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  • Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-09-13.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 13 September (HL1532) stating that HMS Ocean had an expected in service life of 20 years and would be paid off at the end of 20 years’ service, what was the expected in service life of HMS Vanguard and HMS St Albans when designed, and at what age they are expected to be paid off.

    Earl Howe

    The Type 23 frigates entered service with an anticipated service life of 18 years for each ship. A Type 23 sustainment programme, comprising a series of long-term planned upgrades, aligned with routine maintenance, has permitted the service life of the class to be extended so that HMS St Albans, which entered service in 2001 has a current Out of Service Date of 2035.

    For HMS Vanguard, I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave to him on 7 December 2015 (Question HL4046). HMS Vanguard entered service in 1993 and is planned to remain in-service until the Successor submarines are introduced into service in the 2030s. I am withholding their respective planned Out of Service and In Service Dates as their disclosure would be prejudicial to national security.

  • Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the total value of tax relief not paid to low-paid workers in (1) 2014–15, (2) 2015–16, and (3) 2016–17 to date, as a result of those workers contributing to a net pay scheme from which they were unable to receive the tax relief to which they would be entitled in a relief-at-source scheme.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The Government does not collect data on the number of workers earning less than the personal allowance who are also members of pension schemes that operate a net pay system. The Government does not hold employee level data on employees enrolled in net pay pension schemes, as such schemes are not obliged to report pension contributions to HM Revenue and Customs. The Government does not therefore hold information on the value of tax reliefs paid out to employees in net pay schemes.

    However, the Pensions Regulator provides guidance to employers on choosing a pension scheme for their staff in order to discharge their statutory obligations under automatic enrolment. This guidance covers the choice between net pay and relief at source schemes, and the implications of net pay schemes for employees who do not pay tax.

  • Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government  how many non-associated multi-employer defined benefit pension schemes in the UK are covered by the Pension Protection Fund, and what estimate they have made of the total number of employers in those schemes.

    Lord Freud

    As at 31 March 2016, there were 26 non-associated multi-employer schemes, with a total of 5,060 participating employers between them which are covered by the Pension Protection Fund.

  • Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest estimate of the total number of employers who are potentially responsible for paying Pension Act 1995 section 75 debts of previous employers who are no longer part of their non-associated multi-employer defined benefit pension scheme.

    Lord Freud

    The information requested is not held by Government or the Pensions Regulator.

  • Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their most recent estimate of the number of individual employers at risk of personal bankruptcy as a result of the increased costs of supporting defined benefit pension liabilities in non-associated multi-employer pension schemes.

    Lord Freud

    The information requested is not held by Government or the Pensions Regulator.

  • Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest estimate of the impact of falling long-term gilt yields on the deficits of UK defined benefit pension schemes.

    Lord Freud

    Recent movement in gilt yields could have a material impact on the funding position of defined benefit pension schemes in the short term.

    However, the precise effect on deficits will depend on a number of factors including how assets are allocated, the approach to hedging and the demographics of the scheme. We continue to monitor the position.

  • Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Baroness Altmann – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Altmann on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to stop cold-callers who try to lure people into pension scams.

    Baroness Shields

    The Government takes the threat of pension scams very seriously. We are committed to protecting consumers from such scams, by raising awareness and pursuing scammers when these crimes occur.

    The Government has established Project Bloom, a multi-department, multi-agency forum for officials to monitor trends, share intelligence on emerging threats, and help co-ordinate action to tackle scams. Members include the National Crime Agency, police forces, Pension Wise, regulators and key Government departments.

    We are also taking forward a range of legislative measures to tackle nuisance calls, which will increase consumer protection and choice by strengthening the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) ability to take enforcement action against organisations that break the law. Recent actions include a measure in the Digital Economy Bill that will strengthen the ICO’s direct marketing guidance by giving it statutory status. We are also exploring proposals to extend the ICO’s powers of compulsory audit to more of the organisations that generate nuisance calls; and the options for enabling the ICO to hold company directors to account for breaches of the direct marketing rules.

  • Lord Birt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    Lord Birt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what has been the trend for input prices for industry since the EU Referendum.

    Baroness Neville-Rolfe

    On a monthly basis, total input prices rose by 0.2% in August 2016, after rising by 3.1% in July 2016 and by 1.7% in June 2016.

    On a monthly basis, core input prices rose by 0.2% in August 2016, after a rise of 4.2% in July 2016 and 0.7% in June 2016.

    The latest ONS producer price inflation data can be found in the following release (also attached): https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/bulletins/producerpriceinflation/august2016#input-prices-summary

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  • Lord Birt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Birt – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Birt on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for not taxing the income from interest-bearing savings whilst interest rates are low.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    Since April 2016 savers have benefitted from a new Personal Savings Allowance of up to £1,000 for basic rate taxpayers, and £500 for higher rate taxpayers. They can also save up to £15,240 tax-free in ISAs this tax year. Together these measures mean that 95% of taxpayers have no savings tax to pay at all.

  • Lord Blencathra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Lord Blencathra – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Blencathra on 2016-09-12.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the criticisms in the report published on 8 July by the Independent Evaluation Office of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), The IMF and the Crises in Greece, Ireland, and Portugal, what value they now place on the IMF’s forecasts and policy statements.

    Lord O’Neill of Gatley

    The government continues to value the IMF’s forecasts and other analytical outputs, which are supported by high quality technical analysis and data-gathering. This is used alongside the government’s own analysis, and the work of other institutions. We do not believe that the International Evaluation Office’s (IEO) report entitled The IMF and the Crises in Greece, Ireland and Portugal provides compelling evidence to alter this practice.

    The government values the work of the IEO, which is important in improving transparency, oversight and enhancing the learning culture at the Fund.