Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to introduce a compensation scheme for women affected by the Pensions Act 1995.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are considering the Ombudsman’s report and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has had recent discussions with foodbank operators on jobcentre referral slips.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Officials meet regularly with both the Trussell Trust and the Independent Food Aid Network. The meetings cover a broad range of topics, including signposting slips.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the evidence given by the Pensions Minister to the Work and Pensions Committee on 10 January 2024, HC 144, what plans he has to amend (a) indexation, (b) the 90% compensation cap and (c) any other issues relating to the Pension Protection Fund; and if he will publish any relevant documentation on those matters.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
While all pensions legislation is kept under review as a matter of course, there are currently no plans to amend (a) the Pension Protection Fund rules on indexation or (b) the 90% rule on Pension Protection Fund compensation payments. These are complex matters and require careful consideration before any changes are made. There is no documentation for publication in relation to these matters at this time.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the criteria for winter fuel payments to include people with a terminal illness.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Winter fuel payments are a transferred matter in Northern Ireland, although the Department for Communities there maintains parity with the Department for Work and Pensions.
Winter fuel payments are made to people who have reached State Pension age and meet the relevant residence criteria in the third week of September each year. There are no plans to change these eligibility criteria. This winter, as last, the payments include the Pensioner Cost of Living Payment of £300 on top of the usual rate of £200 for a pensioner household with someone aged under 80, and £300 for households with someone aged 80 or over.
More broadly, the Department is committed to supporting people with a terminal illness. The Special Rules for End of Life enable people with a terminal illness to get faster, easier access to certain benefits without needing to attend a medical assessment or serve waiting periods; and in most cases, receive the highest rate of benefit.
For many years, the Special Rules for End of Life have applied to people who have six months or less to live, and now they have been changed so they apply to people who have 12 months or less to live. Changes to these rules means that thousands of people nearing the end of life will be able to claim fast-tracked financial support from the benefits system six months earlier than they were able to previously.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
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 uprate social security rates in line with the latest rate of CPI in the upcoming Autumn Statement.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is required by law to undertake an annual review of State Pensions and benefits. The outcome of the review will be announced in the Autumn.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to provide evidence to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
As agreed with the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UK Government representatives will present further information on the UK’s progress at the Committee’s session in March 2024, entirely properly. This is in relation to the Committee’s review of the UK follow-up reports to the 2016 inquiry under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of the number of people residing in Northern Ireland who are likely to have been underpaid their state pension as a result of their national insurance record not including the correct entitlement of home responsibilities protection from 1978 to 2000.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
It is not possible to estimate the numbers of people in any particular geographical location who are potentially affected; data has not been recorded in a way that would allow this.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has plans to provide additional funding for advice services in Northern Ireland to assist people who have been underpaid their state pension as a result of an incorrect attribution of home responsibilities protection credits.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
There are no plans to provide additional funding for advice services in Northern Ireland in relation to the Home Responsibilities Protection correction exercise. In September, HMRC began issuing letters inviting people to apply for potentially missed periods of Home Responsibilities Protection. Information is available to people in Northern Ireland and across the United Kingdom through gov.uk, including a self-identification tool to help people see if they might be affected. Support is available from both HMRC and DWP staff where needed.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Universal Credit claimants had the minimum income floor applied during the qualifying period for the Cost of Living Payment with the 25 February 2023 deadline; and how many such claimants received a nil payment due to the minimum income floor.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
During the qualifying period for the Cost of Living Payment with the 25 February 2023 deadline, there were 141,900 Universal Credit claimants that had the minimum income floor applied. 12,000 of these claimants received a nil payment potentially due to the minimum income floor.
Notes
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
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 introducing a compensation scheme for people who paid national insurance contributions when they were aged between 14 and 15 between 1947 and 1957 who have fallen short of the qualifying years for the full state pension by two years or less.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
There are currently no plans to assess the merits of introducing a compensation scheme. Following the fundamental reforms of the National Insurance scheme in 1975 the law provided that only paid contributions and credits from the year in which a person reached age 16 to the year before the one in which they reached state pension age should count for the purposes of entitlement to the state pension. The Government has no plans to review the position reached by Parliament and which has been in place for over 40 years.