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1699042

registered interest
date	26/03/2024
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	Pensions: Consumer Information
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 estimate of the number of users that will have accessed Pensions Dashboards by (a) 30 April 2025 and (b) 31 October 2026.
tabling member constituency	Blaenau Gwent
tabling member printed	Nick Smith
uin	20580
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2024 answer text <p>Pensions dashboard services will become available for widespread use by the general public at the Dashboards Available Point. A specific date for the Dashboards Available Point cannot yet be determined as the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions must first have regard to a number of relevant matters, including sufficient level of coverage, assurance of the safety, security and reliability of the service and testing of the user experience. Once satisfied that the dashboards ecosystem is ready to support widespread use, following consultation with the Money and Pensions Service, The Pensions Regulator and the Financial Conduct Authority, the Secretary of State will then issue a notice at least six months in advance of the launch of pensions dashboard services for use by the general public.</p><p>Under the central scenario (best estimate) in the impact assessment for the Pensions Dashboards (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (which can be found at: <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2023/89/pdfs/ukia_20230089_en.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2023/89/pdfs/ukia_20230089_en.pdf</a>), we estimate the number of users of pensions dashboard services will increase to around 16 million in the years following the Dashboards Available Point.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 15/04/2024 14:57:57 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
tabling member	3928 label Biography information for Nick Smith

1664409

registered interest
date	13/10/2023
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	Pensions: Consumer Information
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether State Pension data will be included in the Pensions Dashboard Programme.
tabling member constituency	Blaenau Gwent
tabling member printed	Nick Smith
uin	202262
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/10/2023 answer text <p>Pensions dashboards will allow individuals to view information about their pensions, including the State Pension, for free in one place online. Dashboards will show individuals the estimated State Pension amount they would get based on their current National Insurance contribution record, their forecasted State Pension amount that assumes they pay National Insurance contributions going forward, the date they will reach State Pension age, and supporting messages regarding the data displayed.</p> answering member constituency Sevenoaks answering member printed Laura Trott question first answered 23/10/2023 10:53:55 answering member 4780 label Biography information for Laura Trott
tabling member	3928 label Biography information for Nick Smith

1652330

registered interest
date	12/07/2023
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	Pensions: Consumer Information
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 cost of the (a) development of the Pensions Dashboard Programme to date and (b) programme on completion.
tabling member constituency	Blaenau Gwent
tabling member printed	Nick Smith
uin	193574
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2023 answer text <p>MaPS has been allocated £91.1M for the delivery of the Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) through the relevant Spending Review periods covering financial years 2019/20 to 2024/25.</p><p>The Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) has spent £45.3M between 2019/20 and the end of May 2023 (with spend relating to 2022/23 and to 2023/24 subject to final audit). Further spend for the programme will be available on an annual basis.</p><p>Expenditure allocations for years beyond 2024/25 will be the subject of future Spending Review processes.</p> answering member constituency Sevenoaks answering member printed Laura Trott question first answered 17/07/2023 15:26:27 answering member 4780 label Biography information for Laura Trott
tabling member	3928 label Biography information for Nick Smith

1652332

registered interest
date	12/07/2023
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	Pensions: Consumer Information
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 that the Pensions Dashboard Programme will be ready for use.
tabling member constituency	Blaenau Gwent
tabling member printed	Nick Smith
uin	193575
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2023 answer text <p>The Dashboards Available Point will be when the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is satisfied that the dashboards ecosystem – which is being developed by the Pensions Dashboards Programme – is ready to support widespread use by the general public. This will come following consultation with the Money and Pensions Service, the Pensions Regulator and the Financial Conduct Authority.</p><p> </p><p>The Pensions Dashboards Regulations 2022 specify that the Secretary of State will provide notice of at least six months ahead of the Dashboards Available Point. The Secretary of State will consider factors including sufficient level of coverage, assurance of the safety, security and reliability of the service, and testing of the user experience.</p> answering member constituency Sevenoaks answering member printed Laura Trott question first answered 17/07/2023 15:26:37 answering member 4780 label Biography information for Laura Trott
tabling member	3928 label Biography information for Nick Smith

1521353

registered interest
date	12/10/2022
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	Cold Weather Payments
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many times the Cold Weather Payments scheme has been triggered in the last two years; how much money has been distributed as part of this scheme; and whether the scheme uses ringfenced funds.
tabling member constituency	Blaenau Gwent
tabling member printed	Nick Smith
uin	61837
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/10/2022 answer text <p>A breakdown of triggers by country along with number of payments can be found in the official statistics for cold weather payment (CWP) estimates here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/cold-weather-payment-estimates-2021-to-2022" target="_blank">Cold Weather Payment estimates: 2021 to 2022- GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></p><p> </p><p>Expenditure on Cold Weather Payments can be found in the Annual Social Fund Reports here <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-fund-annual-report-2020-to-2021/social-fund-annual-report-2020-to-2021" target="_blank">Social Fund annual report 2020 to 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a>. The 21/22 report is due to be published in the near future and thus 21/22 expenditure is an estimate based on the Cold Weather Payment Official Statistics.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Cold Weather Payments are not ring-fenced. Funding for the Cold Weather Payment scheme is demand driven and expenditure varies each year depending on how cold the winter is.</p> answering member constituency Brentwood and Ongar answering member printed Alex Burghart question first answered 19/10/2022 10:25:20 answering member 4613 label Biography information for Alex Burghart
tabling member	3928 label Biography information for Nick Smith

1519768

registered interest
date	10/10/2022
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	Cold Weather Payments
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Cold Weather Payments have been distributed since that scheme's inception; and how much her Department has spent on those payments per annum.
tabling member constituency	Blaenau Gwent
tabling member printed	Nick Smith
uin	59590
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/10/2022 answer text <p>The current system of cold weather payments was introduced in 1988. The payment is a fixed amount for each week of cold weather. From 1995 this was set at £8.50 a week. The Cold Weather Payment was temporarily increased from £8.50 to £25 for the winters of 2008/9 and 2009/10. This increase was made permanent in November 2010.</p><p /><p>The table below shows the number of Cold Weather payments made and total expenditure in each year since 1988-89. 21/22 is due to be published in the next Annual Social Fund Report so has not been included below.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>No. of cold weather payments (000)</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Expenditure (£m)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>1988-89</p></td><td><p>0.5</p></td><td><p>0.003</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>1989-90</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td><td><p>0.4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>1990-91</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td><td><p>9.3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>1991-92</p></td><td><p>3,827</p></td><td><p>23.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>1992-93</p></td><td><p>2,503</p></td><td><p>15.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>1993-94</p></td><td><p>2,064</p></td><td><p>12.4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>1994-95</p></td><td><p>11</p></td><td><p>0.1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>1995-96</p></td><td><p>7,252</p></td><td><p>61.6</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>1996-97</p></td><td><p>4,964</p></td><td><p>42.2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>1997-98</p></td><td><p>55</p></td><td><p>0.5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>1998-99</p></td><td><p>26</p></td><td><p>0.2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>1999-00</p></td><td><p>114</p></td><td><p>1.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2000-01</p></td><td><p>3,535</p></td><td><p>30.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2001-02</p></td><td><p>1,804</p></td><td><p>15.3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2002-03</p></td><td><p>1,675</p></td><td><p>14.2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2003-04</p></td><td><p>418</p></td><td><p>3.5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2004-05</p></td><td><p>213</p></td><td><p>1.8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2005-06</p></td><td><p>988</p></td><td><p>8.4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2006-07</p></td><td><p>402</p></td><td><p>3.4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2007-08</p></td><td><p>472</p></td><td><p>4.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2008-09</p></td><td><p>8,416</p></td><td><p>210.4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009-10</p></td><td><p>11,590</p></td><td><p>289.7</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010-11</p></td><td><p>17,232</p></td><td><p>430.8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-12</p></td><td><p>5,167</p></td><td><p>129.2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-13</p></td><td><p>5,845</p></td><td><p>146.1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013-14</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>0.03</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014-15</p></td><td><p>422</p></td><td><p>10.6</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015-16</p></td><td><p>155</p></td><td><p>3.9</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016-17</p></td><td><p>131</p></td><td><p>3.1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017-18</p></td><td><p>4,572</p></td><td><p>114.3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018-19</p></td><td><p>1079</p></td><td><p>27.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019-20</p></td><td><p>10</p></td><td><p>0.3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020-21</p></td><td><p>3,951</p></td><td><p>98.8</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Notes</p><p> </p><ol><li>N/A= not available</li><li>Figures are for payments triggered in the relevant financial year.</li><li>There was a single level of payment each year, except in 1990-91 when the level of payment was increased during the year. A breakdown of the number <br> of payments for that year by level is not available. 3. Some people were made more than one payment in some years.</li><li>Numbers of payments made are rounded to the nearest 1,000, except for <br> 1988-89 where the number of payments is rounded to the nearest 100. <br> Amounts spent are rounded to the nearest £0.1 million, except for 1988-89 <br> where the amount spent is rounded to the nearest £1,000.</li><li>Data are not available on the numbers of payments received (as opposed <br> to made) or on the numbers of people who received payments. However, the <br> vast majority of payments are now made direct into bank accounts.</li><li><em>Source: Annual reports by the Secretary of State for Social Security/Work and <br> Pensions on the Social Fund</em></li></ol><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency East Surrey answering member printed Claire Coutinho question first answered 19/10/2022 11:58:46 answering member 4806 label Biography information for Claire Coutinho
tabling member	3928 label Biography information for Nick Smith

1289014

registered interest
date	23/02/2021
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	Kickstart Scheme: Blaenau Gwent
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many young people living in Blaenau Gwent constituency were registered with the Kickstart scheme as of 23 February 2021.
tabling member constituency	Blaenau Gwent
tabling member printed	Nick Smith
uin	157063
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/03/2021 answer text <p>Data regarding the number of young people registered for the Kickstart scheme by constituency is not currently available.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 01/03/2021 17:51:07 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	3928 label Biography information for Nick Smith

1194558

registered interest
date	11/05/2020
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Health and Safety: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to enforce the adoption by employers of required health and safety measures to protect their employees during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Blaenau Gwent
tabling member printed	Nick Smith
uin	45091
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/05/2020 answer text <p>Where it is found that employers are not complying with Covid-19 guidelines, then appropriate action will be taken by the relevant enforcing authority including the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Local Authorities. Action can range from specific advice through to serving enforcement notices so as to ensure that practicable measures are implemented to protect workers and others.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, HSE has been given access to additional funding to support their advice and regulatory activity as businesses implement the new guidance on working safely. HSE’s plans will develop as more businesses return to work and this will include checks that appropriate measures are in place to protect workers from Covid-19.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 18/05/2020 11:51:45 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	3928 label Biography information for Nick Smith

1174411

registered interest
date	29/01/2020
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Pensions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether there are provisions to transfer out of defined benefit pension schemes into alternative investments in Pension Schemes Bill.
tabling member constituency	Blaenau Gwent
tabling member printed	Nick Smith
uin	9644
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/02/2020 answer text <p>In answering this question, the term ‘alternative investments’ is assumed to refer to investments that the individual chooses themselves, either that are unconventional in that they carry more risk, or are not typical of investments offered by personal pension schemes.</p><p> </p><p>The Pension Schemes Bill 2019-20 has no provisions that restrict how members transferring from defined benefits pensions should invest their pension rights.</p><p> </p><p>Clause 124 of the Pension Schemes Bill contains provisions to amend the statutory right to transfer and thereby restricts the types of pension arrangements under which a member can compel trustees to approve a transfer request. Members can still use their statutory right to transfer to an authorised Master Trust or an FCA authorised pension arrangement.</p><p> </p><p>In accordance with the principles of freedom and choice, members with defined benefit pension rights have the right to transfer to a defined contribution scheme to self-invest. These self-invested personal pension schemes can offer the member a range of investment funds, including alternative investments.</p><p> </p><p>Members with a cash equivalent greater than £30,000 must seek financial advice before they transfer or convert their pension rights into flexible benefits, that can be used for alternative investments. FCA rules for pension transfer advisers require that the form of investment the member is considering on transfer is considered as part of their recommendation to the member to transfer or not. However, the member retains the right to follow or ignore the advice they receive. Where trustees’ have concerns with the alternative investments in a members’ choice of destination, they should make the member aware as part of their overall requirement to carry out due diligence in the member’s interest.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 05/02/2020 11:23:24 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	3928 label Biography information for Nick Smith

1144714

registered interest
date	04/09/2019
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Personal Independence Payment: Older People
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether all recipients of personal independence payment (PIP) aged 65 or above will no longer receive reassessments to ensure continued receipt of PIP unless they inform her Department that their needs have changed.
tabling member constituency	Blaenau Gwent
tabling member printed	Nick Smith
uin	286689
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>From 31 May this year, new claimants to PIP - whose review would have been scheduled after they had reached State Pension age - are now receiving an ongoing award with a light touch review after the ten-year point. From 9 July this year, we began moving existing PIP claimants, who have reached state pension age, onto ongoing awards with a light touch review after the ten-year point. All claimants who report a change of circumstance will be reviewed in order to ensure that the claimant is receiving the correct level of award.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 09/09/2019 12:03:34 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	3928 label Biography information for Nick Smith