Asked by: Amy Callaghan (Scottish National Party - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his planned timetable is for increasing the the state pension age to 68.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
State Pension age is currently 66 and two further increases are currently in legislation: a gradual rise to 67 for those born on or after April 1960; and a gradual rise to 68 between 2044 and 2046 for those born on or after April 1977.
The Pensions Act 2014 requires Government to regularly review State Pension age. The first review in 2017 accepted a recommendation by John Cridland CBE to bring forward the increase in State Pension Age to 68 to between 2037 and 2039, subject to a further review before legislating. Work is underway on the second Government Review of State Pension age which, must be published by May 2023. This Review will consider a wide range of evidence, including findings from two independent reports, to assess whether the rules about State Pension age remain appropriate. We cannot pre-empt the outcome of the Review.
Asked by: Amy Callaghan (Scottish National Party - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the National Audit Office report entitled Child maintenance, published in March 2022, whether he has taken recent steps to help improve levels of customer service at the Child Maintenance Service.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Minister for Lords and officials appeared at the Work and Pensions Select committee on 18 January 23 to discuss ‘Children in poverty: Child Maintenance Service’ which included discussion on recommendations from NAO and the domestic abuse review conducted by Dr Samantha Callan.
These discussions highlighted the following;
o Services that have been made available online and therefore 24/7 and, in many cases, now delivered via automation and therefore faster and more responsive.
o The introduction of online Get Help Arranging Child Maintenance service providing support to separated parents in managing their own affairs as well as making the CMS more accessible.
o A wider organisational redesign is underway with a key priority to improve customer experience.
o Recommendations on training have been adopted: domestic abuse awareness training is in place and training is being reviewed with a view to strengthening.
o Recommendation on single caseworker treatment is being piloted currently.
o The Department’s 2020/21 Customer Experience Survey and the CMS Customer Experience Survey are currently unpublished, so we are unable to share the findings at this time.
o The reason for the delay is because of the impacts of Covid on the survey, resulting in an extended QA process.
o Steps are in place to publish the findings and the final sign off procedures are currently taking place within the Department, with the intention to publish by Summer 2023.
Asked by: Amy Callaghan (Scottish National Party - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the Child Maintenance Service’s system of payment enforcement.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) continues to take rigorous action to collect maintenance, combining robust negotiation activity with the highly effective use of its extensive range of Enforcement Powers. This approach is driven by the Payment Compliance strategy increasing CMS compliance influencing activities to tackle non-paying cases and challenge non-compliant behaviours. CMS applies a Continuous Improvement focus to Enforcement strategy and processes.
Total child maintenance collected using Enforcement Actions amounted to £36.1 million in the quarter to September 2022 compared with £33.8 in September 2021 and £28.4 in September 2020. This rise in collections is linked directly to increased collections through Deductions from Earnings Orders, lump sum and regular deductions taken directly from paying parents’ bank accounts, Liability Order and Bailiff actions and making full use of all available sanctions.
(Source – Child Maintenance Service published Statistics : National Tables – table 7.1 ‘Enforcement Actions’, April 2015 to September 2022).
As a result of a focussed effort to increase enforcement activity £49.4 million was paid through the Collect & Pay service in the quarter ending September 2022 compared to £47.4. million in the quarter ending September 2021.
(Source – Child Maintenance Service published Statistics : National Tables – table 5 ‘Money Due and Paid each quarter’ January 2015 to September 2022).
There has been a consistent downward trend in the proportion of unpaid maintenance as a proportion of maintenance arranged since 2017, falling from 12.5% in 2017 to 8.2% in September 2022.
(Source – Child Maintenance Service published Statistics : National Tables - table 6 ‘ how much maintenance CMS has arranged March 2015 to September 2022).
Asked by: Amy Callaghan (Scottish National Party - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of removing the charge paid by single parents when seeking support from a former partner through the Child Maintenance Service.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The £20 Child Maintenance Service (CMS) application fee is designed to encourage parents to consider whether they can make their own private family-based arrangements rather than apply to the statutory scheme by default as this tends to be in the best interests of children.
The fee is waived if domestic abuse has been experienced by the applicant or any children in the household and for parents aged under 19 to ensure the most vulnerable do not face a barrier in accessing the statutory scheme.
Asked by: Amy Callaghan (Scottish National Party - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to increase social security payments available to parents under 25 years old, in line with payments available to parents over 25.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are no plans to change the policy around the standard allowance rates for those under 25 at this time.
Asked by: Amy Callaghan (Scottish National Party - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the National Audit Office report entitled Child maintenance, published in March 2022, whether his Department has taken recent steps to help increase the number of successful child maintenance arrangements.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As at September 2022 there were 872,000 children covered by Child Maintenance Service (CMS) arrangements. The service has recorded an increase in the number of children covered by CMS arrangements increasing by 25,700 between June 2022 and September 2022.
Under the Direct Pay service Child Maintenance Service provides the calculation and no further use of the service is required. Parents are issued a text message three months after they set up their arrangement and at each annual review, to check the arrangement is still meeting their requirements. If they cannot arrange payments between themselves or a Paying Parent does not keep up with the payments, the Receiving Parent can ask to switch to the Collect and Pay Service.
61% of all Child Maintenance Service arrangements use Direct Pay with 37% using Collect and Pay.
At the end of September 2022:
The number of children covered by CMS arrangements has increased steadily over the last 2 years.
(Source – Child Maintenance Service published statistics – data to September 2022)
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) continues to take rigorous action to collect maintenance, combining robust negotiation activity with the highly effective use of its extensive range of Enforcement Powers. This approach is driven by the Payment Compliance strategy increasing CMS compliance influencing activities to tackle non-paying cases and challenge non-compliant behaviours. CMS applies a Continuous Improvement focus to Enforcement strategy and processes.
Total child maintenance collected using enforcement actions amounted to £36.1 million in the quarter to September 2022 compared with £33.8 in September 2021 and £28.4 in September 2020. This rise in collections is linked directly to increased collections through Deductions from Earnings Orders, lump sum and regular deductions taken directly from paying parents’ bank accounts, Liability Order and Bailiff actions and making full use of all available sanctions.
(Source – Child Maintenance Service published Statistics : National Tables – table 7.1 ‘Enforcement Actions’, April 2015 to September 2022).
As a result of a focussed effort to increase enforcement activity and influence Paying Parents to pay their child maintenance £49.4 million was paid through the Collect & Pay service in the quarter to September 2022 compared to £45.6 million in the quarter ending March 2022 when the NAO report was published.
(Source – Child Maintenance Service published Statistics : National Tables – table 5 ‘Money Due and Paid each quarter’ January 2015 to September 2022).
There has been a consistent downward trend in the proportion of unpaid maintenance as a proportion of maintenance arranged since 2017, falling from 12.5% in 2017 to 8.2% in September 2022.
(Source – Child Maintenance Service published Statistics : National Tables - table 6 ‘ how much maintenance CMS has arranged March 2015 to September 2022).
Asked by: Amy Callaghan (Scottish National Party - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s reports on the Women's State Pension age, if he will hold discussions with representatives of Women Against State Pension Inequality on the Ombudsman's fundings.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has not completed his investigation into communication of changes to women’s state pension. It would be inappropriate to discuss the investigation whilst it is ongoing. Section 7(2) of the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 states that Ombudsman investigations “shall be conducted in private”.
The Department is cooperating fully with the PHSO in their investigation.
Asked by: Amy Callaghan (Scottish National Party - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s reports on the Women's State Pension age, whether he is taking steps to improve communications processes in his Department.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s investigation into the communication of changes to women’s State Pension age is ongoing. Section 7(2) of the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 states that Ombudsman investigations “shall be conducted in private”.
It would be inappropriate to comment whilst the investigation is ongoing.
Asked by: Amy Callaghan (Scottish National Party - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of his Department's communications on changes to the State Pension age for women born in the 1950s.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s investigation into the communication of changes to women’s State Pension age is ongoing. Section 7(2) of the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 states that Ombudsman investigations “shall be conducted in private”.
It would be inappropriate to comment whilst the investigation is ongoing.
Asked by: Amy Callaghan (Scottish National Party - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of extending the extra cost of living payment for pensioners that receive a winter fuel payment beyond 2023.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Pensioner households will receive a one-off pensioner Cost-of-Living payment in 2022/23, worth £300. This will be paid in November or December as a top up with the Winter Fuel Payment. Therefore, a household with someone of State Pension age will receive £500 and a household with someone aged 80 or over will receive £600.
No decisions have been taken regarding 2023/24.