><p>The law relating to inducements is an important safeguard for workers and the Regulator has statutory powers of investigation and enforcement it can use in appropriate circumstances. We are working with the Regulator to monitor the number and nature of possible inducement cases as the roll-out of automatic enrolment continues. That will enable us to judge whether the current legislation covering inducement, and the guidance and messaging provided by the Regulator, are operating effectively to protect employees, and whether change may be appropriate.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 30793 question first answered 21/03/2016 15:06:53 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4356 label Biography information for Angela Rayner

454332

	registered interest
	date	23/02/2016
	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: National Insurance Contributions
	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 Schedule 14 and Section 24 of the Pension Act 2014, how many employees have been affected by the introduction of the statutory over-ride which provides for employers who sponsor contracted-out occupational pensions schemes to pass on increases in national insurance contributions to employees.
	tabling member constituency	Paisley and Renfrewshire North
	tabling member printed	Gavin Newlands
	uin	28010
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2016 answer text <p>The Department does not currently collect this information.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 27981 question first answered 02/03/2016 16:37:29 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4420 label Biography information for Gavin Newlands

754954

	registered interest
	date	20/07/2017
	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: Low Pay
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has to extend auto-enrolment to low earners.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	6400
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/09/2017 answer text <p>Personal care assistants who meet the eligibility criteria for automatic enrolment must already be automatically enrolled into a workplace pension by their employers.</p><p> </p><p>My Department is currently undertaking a review of the policy and operation of automatic enrolment. This includes looking at the existing policy coverage and how to achieve the right balance between enabling as many people as possible to save into a workplace pension, whilst ensuring that it should make economic sense for them to do so. The review report will be laid before Parliament at the end of the year. The review will have regard to the Equality Act and the principles of fairness, affordability and sustainability. This includes the need to balance the needs of individuals with the costs to employers and ensuring value for money for the taxpayer.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 6401 question first answered 06/09/2017 11:16:04 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

392023

	registered interest
	date	22/07/2015
	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: LGBT+ People
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Baroness Altmann on 13 July stating that the total cost of equalising survivor benefit payments would amount to £3.3 billion (HL Deb, col 343), what assessment they have made of the cost of equalising payments specifically on the grounds of sexual orientation; and whether they consider those costs to be prohibitive.
	tabling member printed	Lord Cashman
	uin	HL1778
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/08/2015 answer text <p>The capitalised cost of eliminating all differences in survivor benefits because of sexual orientation is estimated at £120 million, as set out in the Review of Survivor Benefits in Occupational Pension Schemes.</p><p> </p><p>Although all differences because of sexual orientation in the provision of survivor benefits would be eliminated, differences because of sex would remain. This would mean that there would be differences in treatment between male same sex couples and female same sex couples. This is because male same sex couples would receive survivor benefits based on accruals from 1988 (in line with widowers of an opposite sex marriage), with female same sex couples receiving them based on accruals from 1978 (in line with widows of an opposite sex marriage).</p><p> </p><p>The Government must take into account the costs and all other effects of reducing or eliminating differences before deciding on whether the law should be changed.</p> answering member printed Baroness Altmann question first answered 04/08/2015 10:57:32 answering member 4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann
	tabling member	4340 label Biography information for Lord Cashman

428228

	registered interest
	date	13/11/2015
	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: LGBT+ People
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to extend occupational pensions to include widows from same sex married couples in the same way as widows from other married couples are currently included.
	tabling member constituency	Bath
	tabling member printed	Ben Howlett
	uin	16179
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/11/2015 answer text <p>The Government is considering the findings of the statutory review into survivor benefits in occupational pension schemes that was required by section 16 of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013. The Review provided important information on the benefits, costs and other effects of eliminating or reducing differences in survivor benefit provision.</p><br /><p>The Government will respond to the Review in due course.</p><br /> <br /> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 23/11/2015 11:59:57 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4445 label Biography information for Ben Howlett

578768

	registered interest
	date	08/09/2016
	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: Interest Rates
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the ability of companies to fund their long-term pension obligations after the reduction in the Bank of England base rate to 0.25 per cent.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	45590
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/09/2016 answer text <p>I refer the hon. Gentleman to my previous answer I gave on the 12<sup>th</sup> September 2016 to Question: UIN 44305</p> answering member constituency Watford answering member printed Richard Harrington question first answered 13/09/2016 14:40:24 answering member 4068 label Biography information for Lord Harrington of Watford
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

513459

	registered interest
	date	18/04/2016
	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: Fraud
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to protect people against fraud as they are automatically enrolled into a pension scheme, in the light of the recent cuts to the pensions watchdog.
	tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
	uin	HL7716
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/04/2016 answer text <p>The resources allocated to the Pensions Regulator to cover its regulatory responsibilities, together with those for automatic enrolment compliance activity, increased by £3.4m to £79.5m for the financial year 2016/17.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Schemes that can be used by employers to meet their automatic enrolment duties are subject to specific quality requirements. The Pensions Regulator and the Financial Conduct Authority both play an active role in monitoring schemes used for automatic enrolment to ensure that they meet these standards. The Pensions Regulator has also published a list of independently audited ‘master trusts’ pension schemes that employers may wish to use for automatic enrolment.</p><p> </p><p>Both Regulators carry out targeted activity to investigate and mitigate risks, including indicators of possible fraud.</p> answering member printed Baroness Altmann question first answered 26/04/2016 13:00:35 answering member 4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann
	tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

166087

	registered interest
	date	25/11/2014
	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: Fees and Charges
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are measuring the impact of auto-enrolment on fees charged by the investment management industry; and what plans they have to track any changes.
	tabling member printed	Lord Mendelsohn
	uin	HL3145
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The Government’s Command Paper, ‘Better Workplace Pensions: Further measures for savers’, published in March, set out a range of measures including a cap on charges in default fund arrangements, a ban on inappropriate charges and proposals to introduce minimum governance standards and improve transparency across workplace defined contribution schemes.</p><p> </p><p>Following this, Government launched its consultation on draft regulations on governance and charges in occupational pension schemes in October 2014. Subject to Parliamentary approval, the majority of this legislation will come into force from April 2015, alongside Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules in relation to workplace personal pension schemes where appropriate. From April 2015, the Government intends to introduce a charge cap on the default funds of qualifying schemes, set at 0.75 per cent of funds under management and the first phase of enhanced transparency with trustees and Independent Governance Committees (IGCs) being required to report on costs and charges for the first time.</p><p> </p><p>In 2015 Government will consult on regulations under duties in the Pensions Act 2014 requiring information about transaction costs to be disclosed to members and others, and the publication of costs and charges information. The FCA also intends to consult on amending their own rules to introduce equivalent enhanced transparency provisions for workplace personal pension schemes during 2015. The Government has also set out its plans to review the level of the default fund charge cap, to see if it should be lowered, and also whether it should include some or all of the transaction costs that are ultimately borne by members within a cap. This review will take place in 2017.</p><p> </p><p>Taken together the combined effect of these measures on charges, governance and transparency and the Government’s commitment to a review should ensure that savers are being enrolled into workplace schemes that are well run and in members’ interests.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 08/12/2014 12:19:52 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
	tabling member	4286 label Biography information for Lord Mendelsohn

173506

	registered interest
	date	13/01/2015
	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: Fees and Charges
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will publish a list of the high charging pension schemes referred to by the Independent Project Board in its report, Defined contribution workplace pensions: The audit of charges and benefits in legacy schemes, published in December 2014.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow North East
	tabling member printed	Mr William Bain
	uin	220645
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/01/2015 answer text <p /> <p>The recent audit of charges and benefits in legacy pension schemes was undertaken by an Independent Project Board, on which the Department for Work and Pensions was represented. The data collected as part of the legacy audit which was shared with members of the Independent Project Board was aggregated and anonymised. We do not therefore hold provider or scheme specific information.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 16/01/2015 14:17:40 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	1610 label Biography information for Mr William Bain

528548

	registered interest
	date	24/06/2016
	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: Fees and Charges
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on what date the Financial Conduct Authority review on the disclosure of transaction cost information for workplace pension schemes is planned to be published.
	tabling member constituency	Solihull
	tabling member printed	Julian Knight
	uin	41195
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/07/2016 answer text <p>The Government and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) remain committed to ensuring that members of pension schemes are able to obtain information about the costs and charges which they bear.</p><p> </p><p>Governance bodies of defined contribution workplace pension schemes are obliged, under existing requirements, to assess transaction costs. The FCA is actively considering how to achieve greater transparency and standardisation of these costs, and plans to publish a consultation later this year.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 01/07/2016 13:29:40 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4410 label Biography information for Julian Knight

754952

	registered interest
	date	20/07/2017
	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: Carers
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that carers have access to workplace pensions.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	6401
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/09/2017 answer text <p>Personal care assistants who meet the eligibility criteria for automatic enrolment must already be automatically enrolled into a workplace pension by their employers.</p><p> </p><p>My Department is currently undertaking a review of the policy and operation of automatic enrolment. This includes looking at the existing policy coverage and how to achieve the right balance between enabling as many people as possible to save into a workplace pension, whilst ensuring that it should make economic sense for them to do so. The review report will be laid before Parliament at the end of the year. The review will have regard to the Equality Act and the principles of fairness, affordability and sustainability. This includes the need to balance the needs of individuals with the costs to employers and ensuring value for money for the taxpayer.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 6400 question first answered 06/09/2017 11:16:04 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

101233

	registered interest
	date	27/10/2014
	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, how many people who had no prior pension savings have been enrolled under automatic enrolment into workplace pension schemes.
	tabling member constituency	Fareham
	tabling member printed	Mr Mark Hoban
	uin	212139
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/11/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The information requested is not available.</p><p> </p><p>The latest information published by The Pensions Regulator shows that over 4.7 million eligible jobholders have been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension. It is not possible to identify how many of these jobholders had no prior pension savings.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 03/11/2014 15:37:32 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	1414 label Biography information for Mr Mark Hoban

101235

	registered interest
	date	27/10/2014
	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 proportion of people enrolled under automatic workplace pension schemes have chosen to opt out after (a) six, (b) nine and (c) 12 months.
	tabling member constituency	Fareham
	tabling member printed	Mr Mark Hoban
	uin	212140
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/11/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The information requested is not available.</p><p> </p><p>Findings from qualitative research with large employers show the overall opt out rate was around 9 per cent. Most individual employers had an opt out rate between 5 and 15 per cent. Opt out is only possible within the opt out window which is one month after being automatically enrolled.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 03/11/2014 15:39:46 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	1414 label Biography information for Mr Mark Hoban

166089

	registered interest
	date	25/11/2014
	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	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to review the basis on which projections of potential returns are used by the investment management industry in communications with pension holders.
	tabling member printed	Lord Mendelsohn
	uin	HL3147
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>Since 6 April 2003, certain money purchase pension arrangements have been required to provide members with Statutory Money Purchase Illustrations (SMPIs). Legislation requires that statutory illustrations are produced in accordance with guidance prepared by a prescribed body approved by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and by the Department for Social Development in Northern Ireland.</p><p>The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is the prescribed body and has been since 6 April 2007. The FRC fulfils its obligations through the publication of Actuarial Standard Technical Memorandum AS TM1: Statutory Money Purchase Illustrations (AS TM1). It reviews AS TM1 regularly and the last completed review was carried out in 2013 following the introduction of the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/2734) which came into force on 6 April 2014. The AS TM1 specifies that the investment return should take into account the current and anticipated future investment strategy of the member’s funds over the period to retirement and be consistent from year to year, with the rationale documented and made available to members on request.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules require a projection at point of sale for contract based pensions. The investment return must reflect the investment potential of the (expected) underlying assets, subject to an overall cap of 5%pa. Flanking projections must be provided using returns which vary by +/- 3%. The FCA has a public commitment to review the basis every 4 years and the next review is due in 2015. The FCA do not require further projections during the lifetime of the contract as pension scheme members will receive statutory statements prepared under DWP legislation. However, where a provider chooses to provide additional projections, they must follow the same basis as point of sale projections.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 08/12/2014 12:26:30 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
	tabling member	4286 label Biography information for Lord Mendelsohn

177923

	registered interest
	date	04/02/2015
	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 proportion of his Department's advertising budget is allocated to the campaign to promote workplace pensions; and how much of that funding has been spent in the last 24 months on (a) television, (b) newspaper advertising, (c) online, (d) radio and (e) other forms of advertising using the slogan, workplace pensions, we're all in.
	tabling member constituency	Barnsley Central
	tabling member printed	Dan Jarvis
	uin	223468
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2015 answer text <p /> <p>I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 28 January 2015 to Question UIN <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-01-28/222582/" target="_blank">222582</a>.</p> answering member constituency Wirral West answering member printed Esther McVey question first answered 10/02/2015 15:37:22 answering member 4084 label Biography information for Esther McVey previous answer version 43742 answering member constituency Wirral West answering member printed Esther McVey answering member 4084 label Biography information for Esther McVey
	tabling member	4243 label Biography information for Dan Jarvis

227419

	registered interest
	date	16/03/2015
	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	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they or the Pensions Regulator have received about the operation of the Pensions Regulator internet portal for the registration of contacts for the automatic enrolment of employees into workplace pensions, in particular in relation to problems with the login details supplied to employers; and what steps they plan to take to rectify any such problems to enable employers to meet the 1 April deadline for registration.
	tabling member printed	Lord Stevens of Ludgate
	uin	HL5740
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2015 answer text <p>The Pensions Regulator has received feedback from some small and micro businesses about the operation of the internet portal for automatic enrolment contact detail registration, known as the &quot;nominate a contact&quot; webpage. This feedback suggests that some users are not very familiar with their PAYE reference. The letters currently sent to customers from the Regulator protects customer data by masking the first 3 digits of their PAYE reference with asterisks and some customers are trying to enter the asterisks as part of their PAYE reference which is generating an error message.</p><p> </p><p>The Regulator is fully aware of the issue. To address it, they are updating the website to clarify exactly what to enter and including the full PAYE reference on relevant letters in future so employers have all the details they need in front of them when prompted by the letter to visit the automatic enrolment contact nomination webpage.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 24/03/2015 13:47:18 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
	tabling member	2227 label Biography information for Lord Stevens of Ludgate

228250

	registered interest
	date	18/03/2015
	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, if he will make it his policy that trustees of defined benefit pension schemes are required to have a policy on stewardship.
	tabling member constituency	Cambridge
	tabling member printed	Dr Julian Huppert
	uin	228098
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2015 answer text <p>We are currently consulting on potential changes to the Occupational Pension Schemes (Investment) Regulations 2005 which will support and encourage trustees of both defined benefit and defined contribution pension schemes to consider their approach to stewardship. This forms part of our consultation, entitled “Consultation on changes to the Investment Regulations following the Law Commission’s report ‘Fiduciary Duties of Investment Intermediaries’” which was published on 26th February 2015. The consultation period ends on 20th April 2015 and it is the intention that a Government response will be published later this year.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 23/03/2015 15:01:45 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3931 label Biography information for Dr Julian Huppert

385418

	registered interest
	date	24/06/2015
	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, if his Department will develop a single and clear set of guidelines for micro-businesses who will be required to automatically enrol their employees with a pension scheme for the first time to ensure that they can access the information they require cost-effectively.
	tabling member constituency	Chesterfield
	tabling member printed	Toby Perkins
	uin	3931
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/07/2015 answer text <p /> <p>The Department continues to work with The Pensions Regulator to support micro employers in meeting their automatic enrolment duties as simply and cost effectively as possible. This includes working with accountants, bookkeepers, payroll bureaus and other intermediaries to ensure they are ready to support smaller employers effectively.</p><p> </p><p>The first cohort of the smallest employers began to comply with their automatic enrolment duties from 1 June this year. We continue to receive feedback about the experience of employers. We are learning all the time and have adapted and improved the process and the support available.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 3932 question first answered 02/07/2015 13:29:47 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	3952 label Biography information for Mr Toby Perkins

385419

	registered interest
	date	24/06/2015
	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 support his Department plans to offer micro-businesses in adapting to new automatic enrolment pension provisions; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Chesterfield
	tabling member printed	Toby Perkins
	uin	3932
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/07/2015 answer text <p>The Department continues to work with The Pensions Regulator to support micro employers in meeting their automatic enrolment duties as simply and cost effectively as possible. This includes working with accountants, bookkeepers, payroll bureaus and other intermediaries to ensure they are ready to support smaller employers effectively.</p><p> </p><p>The first cohort of the smallest employers began to comply with their automatic enrolment duties from 1 June this year. We continue to receive feedback about the experience of employers. We are learning all the time and have adapted and improved the process and the support available.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson grouped question UIN 3931 question first answered 02/07/2015 13:29:47 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	3952 label Biography information for Mr Toby Perkins

385420

	registered interest
	date	24/06/2015
	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 representations he has received on the potential risk of pensions auto-enrolment packages and products being mis-sold to micro-businesses.
	tabling member constituency	Chesterfield
	tabling member printed	Toby Perkins
	uin	3933
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/07/2015 answer text <p /> <p>The Department continues to work with The Pensions Regulator to support the smallest employers in meeting their automatic enrolment duties as simply and cost effectively as possible. The Regulator has provided guidance for employers on choosing a pension scheme and is continuing to consider how best to support employers in this important decision.</p><p> </p><p>The Government introduced a package of measures in April to strengthen governance in schemes used for automatic enrolment and protect members from high or inappropriate charges. This includes the introduction of a 0.75 per cent cap on charges in the default funds of schemes used for automatic enrolment.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 02/07/2015 13:41:09 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	3952 label Biography information for Mr Toby Perkins

390085

	registered interest
	date	15/07/2015
	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	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the average sum held in the pension funds of people who were enrolled in a pension scheme as part of the auto-enrolment process.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Greengross
	uin	HL1497
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/07/2015 answer text <p /> <p>The information is not available in the format requested.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Findings from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) Wealth and Asset survey show that overall, the average (median) amount of wealth held in pensions not yet in payment was £33,000 in 2010/12. There is no breakdown available to show wealth held in funds created due to Automatic Enrolment.</p><p> </p><p>DWP’s annual official statistics on workplace pension participation found that in 2014, the annual total amount saved in workplace pensions by employees eligible for Automatic Enrolment was £80.3 billion, an increase of £6.6 billion from 2012.</p> answering member printed Baroness Altmann question first answered 21/07/2015 14:04:34 answering member 4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann
	tabling member	2518 label Biography information for Baroness Greengross

417809

	registered interest
	date	08/09/2015
	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 his Department has made of the shortfall in pension accrual experienced by employees who are employed through an umbrella payroll company or similar overarching employment contract and do not receive automatic enrolment pension contributions from their employer.
	tabling member constituency	South Shields
	tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
	uin	9648
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/09/2015 answer text <p /> <p>This information is not available.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 11/09/2015 11:21:18 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

417810

	registered interest
	date	08/09/2015
	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 his Department has made of the number of workers employed through an umbrella payroll company who will opt-out of automatic-enrolment into a workplace pension.
	tabling member constituency	South Shields
	tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
	uin	9649
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/09/2015 answer text <p /> <p>This information is not available.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 11/09/2015 11:09:45 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

417812

	registered interest
	date	08/09/2015
	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 assessment his Department has made of the effect of automatic-enrolment pension arrangements on workers employed through employment agencies.
	tabling member constituency	South Shields
	tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
	uin	9646
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/09/2015 answer text <p /> <p>The law requires employers to enrol all eligible workers into a qualifying workplace pension scheme and make at least a minimum contribution to their pension. This includes workers employed through employment agencies. The Department has made no separate assessment of the impact of automatic enrolment on these workers.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 11/09/2015 11:18:34 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

418762

	registered interest
	date	14/09/2015
	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, when he plans to publish the Government's response to his Department's consultation on changes to the Occupational Pension (Investment) regulations.
	tabling member constituency	Stroud
	tabling member printed	Neil Carmichael
	uin	10183
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/09/2015 answer text <p>The Government plans to respond to this consultation by the end of the year.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 17/09/2015 14:16:12 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4104 label Biography information for Neil Carmichael

421789

	registered interest
	date	15/10/2015
	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	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to assist workers who change their jobs, or leave the labour force, to consolidate and aggregate small pension pots.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Drake
	uin	HL2660
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2015 answer text <p>I refer the Noble Baroness to the Written Statement I made on 15 October, HLWS238, which explains why the time is not right to implement a system to consolidate or aggregate small pots.</p><p>Members still have a right to request a member-initiated transfer if they want to move their pots when they change jobs or leave the labour market. To introduce a system of automatic transfers would be a significant new process for both schemes and members to get to grips with at a time when the pensions market is changing fast.</p><p>The introduction of the new State Pension, the continued implementation of automatic enrolment and the introduction of the pensions flexibilities - allowing members more freedom and choice about how and when they access their pensions are all major reforms to pension savings. I believe that the Government, providers, employers and members need to focus on these reforms to ensure their success.</p><p>The future pensions market could look different from the current one. It is important that any system of consolidation is long-lasting and reflects that future landscape.</p><p>This does not mean that the project has ended and I am very grateful for the contributions that the industry has made to this project. I fully intend to ensure that the insight gathered in our extensive engagement with industry should be applied to the model when work is restarted.</p><p> </p><p><br></p> answering member printed Baroness Altmann question first answered 26/10/2015 16:44:10 answering member 4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann
	tabling member	4155 label Biography information for Baroness Drake

421790

	registered interest
	date	15/10/2015
	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	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure value for money is achieved for the pension savings of ex-employees in cases where the employer transfers their pension pots to a pension arrangement exempt from the charge cap regulations.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Drake
	uin	HL2661
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2015 answer text <p>The Occupational Pension Schemes (Charges and Governance) Regulations 2015 set out the tests that an arrangement in an occupational pension scheme to which the charge cap applies must meet in order to be designated as a default.</p><p>Where an employer or trustee switches some or all members’ contributions to a new default arrangement, any funds left in the old default arrangement will continue to be subject to the cap. Where an employer transfers all their employees’ pension pots to a new scheme, contributing members will be protected by the charge cap when the new arrangement meets the test for a default as set out in the Regulations. Where this is the case, ex-employees moved into the same arrangement will also be protected where they have made a contribution after the Regulations came into force.</p><p>Furthermore, the ban on Active Member Discounts will prevent providers from increasing charges for non-contributing members beyond those imposed on a member for whom such contributions are still being made.</p><p>I would be happy to receive any evidence from the Noble Baroness about ex-employees being transferred to an exempt arrangement in occupational schemes.</p> answering member printed Baroness Altmann question first answered 26/10/2015 16:57:36 answering member 4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann
	tabling member	4155 label Biography information for Baroness Drake

426251

	registered interest
	date	04/11/2015
	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, when he plans to amend the Investment Regulations for Occupational Pensions Funds to require them to set out within their Statement of Investment Principles their approach to considering environmental, social and governance risks and to stewardship.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield, Heeley
	tabling member printed	Louise Haigh
	uin	14812
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2015 answer text <p>Earlier this year the Government consulted on whether to amend the reference to social, environmental, or ethical considerations ,in the Occupational Pension Schemes (Investment) Regulations 2005, and whether to require trustees to state their approach to the Stewardship Code. The Government plans to respond to this consultation shortly.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 11/11/2015 14:55:25 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4473 label Biography information for Louise Haigh

432055

	registered interest
	date	24/11/2015
	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, whether he plans to publish responses to the Government's consultation entitled, Changes to the Investment Regulations following the Law Commission's report, Fiduciary Duties of Investment Intermediaries, published on 26 February 2015.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield, Heeley
	tabling member printed	Louise Haigh
	uin	17482
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/12/2015 answer text <p>The Government plans to publish these responses shortly. They will be available on the Gov.Uk website.</p><br /> <br /> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 02/12/2015 16:10:15 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4473 label Biography information for Louise Haigh

435630

	registered interest
	date	01/12/2015
	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 progress he has made on the auto-enrolment of people onto workplace pensions.
	tabling member constituency	North West Norfolk
	tabling member printed	Mr Henry Bellingham
	uin	902580
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/12/2015 answer text <p>DWP’s latest evaluation report on Automatic Enrolment shows that since it’s introduction in 2012, participation in workplace pension saving by eligible workers in the private sector has increased by 21 percentage points.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 07/12/2015 17:40:49 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	1441 label Biography information for Lord Bellingham