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1167215

registered interest
date	29/10/2019
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	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 ensure that the Pensions Regulator makes pension schemes regularly reconcile and report on the accuracy of auto-enrolment pensions data.
tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
uin	HL483
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2019 answer text <p>Automatic Enrolment into workplace pensions is working. It has transformed pension saving for millions of today’s workers. It has reversed the decline in workplace pension saving seen in the decade prior to its introduction. Since automatic enrolment started in 2012, workplace participation has increased among eligible employees from a low of 55 per cent in 2012 to 87 per cent in 2018. The Government has put in place a robust, proportionate compliance framework. This is administered by The Pensions Regulator, and includes detailed regulatory guidance about how to comply with the law. An employer is required to select a qualifying pension scheme; enrol qualifying staff into that scheme, and deduct any contributions payable under Automatic Enrolment.</p><p> </p><p>The Pensions Regulator’s priorities are contained in their corporate plan 2019-22 and include; providing clarity, enforcing the high standards of trusteeship, governance and administration they expect.</p><p> </p><p>Qualifying pension schemes for Automatic Enrolment are subject to the regulatory framework overseen by The Pensions Regulator in respect of payment and accuracy of contributions. The Regulator has published codes of practice on its website setting out how trustees of defined contribution pension schemes and managers of personal pension schemes should monitor the payment of contributions; provide information to help members check their contributions; and report material payment failures to the Regulator.</p><p> </p><p>The regulatory regime is designed so that errors can be identified and material failures can be reported, the Regulator can then require restitution; and, where necessary, make use of its enforcement powers. The Government keeps all aspects of automatic enrolment under regular review but has no plans to make changes to the compliance framework at this time.</p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 04/11/2019 14:12:19 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

1156543

registered interest
date	28/10/2019
answering body	Cabinet Office
answering dept id	53
answering dept short name	Cabinet Office
answering dept sort name	Cabinet Office
hansard heading	Brexit: Advertising
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how much they have spent on (1) motorway advertising, (2) newspaper advertisements, and (3) other public information campaigns, in the past 12 months, about preparing for the possibility of a no-deal Brexit.
tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
uin	HL423
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/10/2019 answer text <p>‘Get Ready for Brexit’ is a cross-government campaign using national advertising including TV, radio, press, digital and outdoor advertising. It also includes direct engagement and local elements including business preparedness events, ministerial visits and local authority activity.</p><p>The cost of the public information campaign will be published monthly on a rolling basis, as part of routine government transparency arrangements.</p><p> </p> answering member printed The Earl of Courtown question first answered 31/10/2019 16:12:08 answering member 3359 label Biography information for The Earl of Courtown
tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

1156544

registered interest
date	28/10/2019
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Ferries: Contracts
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how much they have spent on ferry contracts that were entered into in anticipation of a possible no-deal Brexit in the past 12 months.
tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
uin	HL424
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2019 answer text <p>As part of preparations for a potential No Deal Brexit in March, the Government procured additional freight capacity to support the continued flow of Category 1 goods. When Article 50 was extended, £51.4m was paid to terminate contracts.</p><p> </p><p>The Government ran a new procurement exercise to secure freight capacity as part of preparations for Brexit on 31 October, entering into contracts for the 6 months from this date. With the extension to Article 50, we have changed our requirements with operators to make sure that capacity remains available from 31 January if required. This scaling down of capacity will cost approximately £8m.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Vere of Norbiton question first answered 04/11/2019 15:16:27 answering member 4580 label Biography information for Baroness Vere of Norbiton
tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

1156545

registered interest
date	28/10/2019
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	NHS: Drugs and Medical Equipment
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what preventive measures they have put in place to protect the NHS from running short of essential medicines and medical supplies in preparation for a possible no-deal Brexit on 31 October or any other date; and what estimate they have made of the costs incurred from such measures.
tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
uin	HL425
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2019 answer text <p>It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Dissolution. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.</p> answering member printed Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford question first answered 05/11/2019 17:12:17 answering member 4019 label Biography information for Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

1156546

registered interest
date	28/10/2019
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Nurses: Pensions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many NHS practice nurses in England, after working in NHS GP practices across the country, have been excluded from the NHS pension arrangements available to other NHS staff; what estimate they have made of the pension such nurses would have accrued, on average, had they been able to accrue pensions in the same way as nurses working in other parts of the NHS.
tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
uin	HL426
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2019 answer text <p>It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Dissolution. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.</p> answering member printed Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford question first answered 05/11/2019 17:12:28 answering member 4019 label Biography information for Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

1156548

registered interest
date	28/10/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Workplace Pensions: Tax Allowances
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) employers, and (2) pension scheme members, have received too much tax relief due to incorrect pension contributions being made as a result of confusion between (a) Relief at Source, and (b) Net Pay, arrangements.
tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
uin	HL428
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/11/2019 answer text <p>Employers have not been given too much or too little tax relief as employers do not receive tax relief under net pay or relief at source (RAS) arrangements.</p><p> </p><p>The information about members is not readily available in the form requested and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>Errors made by employers and pension providers have resulted in pension scheme members receiving either no tax relief on their pension contributions, or receiving tax relief twice.</p><p> </p><p>In the Pension schemes newsletter 105 (November 2018), HMRC invited pension schemes who think that any of their members have been given the wrong amount of tax relief to email HMRC. HMRC would then work with the scheme to help correct their tax position.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC is continuing to work with the pension schemes that have informed if an error has been made, but is unable to give more detail of these cases as this could prejudice future HMRC compliance activity.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member printed The Earl of Courtown question first answered 04/11/2019 14:00:18 answering member 3359 label Biography information for The Earl of Courtown
tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

1144865

registered interest
date	04/09/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Workplace Pensions: Tax Allowances
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, with respect to the National Statistics data published in April, which estimated the total cost of pension tax relief in respect of registered pension schemes for the year ending 5 April 2018 at £36.3 billion including £4.3 billion in tax relief on employee contributions to occupational pension schemes, (1) what is the estimated figure of gross pension contributions on which this figure was based, and (2) what specific assumptions were made as to the rates of tax applicable in arriving at the figure of £4.3 billion; and whether these assumptions included that all employees making contributions to occupational schemes receive the full tax relief to which they are entitled, including those contributing to net pay pension schemes.
tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
uin	HL17699
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.</del></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">HMRC publishes estimates of the cost of pension tax relief which is available in table 6 of HM Revenue and Customs Personal Pension Statistics on Gov.uk. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"><em> </em></ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">These estimates were revised on 26<sup>th</sup> September 2019 as part of an overall update to HMRC’s Personal Pension and Pension Relief statistics. Estimates of the cost of tax relief on contributions are produced using the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) for income, individual and employer contributions for members of pension schemes that use the net pay mechanism; and administrative data HMRC holds on relief at source administrative data matched to the Survey of Personal Incomes (SPI) - for income, individual and employer pension contributions for members of pension schemes that use the relief at source mechanism.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The cost of tax relief for all contributions made by individuals is approximately £6.3bn, broken down as the cost of relief on employee contributions to occupational schemes (£4.2bn), to personal pension schemes (£1.6bn), and self-employed contributions to pensions (£0.5bn). Occupational pensions here includes some master trust pension schemes which use the relief at source method. Personal pensions here includes workplace personal pension schemes (such as group personal pensions).</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">i) The £4.3bn figure referenced is the cost of pension tax relief relating to occupational pension schemes. Estimates of the cost of pension tax relief were revised on September 26<sup>th</sup> 2019 as part of an overall update to HMRC’s Personal Pensions and Pension Relief Statistics. The £4.3bn figure referenced has since been revised to £4.2bn. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">This £4.2bn figure of tax relief is derived from around £15.9bn of estimated “relievable” individual pension contributions to occupational pension schemes, (where “relievable” refers to our best estimates of contributions which are within the individual’s pensions Annual Allowance). </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">ii) Marginal rate tax relief is applied to these estimates of “relievable” contributions as if these contributions were taxed. Estimates are produced assuming all members contributing to all pension schemes receive full marginal rate tax relief on their contributions.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"><em> </em></ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">As noted in the publication, costs are subject to large revisions and have a particularly wide margin of error – reflecting the variety of sources of data (both administrative and survey) required to produce these estimates.</ins></p> answering member printed The Earl of Courtown question first answered 09/09/2019 16:33:08 question first ministerially corrected 08/10/2019 12:38:27 answering member 3359 label Biography information for The Earl of Courtown previous answer version 135351 answering member printed The Earl of Courtown answering member 3359 label Biography information for The Earl of Courtown
tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

1144866

registered interest
date	04/09/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
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 estimate they have made of the amount of tax relief forgone in net pay pension schemes by workers earning below the personal tax threshold while contributing to workplace pensions in the past three tax years.
tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
uin	HL17700
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>Members of net pay pension schemes receive tax relief on their pension contributions at their marginal rate as these contributions are deducted before tax is calculated. Those individuals with income below the personal tax threshold do not pay tax.</p><p> </p><p>Members of relief at source pension schemes, however, receive a 20% basic rate top up on their pension contribution, even though they do not pay tax.</p><p> </p><p>The Economic Secretary to the Treasury provided the Work and Pensions committee an estimate of the cost of providing the same type of top-up as exist for those in relief at source scheme to those in net pay schemes. This estimate was around £100m per tax year.</p> answering member printed The Earl of Courtown question first answered 09/09/2019 15:42:07 answering member 3359 label Biography information for The Earl of Courtown
tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

1142430

registered interest
date	25/07/2019
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	General Practitioners: Nurses
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of pension provision for GP practice nurses and, in particular, the impact of their exclusion from the NHS pension scheme until 1997.
tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
uin	HL17504
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/08/2019 answer text <p>Membership of the NHS Pension Scheme was extended to general practitioner (GP) practice nurses from September 1997, following an agreement reached with organisations representing nurses and GPs. Prior to this date, GP practice nurses were excluded because eligibility was originally limited to those directly employed by a National Health Service body. GP practice nurses are employed directly by self-employed GPs, rather than the NHS.</p><p>The pressure on NHS Pension Scheme costs, which are met mutually across all members and their employers, meant that practice nurses could not be offered retrospective membership for employment before 1997. This was accepted by staff representatives at the time of the agreement, and remains the current position.</p><p>However, GP practice nurses and their employers can make voluntary extra contributions to purchase units of ‘Additional Pension’ and so boost their NHS retirement pensions.</p> answering member printed Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford question first answered 07/08/2019 11:43:50 answering member 4019 label Biography information for Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann

1142431

registered interest
date	25/07/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Taxation: Electronic Government
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to continue with the rollout of their Simple Assessment and dynamic coding projects, which were paused in May 2018.
tabling member printed	Baroness Altmann
uin	HL17505
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/08/2019 answer text <p>HM Revenue &amp; Customs (HMRC) delivered Simple Assessment to a small number of customers in 2017. Due to the need to prioritise EU exit, HMRC temporarily suspended further work to extend the service to a larger number of customers. The service remains active for the original user base, and further enhancements are being made this financial year. HMRC are reviewing whether to make further investments into the service in the context of the Spending Review.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC have long had a delivery plan for the dynamic coding-out of debt project. The service was successfully introduced for a number of taxation scenarios that cause an over- or under-payment of PAYE.</p><p> </p><p>After the closure of the Making Tax Digital for Individuals Programme, which included a wider dynamic coding option, and resource reallocation to EU exit, a new IT solution was required for this Budget 2017 project. HMRC remain committed to delivering this project. Further work on the wider dynamic coding activities will be considered as part of wider Spending Review planning.</p> answering member printed Lord Young of Cookham question first answered 06/08/2019 14:08:44 answering member 57 label Biography information for Lord Young of Cookham
tabling member	4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann