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1233027

registered interest
date	09/09/2020
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: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential increase in pension scams since the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Crawley
tabling member printed	Henry Smith
uin	87524
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/09/2020 answer text <p>Through Project Bloom, DWP works with other government departments, regulators, enforcement agencies and the pensions industry to monitor the evolution of scam typology and respond with a collective and coordinated response. Project Bloom is examining the range of measures that all agencies including providers and financial professionals could take to help prevent scams.</p><p> </p><p>At the onset of the covid-19 pandemic, the Department convened a cross-government and regulator group to closely monitor and respond to any increase in transfers and scams. The group includes DWP, HMT, both the Pensions Regulator and the FCA as well as the Money and Pensions Service and the Pension Ombudsman. This is supported by cross government and regulator gathering, monitoring and evaluating of data in order to develop as complete and robust a picture as possible. At this point the Department doesn’t yet have any robust evidence showing an increase in pension scams activity but will continue to monitor across the industry.</p><p> </p><p>In addition to active monitoring, the Government, working with the regulators and the Money and Pension Service has been communicating with pension savers to alert them to the risk of scams in the current climate. DWP continues to communicate regularly on social media out the warning signs of a scam. A <a href="https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/covid-19-savers-stay-calm-dont-rush-financial-decisions" target="_blank">joint statement</a> was issued by The Pension Regulator, Financial Conduct Authority, and Money Advice and Pension Service on 7 April pointing to the actions members should seek to take to safeguard against becoming victims of scams. Additional guidance was issued to trustees, and providers from both The Financial Conduct Authority and the Pensions Regulator to support them to produce suitable communications during the Covid-19 outbreak.</p><p> </p><p>Please see links below for more information about the joint statement from Regulators and the Money Advice Service, and help available, produced by the Pension Protection Fund and supported by government.</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/covid-19-savers-stay-calm-dont-rush-financial-decisions" target="_blank">https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/covid-19-savers-stay-calm-dont-rush-financial-decisions</a></p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.ppf.co.uk/sites/default/files/file-2020-05/COVID-19-and-your-pension.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.ppf.co.uk/sites/default/files/file-2020-05/COVID-19-and-your-pension.pdf</a></p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 17/09/2020 15:35:38 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1233028

registered interest
date	09/09/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Pensions: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of Exchequer, how many people have accessed and transferred their pension early resulting in the recording of an unauthorised payment from their pension fund since the onset of the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Crawley
tabling member printed	Henry Smith
uin	87525
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/09/2020 answer text <p>The Government does not currently hold information about pension unauthorised payments since the onset of the Covid-19 outbreak.</p><p> </p><p>The scheme administrator of a registered pension scheme must tell HMRC when certain reportable events occur; reportable events include pension unauthorised payments.</p><p> </p><p>The scheme administrator does this by completing and submitting the Event Report for a tax year. HMRC must receive the Event Report by 31 January after the end of the tax year to which the Event Report relates, so there is no data currently available.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 16/09/2020 12:56:19 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1233030

registered interest
date	09/09/2020
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: Fraud
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 have contacted Action Fraud on potential pension scams since the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Crawley
tabling member printed	Henry Smith
uin	87526
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/09/2020 answer text <p>The Government continues to work with Regulators and the Police to prevent scams and this has continued during Covid-19. In the period March – July 2020, 116 reports of pension fraud were received by Action Fraud, compared to 179 for the same period in 2019.</p><p> </p><p>In recognition of the potential impact of Covid-19 on individual’s pensions savings the Department convened a cross-government and regulator group, to closely monitor and respond to any increase in transfers and scams. Regulators, Police and Action Fraud have confirmed that to date no evidence has emerged to demonstrate an increase in either transfers or scams, based on their internal monitoring of the industry. Although this is encouraging Government recognises it needs to continue to monitor and react to the changing environment.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 17/09/2020 11:08:01 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1233031

registered interest
date	09/09/2020
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: Advisory Services
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 have booked a Pension Wise guidance session since the start of the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Crawley
tabling member printed	Henry Smith
uin	87527
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/09/2020 answer text <p>Between March 1<sup>st</sup> and September 9<sup>th</sup> 2020, the number of Pension Wise guidance sessions booked totalled 64,221.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 16/09/2020 12:31:32 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1233035

registered interest
date	09/09/2020
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: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions her Department has had with HMRC on its investigation of tax rule breaches arising from pension scams.
tabling member constituency	Crawley
tabling member printed	Henry Smith
uin	87529
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/09/2020 answer text <p>Tax liabilities relating to unauthorised payments and HMRC’s investigation of tax rules arising from pension scams are the responsibility of HMT. DWP will continue to work closely with HMRC to understand their position and how these may impact the Pensions Schemes Bill and savers.</p><p> </p><p>Government continues to work with regulators and industry to protect consumers and find the best ways of preventing pension scams. HMRC and DWP have held regular discussions relating to the enhanced protection measures in the Pension Scheme Bill 2020.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 17/09/2020 10:54:22 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1232087

registered interest
date	07/09/2020
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	Universal Credit: Cancer
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions her Department has had with representatives of (a) Macmillan Cancer Support and (b) other similar charities on the potential merits of retaining (i) remote identity verification, (ii) flexible assessments and (iii) other such recently introduced measures to help universal credit claimants living with cancer.
tabling member constituency	Crawley
tabling member printed	Henry Smith
uin	86019
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/09/2020 answer text <p>The Department and its Ministers work in partnership with a variety of stakeholders, including local authorities, charities and employer groups, and listens directly to their feedback about Universal Credit. At its core, Universal Credit is about ensuring we deliver a service which is tailored to individual claimant circumstances and abilities. Following the outbreak of COVID-19, we adapted many of our services to be delivered remotely, and we will consider if changes can be retained longer term. But, many claimants benefit from having face to face contact with Work Coaches to overcome barriers and we will ensure this method of contact continues to be used where appropriate.</p><p> </p><p>Measures, such as identity verification, are key components of the Universal Credit claim process to confirm the accuracy of information supplied, allowing us to make timely and accurate decisions. In addition to our usual online verification, since early June we have been trialling the online identity service, Confirm Your Identity. This has enabled a higher number of claimants to verify their identity online, and we are continually monitoring and testing the impact this has on a claimant’s ability to verify remotely.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 14/09/2020 15:36:33 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1230176

registered interest
date	01/09/2020
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Livestock Industry: Zoonoses
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of potential effect of intensive animal farming on the prevalence of zoonotic diseases.
tabling member constituency	Crawley
tabling member printed	Henry Smith
uin	83755
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/09/2020 answer text <p>We know that potential zoonotic pathogens transfer from the environment, wildlife and livestock to humans. Research so far indicates that global changes in land use are disrupting the balance of wild animal communities and the beneficiaries appear to be species that carry diseases known to infect humans. It is estimated that 60% of all human diseases originate in animals. More intensive farming may expedite the spread of the pathogens.</p><p> </p><p>The Department's Veterinary Risk Group and the Human Animal Infections Risk and Surveillance Group carry out horizon scanning and risk assessment for emerging threats associated with livestock farming and wildlife, internationally and domestically.</p><p> </p><p>The Defra agency Cefas is currently working on a review of risks of zoonotic pathogens arising from aquaculture settings globally.</p><p> </p><p>We routinely carry out surveillance on farms for zoonotic pathogens. We have significant surveillance programmes testing for TB, avian influenza, salmonella, AMR and brucelloses. We work closely with the Food Standards Agency on detecting food borne pathogens and with local health protection teams and environmental health officers to control any outbreaks of zoonotic disease associated with livestock farming, consumption of products of animal origin or exposure to livestock.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 08/09/2020 16:23:12 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1230177

registered interest
date	01/09/2020
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Livestock: Transport
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals to ban the long-distance transportation of live animals; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Crawley
tabling member printed	Henry Smith
uin	83756
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2020 answer text <p>I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the Rt Hon Member for Chipping Barnet on 11 June 2020, PQ UIN 55899.</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2020-06-08/55899" target="_blank">https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2020-06-08/55899</a></p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 09/09/2020 13:13:20 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1230178

registered interest
date	01/09/2020
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Seals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to ban seal shooting in UK waters before the US Marine Mammal Protection Act Import Provision Rule deadline of 1 January 2022.
tabling member constituency	Crawley
tabling member printed	Henry Smith
uin	83757
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2020 answer text <p>The Government is taking action to prevent the killing of seals in English, Welsh and Northern Irish waters as a result of commercial fishing. The Marine Management Organisation has not issued licences to kill or take seals in the last ten years under the Conservation of Seals Act for the purpose of preventing damage to fisheries. However, the ‘netsman’s defence’ provision in the Act allows the unlicensed shooting of seals to prevent damage to equipment, or fish within it, and where specific firearms and ammunition are used. We have tabled amendments to the Fisheries Bill that will, if passed, make it illegal to kill seals intentionally or recklessly. These amendments aim to ensure that UK fisheries exports are compliant with the US Marine Mammal Protection Act. The Scottish Parliament recently passed similar legislative changes via the Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) (Scotland) Act 2020.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 09/09/2020 15:31:32 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1224393

registered interest
date	14/07/2020
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Coronavirus Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2020 to Question 68687, what formula was used to determine how much funding local authorities received from the Coronavirus Discretionary Grant Fund.
tabling member constituency	Crawley
tabling member printed	Henry Smith
uin	73790
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2020 answer text <p>Each of the 314 billing authorities currently involved in the delivery of the Small Business Grants Fund and Retail, Hospitality &amp; Leisure Fund will receive a fixed minimum allocation for the Local Authority Discretionary Grant Fund as a 5% uplift of the value of its in-scope hereditaments as identified at 3 May 2020. Individual letters were issued to all 314 Local Authorities on 20 May 2020 with a detailed explanation of their allocation.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 22/07/2020 15:57:22 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith