Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of the (a) physical and (b) mental ability of people to work (i) until and (ii) beyond the state pension age.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department provides information to support people to make informed decisions such as Midlife MOT sessions in Jobcentres, and the digital Midlife MOT offer available to everyone online which offers financial, health and career guidance. There is no requirement for people to work beyond the State Pension age, however some people may choose to.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his expected timetable is for all clients who were mis-sold timeshares between 2014 and 2021 to receive compensation.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
In cases where a consumer took out a regulated financial product to purchase a timeshare, they may be able to make a compensation claim to the loan provider and may have recourse to Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) if the product was mis-sold.
The FOS is an independent non-governmental body established to provide consumers and small businesses with a free, independent service that enables the proportionate, prompt and informal resolution of disputes with financial services firms. Although the Treasury sets the legal framework for the regulation of financial services, it has no investigative powers of its own and cannot intervene in individual cases.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Handbook, which sets out the rules on how the FOS should handle complaints, states that ‘the ombudsman will attempt to resolve complaints at the earliest possible stage’. Ensuring timely outcomes is one of the FOS’s main priorities for 2024-25 and it has set itself the target of resolving 90 per cent of cases within 5 months.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department has taken to ensure the Financial Ombudsman Service tackle mis-sold timeshare complaints between 2014 and 2021.
Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
In cases where a consumer took out a regulated financial product to purchase a timeshare, they may be able to make a compensation claim to the loan provider and may have recourse to Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) if the product was mis-sold.
The FOS is an independent non-governmental body established to provide consumers and small businesses with a free, independent service that enables the proportionate, prompt and informal resolution of disputes with financial services firms. Although the Treasury sets the legal framework for the regulation of financial services, it has no investigative powers of its own and cannot intervene in individual cases.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Handbook, which sets out the rules on how the FOS should handle complaints, states that ‘the ombudsman will attempt to resolve complaints at the earliest possible stage’. Ensuring timely outcomes is one of the FOS’s main priorities for 2024-25 and it has set itself the target of resolving 90 per cent of cases within 5 months.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many and what proportion of private tenants who were evicted under section 21 provisions in 2023 were subsequently accommodated in social housing.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to ban school pupils from using phones on the way to and from school.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department has published new guidance on the use of mobile phones in schools. This sets out that all schools should develop and implement a policy that creates a mobile phone free environment by prohibiting the use of mobile phones and other smart technology with similar functionality to mobile phones throughout the school day.
Each school is responsible for deciding how they apply this new guidance and how to accommodate the needs of their pupils. It is for school leaders to develop and implement a tailored policy on the use of mobile phones and other similar devices.
If a decision is made to prohibit mobile phones from the school premises entirely, schools should consider the impact on children travelling to and from school where not having a mobile phone poses a risk or the perception of a risk. Schools are encouraged to consult with parents to develop such a policy, considering ways to mitigate specific concerns and build support for this approach.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will take legislative steps to require Fujitsu to compensate the sub-postmasters impacted by the Horizon IT System.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The extent of Fujitsu’s culpability for the scandal will not be clear until the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry reports. However, Ministers have made clear that the taxpayer should not have to meet all the costs of the scandal. In the light of such comments – which have attracted widespread public support – Fujitsu have recently apologised publicly for their role in the scandal and have accepted that they have a moral obligation to contribute to its costs. The Government welcomes these statements and will continue to discuss matters with Fujitsu.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will increase the pay of junior doctors; and when she next plans to meet their representatives to discuss pay.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Junior Doctors have already received a pay uplift of up to 10.3% for 2023-2024.
When industrial action is called, the Government’s priority is supporting the National Health Service to prepare for that action and keep patients safe. On that basis, my right hon. Friend will not meet with the British Medical Association Junior Doctors Committee when strike action has been called.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to tackle pension irregularities in the Defence Fire Rescue Project.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office, acting as the Civil Service Pension Scheme Manager, has met on a number of occasions with representatives of Unite the Union (Unite), Capita Land Services and MyCSP to discuss issues surrounding Pensionable Pay for members of the Defence Fire and Rescue Services that were transferred to Capita Fire and Rescue. The work is expected to be completed no later than July 2024.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tackle sexual abuse of female paramedics.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England commissioned a review into the ambulance sector culture and has welcomed the recommendations of the recent independent review, which highlights the need to target bullying and harassment, including sexual harassment, and enable the freedom to speak up.
NHS England are setting up a Delivery Board alongside an implementation plan to deliver the recommendations from the Ambulance Sector Culture report. This will include actions related to stopping misogyny and improving sexual safety in the ambulance service by the Office of the Chief Allied Health Professions at NHS England and the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives.
Last year, NHS England launched the first-ever sexual safety charter in collaboration with healthcare systems, to provide staff with clear reporting mechanisms, training, and support, ensuring that a zero-tolerance approach to tackle sexual misconduct is taken.
The 2023 NHS Staff Survey included a new question specifically around unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature to enable National Health Service organisations to understand the prevalence of misconduct in their workplace, which will inform further action to protect and support staff across the NHS. The results of the 2023 NHS Staff Survey will be published on 7 March 2024.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to close the gender pension gap.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The gender pension gap is a complex issue tied to the labour market, the private pensions system and demographic differences, but one the government takes very seriously. Addressing the gender pensions gap will only be possible through the collective effort of government, employers and industry.
The new State Pension was designed to correct some of the historic unfairness in the previous system, in particular for women. Our reforms are working, under the pre-2016 system women receive 85% of the amount received by men. This is currently 97% under the new State Pension.
Automatic enrolment (AE) has helped millions more women to save into a pension, with pension participation rates among eligible women in the private sector rising from 40% in 2012 to 86% in 2022. The government is committed to build on this success and is making progress on implementing the measures as set out in the 2017 review of AE. The Pensions (Extension of Automatic Enrolment) Act 2023 was introduced into Parliament with government support and provides the necessary powers.
Once implemented, the measures will disproportionately increase the pension saving of lower earners; a woman working part-time earning National Living Wage could see her pension almost double as a result when saving over her career.
Our labour market policies will also help. Working parents will soon be even better supported through the extension of free childcare announced in the Spring budget in 2023. DWP also announced generous additional financial help to encourage and support lead carers of children who are receiving Universal Credit to move into or progress in work.
By 2027-28, the Government will expect to be spending in excess of £8bn every year on free childcare hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.
And we are working with stakeholders across government to better understand the challenge of the gender pension gap. In June, DWP published an official measure of this wealth gap, which is currently 35% between men and women shortly before they retire. The wealth gap between men and women who are eligible for automatic enrolment is lower, at 32%.
The publication of an official annual measure will help us track the collective efforts of government, industry and employers to reduce the Gender Pension Gap.