Automatic enrolment has achieved a quiet revolution through getting employees into the habit of pension saving, and reversing the decline in workplace pension participation in the decade prior to these reforms. Since automatic enrolment started in 2012 participation rates have been transformed with 87% of eligible employees saving into a workplace pension in 2018, up from 55% in 2012.<\/p>
<\/p>
The Department does not hold data for individual constituencies in relation to opt outs or the number of individuals who have saved above the automatic enrolment minimum contribution level. However, we do know that overall around 9% of automatically enrolled workers have chosen to opt out which is significantly below original estimates; and our latest evaluation report shows that, in April 2017, approximately 5.9 million eligible employees were already meeting the April 2019 minimum contribution rates[1].<\/p>
I am providing the following information about the impact of automatic enrolment in your constituency, as of August 2019.<\/p>
In the Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency, since 2012, approximately 6,000 eligible jobholders have been automatically enrolled and 1,290 employers have met their duties.<\/p>
<\/p>
[1]Automatic Enrolment Evaluation Report 2018, available via the following weblink:<\/p>
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/764964/Automatic_Enrolment_Evaluation_Report_2018.pdf<\/a>.<\/p> <\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4142", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Guy Opperman"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Hexham"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Guy Opperman"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-10-04", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-10-04T12:57:04.42Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "29"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2019-09-30", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Workplace Pensions: Kilmarnock and Loudoun"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the proportion of people in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency who have (a) opted out after being auto-enrolled into a workplace pension and (b) saved more than the auto-enrolment minimum contribution.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4470", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Alan Brown"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Kilmarnock and Loudoun"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Alan Brown"}
], "uin" : "292297"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1147067", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Work and Pensions"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1147067/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " Universal Credit new claim advances provide access to a payment for those in financial need, which can be accessed urgently, until their first regular Universal Credit payment is due. Claimants can access up to 100% of the total expected monthly award, which they can pay back over a period of up to 12 months. We have announced that from October 2021, the repayment period for these advances will be extended further, to 16 months.<\/p> <\/p> The Department has delivered a number of improvements to support claimants during their first assessment period, such as removing waiting days and paying those claimants moving from Housing Benefit onto Universal Credit a two week \u2018transitional housing payment\u2019. We are also introducing a two-week run on for eligible claimants of Income Support, Jobseeker\u2019s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance from July 2020.<\/p> <\/p> Claims may be backdated, by up to one calendar month, in limited circumstances for vulnerable claimants who may be delayed in claiming Universal Credit through no fault of their own. Claims may also be backdated in specific circumstances when a couple separates to ensure that there is no gap in entitlement between the couple claim and the new claim made by a single claimant.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4423", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Will Quince"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Colchester"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Will Quince"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-10-07", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-10-07T13:48:25.973Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "29"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2019-09-30", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Universal Credit"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of backdating universal credit payments to reduce the five week wait for a first payment.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4516", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Heidi Allen"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "South Cambridgeshire"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Heidi Allen"}
], "uin" : "292316"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1147068", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Work and Pensions"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1147068/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " The Secretary of State has a statutory duty to complete an annual review of benefit and pension rates to determine whether they have retained their value in relation to either prices or earnings.<\/p> <\/p> If there has been an increase in prices or earnings she must increase certain benefits by at least the increase in prices or earnings, using ONS data. For other benefits she may take into account the prevailing economic conditions and other relevant factors.<\/p> <\/p> Whilst organisations external to Government are free to make representations to the Secretary of State, the Department has made no assessment around the introduction of an independent commission to review the value of benefits.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4423", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Will Quince"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Colchester"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Will Quince"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-10-07", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-10-07T13:39:43.007Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "29"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Work and Pensions"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2019-09-30", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Social Security Benefits"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of establishing an independent commission to review the value of benefits to ensure they consistently match the cost of living.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4516", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Heidi Allen"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "South Cambridgeshire"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Heidi Allen"}
], "uin" : "292317"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1147069", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Work and Pensions"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1147069/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " For eligible Universal Credit claims with a payment due in May 2019 (the latest month of available data) 0.6% [11,000 claims] had a deduction for child maintenance arrears.<\/p> <\/p> Notes<\/p> - Number of claims rounded to nearest 1000.<\/p> - Percentage rounded to nearest 0.1%<\/p> An Impact Assessment of the benefit freeze was published in 2015, this is available in the link below.<\/p> <\/p>