Tag: Gavin Newlands

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2016-02-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with how many debt collection agencies his Department has a contract.

Justin Tomlinson

The Department’s policy is to recover outstanding debt whenever possible. Where a person is not in receipt of benefit and all the Department’s attempts at recovery have been unsuccessful, the overpayment will be referred to a debt collection agency. The debtor is always given an opportunity to make an agreement to pay the Department before the debt is sent to a debt collection agency to recover.

With the exception of one service provider currently being used by the Child Maintenance Group, the Department does not hold extant, direct contracts with any debt collection agencies although the nature of some of the expired contracts means that a number of collections are still being made. DWP now makes use of one main contract with Indesser. The Framework Contract is managed by Cabinet Office. Indesser manage relationships with a number of Debt Collection Agencies on behalf of all Government Customers.

Under the terms of the Framework Agreement, Indesser and its sub-contractors must comply with relevant industry and public sector standards for service delivery including those of the Credit Services Association, the Code of Practice and the Financial Conduct Authority guidelines. The standards are listed in the DMI Framework Agreement. Indesser reviews subcontractor compliance with these standards through audit and assurance activity, including responsibility for ensuring that they comply with relevant industry standards, managing their performance, and monitoring any complaints. Customer departments (i.e. DWP) in turn receive Letters of Assurance which they review to ensure standards are being achieved and the audits are effective.

The breakdown of figures you have requested is derived from operational processes and systems designed solely for the purpose of helping the Department to manage its business. As it was not originally intended for publication, it has not been subjected to the rigorous quality assurance checks applied to our published official statistics.

The debt collection agency costs of the Child Maintenance Group and DWP are given separately. Please note that the figures are rounded to the nearest £10,000.

The cost to the DWP of the debt collection agencies, and the related recovery made by them, is as follows:

Financial Year	Spend	Recoveries
2009/2010	£1.59m	£8.50m
2010/2011	£1.33m	£9.77m
2011/2012	£2.11m	£13.94m
2012/2013	£1.95m	£14.15m
2013/2014	£2.12m	£15.00m
2014/2015	£2.52m	£17.30m
2015/2016*	£1.64m	£11.05m
*to date

The cost to Child Maintenance Group of the debt collection agencies, and the related recovery made by them, is as follows:

Financial Year	Spend	Recoveries
2009/2010	£1.25m	£10.20m
2010/2011	£0.56m	£4.68m
2011/2012	£0.35m	£1.35m
2012/2013	£0.21m	£1.71m
2013/2014	£0.05m	£1.21m
2014/2015	£0.10m	£0.86m
2015/2016 to date	£0.07m	£0.53m

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect on the prison service of prison officers working longer before retirement.

Andrew Selous

The Alpha pension, which introduced a higher Normal Pension Age, was brought in under legislation. All consultation/negotiations with the Civil Service trade unions including the Prison Officers Association (POA) who are the trade union responsible for prison officers in the National Offender Management Service were carried out by the Pension Scheme Executive in Civil Service Pensions – Cabinet Office. The Pension Scheme Executive in 2012, held separate additional talks with the POA regarding the increase in pension age and offered a package under the Enhanced Effective Pension Age (EEPA). This provided an opportunity for staff to purchase a lower pension age, which would be subsidised by the employer. The POA membership through postal vote, rejected this offer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2015 to Question 11080, on deportation: appeals, how many appellants (a) had a legal representative at their panel and (b) gave evidence at the appeal via video link.

James Brokenshire

Such data is not aggregated in national reporting systems, which would mean these questions could only be answered through a disproportionately expensive manual case search to collate the data.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2015-11-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department offers to enable personal independence payment (PIP) applicants to attend PIP assessment centres.

Justin Tomlinson

Claimants attending an assessment by public or personal transport can claim back their travel costs. Where public transport is unavailable or the claimant is unable to use it, the claimant can contact their assessment provider to ask if taxi-fares would be payable for their journey.

Alternatively, the option of a face-to-face consultation in the claimant’s home is available if the claimant indicates that they are unfit to travel to a consultation or where travel would require high levels of support.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2016-02-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how his Department regulates the activities of debt collection agencies during the period that they are under contract with his Department.

Justin Tomlinson

The Department’s policy is to recover outstanding debt whenever possible. Where a person is not in receipt of benefit and all the Department’s attempts at recovery have been unsuccessful, the overpayment will be referred to a debt collection agency. The debtor is always given an opportunity to make an agreement to pay the Department before the debt is sent to a debt collection agency to recover.

With the exception of one service provider currently being used by the Child Maintenance Group, the Department does not hold extant, direct contracts with any debt collection agencies although the nature of some of the expired contracts means that a number of collections are still being made. DWP now makes use of one main contract with Indesser. The Framework Contract is managed by Cabinet Office. Indesser manage relationships with a number of Debt Collection Agencies on behalf of all Government Customers.

Under the terms of the Framework Agreement, Indesser and its sub-contractors must comply with relevant industry and public sector standards for service delivery including those of the Credit Services Association, the Code of Practice and the Financial Conduct Authority guidelines. The standards are listed in the DMI Framework Agreement. Indesser reviews subcontractor compliance with these standards through audit and assurance activity, including responsibility for ensuring that they comply with relevant industry standards, managing their performance, and monitoring any complaints. Customer departments (i.e. DWP) in turn receive Letters of Assurance which they review to ensure standards are being achieved and the audits are effective.

The breakdown of figures you have requested is derived from operational processes and systems designed solely for the purpose of helping the Department to manage its business. As it was not originally intended for publication, it has not been subjected to the rigorous quality assurance checks applied to our published official statistics.

The debt collection agency costs of the Child Maintenance Group and DWP are given separately. Please note that the figures are rounded to the nearest £10,000.

The cost to the DWP of the debt collection agencies, and the related recovery made by them, is as follows:

Financial Year	Spend	Recoveries
2009/2010	£1.59m	£8.50m
2010/2011	£1.33m	£9.77m
2011/2012	£2.11m	£13.94m
2012/2013	£1.95m	£14.15m
2013/2014	£2.12m	£15.00m
2014/2015	£2.52m	£17.30m
2015/2016*	£1.64m	£11.05m
*to date

The cost to Child Maintenance Group of the debt collection agencies, and the related recovery made by them, is as follows:

Financial Year	Spend	Recoveries
2009/2010	£1.25m	£10.20m
2010/2011	£0.56m	£4.68m
2011/2012	£0.35m	£1.35m
2012/2013	£0.21m	£1.71m
2013/2014	£0.05m	£1.21m
2014/2015	£0.10m	£0.86m
2015/2016 to date	£0.07m	£0.53m

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how prison officers were informed of changes to their pensions following the transfer from Classic to the Alpha Scheme; and how those changes affected the employment contracts of such prison officers.

Andrew Selous

During the consultation period with The Pension Scheme Executive in the Cabinet Office, the Prison Officers Association (POA) published various bulletins and communications confirming the change in pension arrangements. Additionally NOMS HR circulated communications through their internal Intranet system which is available to all staff. The intranet article directed staff to the Civil Service Pension website which held the details about the pension changes being introduced. Cabinet Office issued letters to all staff informing them of the pension changes. NOMS policy is to not issue new employment contracts or variations for routine legislation changes.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2015 to Question 11080, on deportation: appeals, how many of the 426 cases referred to are pending to be heard before the Upper Tribunal.

James Brokenshire

Of the 426 cases referred to in answer of 14 October to Question 11080:

– none were certification withdrawn

– 359 have been certified under Regulation 24AA

– all data provided relates to the First Tier Tribunal only

– 25 are listed as abandoned or withdrawn by the appellant

– 89 were dismissed by the relevant tribunal

The Home Office does not disclose country specific information as its disclosure could prejudice relations between the UK and foreign governments.

Notes : (1) All figures quoted have been derived from management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change. This information has not been quality assured under National Statistics protocols.

(2) Data Extracted on 28th September, 2015 in line with response to Question 11080

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2015-11-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many home visit assessments were offered to personal independence payment claimants in Scotland in the last 12 months; and whether his Department has declined to provide such assessments to any claimants who have requested such assessments.

Justin Tomlinson

The information requested is not collated and could only be provided at disproportionate cost

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2016-02-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department’s policy is on using debt collection agencies for collection of outstanding payments.

Justin Tomlinson

The Department’s policy is to recover outstanding debt whenever possible. Where a person is not in receipt of benefit and all the Department’s attempts at recovery have been unsuccessful, the overpayment will be referred to a debt collection agency. The debtor is always given an opportunity to make an agreement to pay the Department before the debt is sent to a debt collection agency to recover.

With the exception of one service provider currently being used by the Child Maintenance Group, the Department does not hold extant, direct contracts with any debt collection agencies although the nature of some of the expired contracts means that a number of collections are still being made. DWP now makes use of one main contract with Indesser. The Framework Contract is managed by Cabinet Office. Indesser manage relationships with a number of Debt Collection Agencies on behalf of all Government Customers.

Under the terms of the Framework Agreement, Indesser and its sub-contractors must comply with relevant industry and public sector standards for service delivery including those of the Credit Services Association, the Code of Practice and the Financial Conduct Authority guidelines. The standards are listed in the DMI Framework Agreement. Indesser reviews subcontractor compliance with these standards through audit and assurance activity, including responsibility for ensuring that they comply with relevant industry standards, managing their performance, and monitoring any complaints. Customer departments (i.e. DWP) in turn receive Letters of Assurance which they review to ensure standards are being achieved and the audits are effective.

The breakdown of figures you have requested is derived from operational processes and systems designed solely for the purpose of helping the Department to manage its business. As it was not originally intended for publication, it has not been subjected to the rigorous quality assurance checks applied to our published official statistics.

The debt collection agency costs of the Child Maintenance Group and DWP are given separately. Please note that the figures are rounded to the nearest £10,000.

The cost to the DWP of the debt collection agencies, and the related recovery made by them, is as follows:

Financial Year	Spend	Recoveries
2009/2010	£1.59m	£8.50m
2010/2011	£1.33m	£9.77m
2011/2012	£2.11m	£13.94m
2012/2013	£1.95m	£14.15m
2013/2014	£2.12m	£15.00m
2014/2015	£2.52m	£17.30m
2015/2016*	£1.64m	£11.05m
*to date

The cost to Child Maintenance Group of the debt collection agencies, and the related recovery made by them, is as follows:

Financial Year	Spend	Recoveries
2009/2010	£1.25m	£10.20m
2010/2011	£0.56m	£4.68m
2011/2012	£0.35m	£1.35m
2012/2013	£0.21m	£1.71m
2013/2014	£0.05m	£1.21m
2014/2015	£0.10m	£0.86m
2015/2016 to date	£0.07m	£0.53m

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Newlands on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department took to inform prison officers in Scotland of the transfer of Civil Service Employee Pensions from the Classic to the Alpha Scheme.

Matthew Hancock

Prison Officers employed in the Scottish Prison Service are members of the Civil Service. All members of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) who transitioned into the Civil Service (and Others) Pension Scheme (CSOPS, also known as alpha) were notified by letter to inform them of the change, in accordance with the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) Regulations. In addition, relevant Employers were provided with a variety of communication products to inform their staff and support those who needed to make decisions. These were also held on the Civil Service Pensions website.

Between 2011 and 2015 Cabinet Office Ministers and officials held extensive discussions with all of the Civil Service unions, including the Prison Officers’ Association, on the detail of the pension reforms. There was also discussion with both the Scottish Prison Service and National Offender Management Service on the detail of the pension offer to operational staff in Prisons.

The Civil Service is a Reserved Matter and this includes pensions for all Civil Servants. Representations on the pension age of Scottish Prison Officers were made to me by the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Justice in July last year. I replied later that month.