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797360

registered interest
date	29/11/2017
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	Pensioners: British Nationals Abroad
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 ensure that UK pensioners in other countries are subject to the same UK pension regulations and UK pension increases irrespective of country of residence.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	116323
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/12/2017 answer text <p>UK State Pensions are payable worldwide to those who are eligible, without regard to nationality. They are up-rated where there is a legal requirement to do so, for example in EEA countries and countries where there is a reciprocal agreement in place that allows for up-rating. This has been the policy of successive Governments for around 70 years and the Government has no plans to change this policy.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 04/12/2017 14:43:40 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

765849

registered interest
date	06/10/2017
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	State Retirement Pensions: Females
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 merits of compensating women who have reached state pension age for losses caused by changes introduced in the Pension Acts 1995 and 2011 to their state pensions.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	106071
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/10/2017 answer text <p>The Government will not be revisiting the State Pension age arrangements for women affected by the Pensions Act 1995 and Pensions Act 2011. These women will receive their State Pension either at the same age as men or earlier as we remove the current inequality, as set out in the 1995 &amp; 2011 Acts. A concession was made prior to the passing of the 2011 Act which reduced the delay that anyone would experience in claiming their State Pension, relative to the previous timetable, to 18 months. This concession benefited almost a quarter of a million women, who would otherwise have experienced delays of up to two years. A similar number of men also benefited from a reduced increase, and the concession was worth £1.1 billion in total.</p><p>It is worth noting that the average woman who reached SPa post 2015 gets a higher state pension income over her lifetime than an average woman reaching SPa at any point before. Also, over a lifetime, the average woman who reached State Pension age in 2015 will still receive more than the average man in spite of the rise in women’s state pension age. Any amendment to the current legislation which creates a new inequality between men and women would unquestionably be highly dubious as a matter of law.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 16/10/2017 15:50:16 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

765850

registered interest
date	06/10/2017
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	State Retirement Pensions: Females
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 has taken to achieve equitable transitional state pension arrangements for all women born in the 1950s affected by changes to state pensions introduced buy the Pensions Act 1995 and 2011.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	106072
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/10/2017 answer text <p>The decision to equalise the State Pension age for men and women dates back to 1995 and addresses a longstanding inequality between men and women’s State Pension age. If State Pension ages had not been equalised, women would be spending 40% of their adult life in retirement and this proportion would be continuing to increase.</p><p>The 2010-15 Government made the decision to bring in further changes to the State Pension age, following extensive debates in both Houses of Parliament. These changes were introduced in order to protect public finances and maintain the sustainability of the state pension over the long term. Life expectancy at age 65 increased by 5 years for men and almost 4 years for women in the 20 years to 2009. The 2011 Act accelerated the equalisation of women’s State Pension age by 18 months and brought forward the increase in men and women’s State Pension age to 66 by five and a half years, relative to the previous timetables. Failing to act in light of compelling demographic evidence would have been irresponsible and would have placed an unfair fiscal burden on the working population.</p><p>A concession was made prior to the passing of the 2011 Act which reduced the delay that anyone would experience in claiming their State Pension, relative to the previous timetable, to 18 months. This concession benefited almost a quarter of a million women, who would otherwise have experienced delays of up to two years. A similar number of men also benefited from a reduced increase, and the concession was worth £1.1 billion in total.</p><p>This issue has been debated numerous times and numerous statements have already been made. Introducing further concessions cannot be justified given the imperative to focus public resources on helping those most in need.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 16/10/2017 16:07:52 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

750796

registered interest
date	11/07/2017
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	Rented Housing: Carbon Monoxide
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 adequacy of landlords’ gas safety checks in respect of carbon monoxide; and whether such checks should be carried out on more than just a representative sample of gas equipment in any one premises.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	4272
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/07/2017 answer text <p>The Gas Safety (Installations and Use) Regulations 1998 require landlords to ensure that each gas appliance and flue in a property provided for tenants’ use is checked to ensure it is operating safely by a Gas Safe registered engineer within 12 months of being installed and at intervals of not more than 12 months since it was last checked. Such checks must be done on each gas appliance – not just a representative sample.</p><p> </p><p>A recent consultation by the Health and Safety Executive on these Regulations involved an assessment of the adequacy of landlords’ gas safety checks, including with respect to carbon monoxide. This assessment and other evidence confirmed that the regulatory requirements for these checks are sufficient to ensure safety.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 19/07/2017 09:42:49 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

723806

registered interest
date	24/04/2017
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	Homelessness: Young People
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 changes to housing benefit for 18 to 21-year olds on levels of youth homelessness.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	71706
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/04/2017 answer text <p>I refer the Hon Member to my answer of 15 March this year to Written Question 66778 on this subject. This can be accessed from the following link:</p><p> </p><p><a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2017-03-07/66778/" target="_blank">http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2017-03-07/66778/</a></p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 26/04/2017 16:18:53 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

713588

registered interest
date	23/03/2017
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	Personal Independence Payment
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 efficacy of the use of cassette audio recording equipment during personal independence payment assessments.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	69041
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/03/2017 answer text <p>The Department continuously looks for opportunities to improve the PIP claims process.</p><p> </p><p>As part of that, we are carrying out a small-scale pilot to test whether there are any benefits to audio recording face-to-face assessments.</p><p> </p><p>The pilot only began recently, on March 13; once the results have been processed and evaluated, we will be better placed to assess the efficacy of audio recording PIP assessments.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 29/03/2017 15:32:35 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

710651

registered interest
date	13/03/2017
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	Personal Independence Payment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department takes to monitor the performance of Atos in conducting personal independence payment assessments.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	67632
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/03/2017 answer text <p>The Department has a strong contract management and operational monitoring regime in place that enables us to robustly monitor the performance of contracted providers including the requirements for the quality of assessments which are assessed through independent audit.</p><p> </p><p>There are a range of mechanisms in place to address performance falling below expected standards, including the application of financial remedies where appropriate.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 21/03/2017 14:51:56 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

710654

registered interest
date	13/03/2017
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	Personal Independence Payment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of recording all personal independence payment assessments.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	67684
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/03/2017 answer text <p>On 13 March a small-scale pilot started to test whether there are any benefits to audio recording Personal Independence Payment (PIP) face-to-face assessments. Once the results of this pilot have been processed and evaluated, we will be able to make further decisions on whether DWP will consider recording further assessments in the future. We have always made clear that we are continuously looking to identify opportunities to improve the entire PIP claim process. This small-scale pilot is entirely voluntary and all recordings will be subject to claimant consent.</p><p> </p><p>There is an existing process for those who wish to record their assessments which is publicised on the websites of both assessment providers and this pilot does not affect the existing arrangements. Claimants can continue to record their PIP assessment using their own equipment, provided it meets the requirements as set out by DWP. Once the results of this trial have been processed and evaluated, we will be able to make further decisions on whether DWP will consider further recording of assessments in the future.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 21/03/2017 14:59:38 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

706831

registered interest
date	01/03/2017
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	State Retirement Pensions: Females
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 merits of providing compensation for losses women who have already reached their state pension age have incurred through changes to the state pension law made by the 1995 and 2011 Pension Acts.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	66237
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/03/2017 answer text <p>The Government will not be revisiting the State Pension age arrangements for women affected by the Pensions Act 1995 and Pensions Act 2011. These women will receive their State Pension either at the same age as men or earlier as we remove the current inequality. A concession was made prior to the passing of the 2011 Act which reduced the delay that anyone would experience in claiming their State Pension, relative to the previous timetable, to 18 months. This concession benefited almost a quarter of a million women, who would otherwise have experienced delays of up to two years. A similar number of men also benefited from a reduced increase, and the concession was worth £1.1 billion in total.</p><p> </p><p>It is worth noting that the average woman who reached SPa in 2015 gets a higher state pension income over her lifetime than an average woman reaching SPa at any point before. Also, over a lifetime, the average woman who reached State Pension age in 2015 will still receive more than the average man in spite of the rise in women’s state pension age.</p> answering member constituency Watford answering member printed Richard Harrington question first answered 08/03/2017 11:17:26 answering member 4068 label Biography information for Lord Harrington of Watford
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

596103

registered interest
date	07/10/2016
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	Work Capability Assessment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many qualified doctors are employed by Maximus in delivering work assessments.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	47248
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/10/2016 answer text <p>As of 26 September 2016, there were 196.14 (full time equivalent) doctors employed as Healthcare Professionals by the Centre for Health Disability Assessments (CHDA is a MAXIMUS company) in delivering Work Capability Assessments.</p> answering member constituency Portsmouth North answering member printed Penny Mordaunt question first answered 14/10/2016 13:38:17 answering member 4017 label Biography information for Penny Mordaunt
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman