Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average length of time was that callers to the Child Maintenance Service were on hold waiting to be put through to an adviser in (a) 2018 and (b) 2019.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
For the 2018 calendar year the average wait time was 55 seconds.
For the 2019 calendar year the average wait time was 6 minutes 12 seconds.
Whilst figures for 2018 look significantly lower than the 2019 wait time, this is because the methodology in place prior to July 2019 was not accurate in terms of meeting the standard ASA measurement. It did not measure the end-to-end customer experience, instead only measuring the final stage. The BT reporting methodology was amended to ensure that the report did reflect the end to end customer experience,
There has also been a general increase in wait time due to the revised approach the Child Maintenance Group has adopted to customer service. Previously calls routed to the next available agent. We now only route calls to the individual caseworker or individuals with the appropriate skill sets. Whilst this can mean a potentially longer wait time, it does, however, mean the customer speaks to a person able to resolve their query at first point of contact, therefore improving the overall customer service experience.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department is considering writing off arrears and debts to the claimant and to the public purse when transferring cases from the Child Support Agency to the Child Maintenance Service; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The Department recently consulted on a new Compliance and Arrears Strategy for the Child Maintenance Service. This contained proposals for new enforcement powers, alongside proposals for addressing the historic arrears that built up under the Child Support Agency. The consultation document can be found here. Our response to this consultation will be published in the near future.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people receive who live abroad receive monthly benefits from the public purse; and what steps are being taken to ensure that people who live abroad for more than nine months in each year receive only those benefits to which they are entitled.
Answered by Lord Sharma
Information on benefit caseload and expenditure for claimants living abroad by each DWP administered benefit can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2018
The Department for Work and Pensions exchanges data with other countries to help ensure that payments made to people who live abroad are those to which they are entitled. DWP staff are trained to spot fraudulent documents and refer any suspicions to relevant parties.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to assist (a) farmers and (b) people that pay themselves less than the minimum wage as universal credit is rolled out in rural areas.
Answered by Damian Hinds
Universal Credit provides the same financial and work coach assistance to farmers as to any other sector. And all claimants have the same rights and obligations.
Claimants who are established in self-employment when they move to Universal Credit that are achieving low levels of earnings are able to get mentoring support through the New Enterprise scheme. This mentoring is designed to help participants further develop their business and grow their earnings to a level of sustainable self-sufficiency.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of allowing women affected by the increase in state pension age to retire early on a reduced pension; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
Many alternative options to the existing arrangements have been put forward. All of these options, including the actuarially reduced pension, suffer from substantial practical problems and would create extra cost to the taxpayer.
Even if actuarially neutral, such an option would result in losses of income tax and National Insurance payments. To give some idea of the scale of this, for individuals affected by the Pensions Act 2011, additional income tax and NI receipts from the change to State Pension age were estimated to be up to £8.3 billion.
Furthermore, the new State Pension’s key features are simplicity—giving people the clarity and confidence to save—and a value set above the minimum income guarantee standard. An actuarially reduced pension would undermine both these key features. It would complicate outcomes and, if people’s actuarially reduced state pension were below the minimum guarantee, might increase the need for means-tested support amongst pensioners.
There are also legal risks associated with offering affected women an actuarially reduced pension. The requirement to take account of equality between men and women in framing new legislation means any new transitional provisions aimed just at those women affected by recent rises to the State Pension age run the risk of legal challenge.
This matter has been comprehensively debated in Parliament and the Government has been very clear that there will be no further changes to the current arrangements or any financial redress in lieu of pensions.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what notification was given to women affected by the Pensions Act 1995.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
Following the Pensions Act 1995, State Pension estimates, issued to individuals on request, made the changes clear. The DWP’s State Pension estimates have been providing individuals with their most up-to-date date of reaching State Pension age since 1995. Over that period, we have encouraged anyone seeking to plan for their retirement to get a pension statement. Since April 2000, the Department has issued more than 11.5 million personalised State Pension statements to people who requested them. We continue to encourage people to request one, as part of our on-going communications.
DWP also ran a pensions education campaign in 2004, which included informing people of the future equalisation of SPA. The campaign included:
In addition to these efforts, all those affected by the 1995 Act changes were sent letters between April 2009 and March 2011 using the address details held by HMRC at that time.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect on the financial situation of women of their not being notified about changes introduced by the Pensions Act 1995.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The 1995 Act started the process of equalising the state pension age of women by phasing in the rise of the retirement age from 60 to 65 between 2010 and 2020. Changes were communicated by means of State Pension estimates issued to individuals on request since 1995, as well as through a DWP pensions education campaign in 2004. Since April 2000 more than 11.5 million personalised statements have been issued. A 2004 DWP report, Public Awareness of State Pension Age Equalisation, reported its survey findings that 73% of those aged 45 to 54 at the time were aware of the changes to women’s State Pension age.
Following the Pensions Act 2011 the Government wrote to all those directly affected to inform them of the changes to their State Pension age. Research published in 2007 by the DWP showed that, in 2006, 86 per cent of women aged 55-64 and 90 per cent aged 45-54 were aware that the State Pension age would increase in future.
A number of changes to the State Pension with impacts on state pension outcomes have been implemented since the introduction of the Pensions Act 1995. The Pensions Act 2007 introduced beneficial changes to the entitlement conditions for State Pension, which were estimated to result in 75 per cent of women reaching State Pension age in 2010 being entitled to a full basic State Pension compared to only 30 per cent in 2007.
The Pensions Act 2014 introduces the new State Pension from April 2016, available to women born on or after 6 April 1953. Around 650,000 women reaching State Pension age in the first ten years will receive an average of £8 per week (in 2014/15 earnings terms) more due to the new State Pension valuation of their National Insurance record. By 2030, over 3 million women will stand to benefit by an average of £11 per week.
Independent analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies has shown that the rise in women’s State Pension age since 2010 has been accompanied by increases in employment rates for the women affected. For those who are unemployed, or unable to work, working age benefits are still available.