The below Parliamentary question was asked by Edward Vaizey on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether it remains his policy to use the powers provided under the Pensions Act 2014 to increase the cap on compensation from the Pension Protection Fund for scheme members with long service.
Richard Harrington
I am committed to implementing the Pension Protection Fund long service cap and hope to be able to make an announcement shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Scott Mann on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department plans to implement the long service compensation cap for the Pension Protection Fund.
Richard Harrington
I am committed to implementing the Pension Protection Fund long service cap and hope to be able to make an announcement shortly.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Michelle Donelan on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on the uprating of British pensions for UK state pension holders living abroad.
Richard Harrington
We are about to begin negotiations for Britain’s future relationship with Europe and it would be wrong to set out unilateral positions in advance. At every step of these negotiations we will work to ensure the best possible outcome for the British people.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the current processing time from application to award for personal independence payments.
Penny Mordaunt
The current processing times represent a stable position for both DWP and our Assessment Providers and reflect the significant progress made to improve the claims process by both parties over the preceding months. We continue to look at all of our processes and activities to identify any further areas for improvement, or to drive out even greater efficiency.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Stephens on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what materials are available to his Department’s staff for the purposes of training on universal credit.
Damian Hinds
DWP staff have access to a comprehensive Universal Credit learning framework that is designed to build their core skills and knowledge to enable them to effectively undertake their role covering all national roll-out tranches of Universal Credit.
This includes:
Each individual member of staff, dependant on their job role, individual experience and previous formal learning, will complete a Learning Needs Analysis that will determine the length of the Universal Credit learning, consolidation requirements and the learning they will undertake.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Sturdy on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with cystic fibrosis in receipt of disability living allowance have been invited to claim personal independence payments (PIP); and how many such people have been awarded PIP for (a) 16 to 18 year olds and (b) people over 18.
Penny Mordaunt
The Department intends to provide detailed breakdowns of DLA to PIP reassessment outcomes in due course. The Department is working to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we are able to publish statistics that meet high quality standards at the earliest opportunity.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will discuss with the Northern Ireland Minister for Communities the calls by the Women Against State Pension Inequality for transitional state pension arrangements for women in Northern Ireland born in the 1950s.
Richard Harrington
DWP Ministers have regular meetings with ministers from devolved administrations where current areas of interest are discussed. In relation to transitional arrangements for the equalisation of State Pension age, the government’s position is clear; equalisation of women’s State Pension age with men and the subsequent increases in the State Pension age will continue as currently scheduled, in line with the legislation.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many women in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) each parliamentary constituency in Northern Ireland, born on or after 6 April 1951, have been affected by the equalisation of the state pension age.
Richard Harrington
Women born between 6 April 1950 and 5 April 1953 were affected by State Pension age equalisation under the Pensions Act 1995.
The Pensions Act 2011 accelerated the equalisation of State Pension age, and included transitional arrangements limiting State Pension age delays, affecting women born between 6 April 1953 and 5 December 1953. It also brought forward the increase in State Pension age from 65 to 66 which affected women born between 6 December 1953 and 5 April 1960.
Information on the numbers affected by constituent country or parliamentary constituency is not held by the Department for Work and Pensions. However, the most recent population breakdowns for Northern Ireland and its parliamentary constituencies by age can be found here:
http://www.nisra.gov.uk/demography/default.asp41.htm
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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of people above pensionable age and living in general needs accommodation who will be deemed to be under-occupying their home and will have their housing benefit reduced in accordance with their household size as opposed to their property size as a result of the cap on housing benefit for social housing tenants to the Local Housing Allowance Rate; and what the average loss incurred by this group of people will be.
Caroline Nokes
This measure will be introduced in April 2018, where new tenancies have been taken out or existing tenancies renewed from 1 April 2016 (or 1 April 2017 for supported housing). Full impact and equality impact assessments will be undertaken in due course.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Edward Vaizey on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to publish the secondary legislation required to implement the increase in the Pension Protection Fund compensation cap provided for under the Pensions Act 2014.
Richard Harrington
I am committed to implementing the Pension Protection Fund long service cap and hope to be able to make an announcement shortly.