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166087

registered interest
date	25/11/2014
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: Fees and Charges
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are measuring the impact of auto-enrolment on fees charged by the investment management industry; and what plans they have to track any changes.
tabling member printed	Lord Mendelsohn
uin	HL3145
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The Government’s Command Paper, ‘Better Workplace Pensions: Further measures for savers’, published in March, set out a range of measures including a cap on charges in default fund arrangements, a ban on inappropriate charges and proposals to introduce minimum governance standards and improve transparency across workplace defined contribution schemes.</p><p> </p><p>Following this, Government launched its consultation on draft regulations on governance and charges in occupational pension schemes in October 2014. Subject to Parliamentary approval, the majority of this legislation will come into force from April 2015, alongside Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules in relation to workplace personal pension schemes where appropriate. From April 2015, the Government intends to introduce a charge cap on the default funds of qualifying schemes, set at 0.75 per cent of funds under management and the first phase of enhanced transparency with trustees and Independent Governance Committees (IGCs) being required to report on costs and charges for the first time.</p><p> </p><p>In 2015 Government will consult on regulations under duties in the Pensions Act 2014 requiring information about transaction costs to be disclosed to members and others, and the publication of costs and charges information. The FCA also intends to consult on amending their own rules to introduce equivalent enhanced transparency provisions for workplace personal pension schemes during 2015. The Government has also set out its plans to review the level of the default fund charge cap, to see if it should be lowered, and also whether it should include some or all of the transaction costs that are ultimately borne by members within a cap. This review will take place in 2017.</p><p> </p><p>Taken together the combined effect of these measures on charges, governance and transparency and the Government’s commitment to a review should ensure that savers are being enrolled into workplace schemes that are well run and in members’ interests.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 08/12/2014 12:19:52 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	4286 label Biography information for Lord Mendelsohn

166089

registered interest
date	25/11/2014
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 review the basis on which projections of potential returns are used by the investment management industry in communications with pension holders.
tabling member printed	Lord Mendelsohn
uin	HL3147
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>Since 6 April 2003, certain money purchase pension arrangements have been required to provide members with Statutory Money Purchase Illustrations (SMPIs). Legislation requires that statutory illustrations are produced in accordance with guidance prepared by a prescribed body approved by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and by the Department for Social Development in Northern Ireland.</p><p>The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is the prescribed body and has been since 6 April 2007. The FRC fulfils its obligations through the publication of Actuarial Standard Technical Memorandum AS TM1: Statutory Money Purchase Illustrations (AS TM1). It reviews AS TM1 regularly and the last completed review was carried out in 2013 following the introduction of the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/2734) which came into force on 6 April 2014. The AS TM1 specifies that the investment return should take into account the current and anticipated future investment strategy of the member’s funds over the period to retirement and be consistent from year to year, with the rationale documented and made available to members on request.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules require a projection at point of sale for contract based pensions. The investment return must reflect the investment potential of the (expected) underlying assets, subject to an overall cap of 5%pa. Flanking projections must be provided using returns which vary by +/- 3%. The FCA has a public commitment to review the basis every 4 years and the next review is due in 2015. The FCA do not require further projections during the lifetime of the contract as pension scheme members will receive statutory statements prepared under DWP legislation. However, where a provider chooses to provide additional projections, they must follow the same basis as point of sale projections.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 08/12/2014 12:26:30 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	4286 label Biography information for Lord Mendelsohn

166093

registered interest
date	25/11/2014
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	Employment: Hearing Impairment
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the average financial value of awards made to people whose primary medical condition was classified as difficulty in hearing for the provision of a communication support worker in each of the last five years for which figures are available.
tabling member printed	Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
uin	HL3151
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The average figures for the last five years for awards for the provision of Communication Support Workers from the Access to Work scheme are:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial Year</p></td><td><p>Average award</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009/10</p></td><td><p>£9,900</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/11</p></td><td><p>£11,100</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>£12,700</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/13</p></td><td><p>£14,600</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/14</p></td><td><p>£13,500</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The above figures relate to the provision of Communication Support Workers only and do not include information regarding the provision of BSL interpreters.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 01/12/2014 15:24:12 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	2024 label Biography information for Lord Hunt of Kings Heath

166094

registered interest
date	25/11/2014
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	Access to Work Programme
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many users of Access to Work whose primary medical condition is classified as difficulty in hearing had the financial value of their support reduced as a result of a case review in each of the last five years for which figures are available.
tabling member printed	Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
uin	HL3152
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2014 answer text <p>The requested information is not available.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 01/12/2014 15:43:41 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	2024 label Biography information for Lord Hunt of Kings Heath

166104

registered interest
date	25/11/2014
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	Social Security Benefits: Fraud
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government in how many localities, and at what cost, they have contracted with bus companies or public transport bodies to display advertisements on buses calling on people who know "benefit cheats" to inform the Department for Work and Pensions.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL3162
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>Advertising on buses was targeted in 25 local authority areas at a cost of £219,786.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 09/12/2014 16:40:33 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham