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1260276

registered interest
date	10/12/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Roadchef: Employee Benefit Trusts
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received on the potential merits of introducing legislation to resolve the dispute between HMRC and the trustee and beneficiaries of the Roadchef Employee Benefits Trust.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	128177
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/12/2020 answer text <p>The administration of the tax system is a matter for HM Revenue and Customs and it would not be appropriate for Treasury ministers to become involved in the administration of the tax system in specific cases.</p><p>The Chancellor has received representations from some Members of Parliament on introducing legislation to resolve the Roadchef dispute.</p><p>The Government keeps all tax legislation under regular review and any changes are considered in line with Government priorities.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 15/12/2020 10:44:35 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1260277

registered interest
date	10/12/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Employee Ownership
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans he has to introduce legislative proposals to improve the regulation of the actions of trustees of employee share schemes.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	128178
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/12/2020 answer text <p>The Government keeps all tax legislation under regular review and any changes are considered in line with its priorities. The Government does not plan to introduce legislation at this time to regulate the actions of trustees of employee share schemes.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman grouped question UIN 128179 128180 question first answered 15/12/2020 10:48:40 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1260279

registered interest
date	10/12/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Employee Ownership
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will establish an inquiry into the HMRC's administration of tax exemptions relating to employee share schemes.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	128180
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/12/2020 answer text <p>The Government keeps all tax legislation under regular review and any changes are considered in line with its priorities. The Government does not plan to introduce legislation at this time to regulate the actions of trustees of employee share schemes.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman grouped question UIN 128178 128179 question first answered 15/12/2020 10:48:40 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1259181

registered interest
date	08/12/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Pensions: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to ensure that HMRC pursues pension scammers holding stolen funds.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	126891
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/12/2020 answer text Most pension avoidance scheme promoters do not break the tax rules. But where they do, HMRC will pursue them. HMRC is responsible for pension tax relief but not for the regulation of pension schemes. Regulation is the responsibility of the Pensions Regulator and the Financial Conduct Authority. HMRC works with other regulators and law enforcement agencies, through Project Bloom, to ensure a co-ordinated and joined up approach is taken to tackle pension avoidance schemes. answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 14/12/2020 15:39:37 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1259182

registered interest
date	08/12/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Pensions: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many tax rule breaches resulting from pension scams have been identified by HMRC in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	126892
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/12/2020 answer text <p>HMRC deals with tackling tax avoidance, evasion and other forms of non-compliance.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC is responsible for pension tax relief but not for the regulation of pension schemes. Regulation is the responsibility of the Pensions Regulator and the Financial Conduct Authority.</p><p> </p><p>Since 2015 individuals over 55 have been able to legally withdraw amounts from their pension pots, pay tax on the amounts withdrawn and invest the amounts however they wish. However, as the amounts withdrawn and the investment occurs outside of the pensions tax wrapper, this does not give rise to tax breaches, provided the relevant tax charges are paid.</p><p> </p><p>Pension investment frauds are arguably a subset of investment frauds. Serious or complex fraud is a criminal offence and is investigated by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), also has as one of its statutory objectives the reduction of financial crime, which includes fraud.</p><p> </p><p>HMRC empathises with anyone who believes that they may have been misled about their pension investments. We will continue working closely with the Pensions Regulator and Financial Conduct Authority to tackle pension avoidance schemes.</p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 14/12/2020 15:43:39 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1258756

registered interest
date	07/12/2020
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: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish the equality impact assessments conducted by or on behalf of her Department before the reimposition of universal credit conditionality and sanctioning in July 2020.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	126050
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/12/2020 answer text <p>No – and there are no plans to publish the Equality Impact assessment as it is a return to existing legislation.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 10/12/2020 16:16:44 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1258788

registered interest
date	07/12/2020
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 steps she will take to protect consumers from proceeding with fraudulent online pension transfers.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	126051
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/12/2020 answer text <p>Government is committed to safeguarding the savings of consumers based in the UK and people living overseas with UK based savings. Although the majority of transfers are to safe destinations there are still fraudsters who try to entice individuals to transfer to schemes for the purposes of relieving them of their pension savings.</p><p> </p><p>To help protect people from pension scams, clause 125 in the Pensions Schemes Bill 2020 will allow government to introduce measures to limit the statutory right to transfer. The clause achieves many things and reference is made to all the parliamentary responses on this topic for the details. However, in summary:</p><p> </p><ol><li>it introduces in legislation provisions that require members to provide evidence of an employment link or, if transferring abroad, residency before a statutory transfer can take place; and</li></ol><p> </p><ol start="2"><li>it will remove the right to transfer if certain circumstances (red flags) are identified by the trustee or scheme administrator. For other prescribed circumstances people will be required to confirm they have received information or taken guidance about the risk of scams before a transfer can proceed. We are and will continue to work with industry and regulators to identify these circumstances. This means that trustees will have the power to refuse a transfer if the red flags occur or an individual has not taken guidance. The regulator will oversee the operation of these new requirements.</li></ol><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Regulators and trustees also have a broader role to play in scam prevention. The Pension Regulator, Financial Conduct Authority, and Money Advice and Pension Service issued information 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><p> </p><p>In addition, 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 about the warning signs of a scam.</p><p> </p><p>We have adopted an approach that not only safeguards against pension scams but assists all pension savers seeking to access their pensions.</p><p> </p><p>For all pension savers aged 50 and over, in the lead up to accessing their pension savings, our aim is to support them make informed choices about their retirement income. We are therefore committed to replicating measures introduced by the FCA for contract based schemes for occupational pension schemes and requiring trustees to provide information to pensions savers from the age of 50, in a simpler format, to encourage savers to think about their retirement savings, choices and raise awareness of Pension Wise.</p><p> </p><p>We want to encourage savers to take appropriate guidance via Pension Wise when they apply to access savings. We want to present taking guidance or advice as a natural part of the journey when individuals access their pension savings. We are working with the FCA on rules that would require managers of private pension schemes to Introduce parallel provisions.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to safeguarding consumer savings and continues to raise public awareness of scams through ongoing communications directly from DWP and with other organisations.</p><p> </p><p>DWP continues to communicate regularly on social media to set out the warning signs of a scam and has made multiple posts referencing Pension Scams and #ScamSmart in total across Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn in the period March to September 2020.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, Pensions Dashboards will help more people actively manage their pension savings and plan for their retirement, and this will include making decisions about pension consolidation, particularly for deferred defined contribution pots. Initial dashboards will enable a user to find and view their pension savings in one place. Future functionality will be informed by user research and testing, and consumer protection will be a primary concern in this decision making.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 126052 question first answered 10/12/2020 14:39:53 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1258789

registered interest
date	07/12/2020
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 powers she will give to regulators and trustees to allow them to override the individual’s statutory right to transfer their pension in the event of a suspected scam.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	126052
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/12/2020 answer text <p>Government is committed to safeguarding the savings of consumers based in the UK and people living overseas with UK based savings. Although the majority of transfers are to safe destinations there are still fraudsters who try to entice individuals to transfer to schemes for the purposes of relieving them of their pension savings.</p><p> </p><p>To help protect people from pension scams, clause 125 in the Pensions Schemes Bill 2020 will allow government to introduce measures to limit the statutory right to transfer. The clause achieves many things and reference is made to all the parliamentary responses on this topic for the details. However, in summary:</p><p> </p><ol><li>it introduces in legislation provisions that require members to provide evidence of an employment link or, if transferring abroad, residency before a statutory transfer can take place; and</li></ol><p> </p><ol start="2"><li>it will remove the right to transfer if certain circumstances (red flags) are identified by the trustee or scheme administrator. For other prescribed circumstances people will be required to confirm they have received information or taken guidance about the risk of scams before a transfer can proceed. We are and will continue to work with industry and regulators to identify these circumstances. This means that trustees will have the power to refuse a transfer if the red flags occur or an individual has not taken guidance. The regulator will oversee the operation of these new requirements.</li></ol><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Regulators and trustees also have a broader role to play in scam prevention. The Pension Regulator, Financial Conduct Authority, and Money Advice and Pension Service issued information 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><p> </p><p>In addition, 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 about the warning signs of a scam.</p><p> </p><p>We have adopted an approach that not only safeguards against pension scams but assists all pension savers seeking to access their pensions.</p><p> </p><p>For all pension savers aged 50 and over, in the lead up to accessing their pension savings, our aim is to support them make informed choices about their retirement income. We are therefore committed to replicating measures introduced by the FCA for contract based schemes for occupational pension schemes and requiring trustees to provide information to pensions savers from the age of 50, in a simpler format, to encourage savers to think about their retirement savings, choices and raise awareness of Pension Wise.</p><p> </p><p>We want to encourage savers to take appropriate guidance via Pension Wise when they apply to access savings. We want to present taking guidance or advice as a natural part of the journey when individuals access their pension savings. We are working with the FCA on rules that would require managers of private pension schemes to Introduce parallel provisions.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to safeguarding consumer savings and continues to raise public awareness of scams through ongoing communications directly from DWP and with other organisations.</p><p> </p><p>DWP continues to communicate regularly on social media to set out the warning signs of a scam and has made multiple posts referencing Pension Scams and #ScamSmart in total across Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn in the period March to September 2020.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, Pensions Dashboards will help more people actively manage their pension savings and plan for their retirement, and this will include making decisions about pension consolidation, particularly for deferred defined contribution pots. Initial dashboards will enable a user to find and view their pension savings in one place. Future functionality will be informed by user research and testing, and consumer protection will be a primary concern in this decision making.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 126051 question first answered 10/12/2020 14:39:53 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1258089

registered interest
date	03/12/2020
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	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 assessment she has made of the effect of the covid-19 pandemic on levels of poverty among UK pensioners living overseas.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	124763
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/12/2020 answer text <p>This information is not available.</p><p> </p><p>The most recent poverty statistics for pensioners are derived from the 2018/19 Family Resources Survey (FRS) so would not cover the impact of the covid-19 pandemic. As the FRS sample is drawn from random UK addresses it does not provide information on those living overseas.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 08/12/2020 14:53:28 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray

1257226

registered interest
date	01/12/2020
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: Scotland
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will take steps to ensure that recipients of the Scottish Government's health and social care workers £500 bonus payment who are in receipt of universal credit are able to keep the full amount of that payment.
tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
tabling member printed	Neil Gray
uin	123611
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/12/2020 answer text <p>The Government recognises the vital role that all key workers including health and social care workers continue to play.</p><p>Universal Credit (UC) is designed to ensure that people are better off in work by reducing their UC by less than they are earning. Bonuses are treated as earnings in Universal Credit and the taper is applied when the UC award is calculated.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 07/12/2020 16:32:27 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4365 label Biography information for Neil Gray