Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support is provided to financial deputies for Support Mortgage Interest SMI claimants who lack the capacity to apply for SMI as a loan.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Financial Deputies are appointed by the Court of Protection or the Office of the Public Guardian in Scotland to represent claimants who lack capacity to make decisions on SMI loans. These Financial Deputies are provided with an introductory letter and booklet on SMI loans and will have an informed discussion on the phone with Serco where any questions can be answered. Where a Financial Deputy elects to accept an SMI loan on the claimant’s behalf, they will be sent a loan agreement and charge form to sign to accept the loan.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Pensions Regulator on the decision to bring forward payments into the Pension Protection Fund due to collapse of Carillion; and what assessment he has made of the effect of that decision on capital investment.
Answered by Guy Opperman
All DB pension schemes are required to pay Pension Protection Fund (PPF) risked based levy. The PPF levy is the only payment that schemes are required to make to the PPF prior to insolvency. After an employer insolvency event, the pension scheme will enter a PPF assessment period, where the PPF will determine whether the scheme has sufficient funds to pay benefits at PPF compensation levels or above. Schemes that do not meet this test will transfer into the PPF (including any assets) and scheme members will receive PPF compensation.
The Government sets the legislative framework for pension schemes - this is overseen by the independent Pensions Regulator, and it would not be appropriate for Government to intervene.
There have been no discussions between the DWP Ministers and the Pensions Regulator regarding payments made by Carillion into the PPF.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps (a) her Department and (b) SERCO have taken to provide the full terms and conditions of the Support for Mortgage Interest Payments Loan to people who are entitled to apply for those loans.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The information provision process for Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) loans is being conducted by Serco on behalf of the Department. Existing SMI claimants are sent information about how the SMI loan will work, about possible alternatives to the loan and organisations that may offer further information and support. This is followed up by telephone calls from Serco, to explain the information and answer any questions. A leaflet containing Frequently Asked Questions is issued after this informed discussion. Where a claimant expresses an interest in taking up the offer of an SMI loan they will be sent a loan agreement and charge form, including all terms and conditions, to complete and return. They also receive detailed guidance on how to complete these documents.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will issue guidance on accessing free and impartial financial advice on the support for mortgage interest payments loan.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
All existing SMI claimants are sent information about how the SMI loan will work, about possible alternatives to the loan and organisations that may offer further information and support. This is followed up by telephone calls from Serco to explain the information and answer any questions. A leaflet containing Frequently Asked Questions is issued to support this informed discussion. The information provision explicitly does not provide advice but does signpost to other impartial organisations that can help customers who may need assistance on reaching a financial decision such as Money Advice Service.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people that will sell their home because of the introduction of the replacement loan for support for mortgage interest payments.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
There is no reason for anyone to sell their home because of the introduction of Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) loans.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reasons the replacement loan for support for mortgage interest payments is based on the Gilt interest rate.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
SMI loans are interest bearing at the Gilt Forecast Rate, as set out in the most recent forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). This rate was chosen as this reflects the cost of the Government borrowing to fund SMI loans.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has to enhance support for (a) victims of modern slavery and (b) people who have been trafficked.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Working closely with the Home Office and The Salvation Army we have recently introduced a supported handover to ease the transition from Home Office funded support to DWP support for victims of modern slavery and trafficking. We have also enhanced training and guidance for frontline staff so they are able to identify victims and refer them to the most appropriate support.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to better promote the Access to Work scheme.
Answered by Sarah Newton
Access to Work is promoted to a range of business leaders through the Disability Confident campaign. As part of the ongoing Access to Work campaign partnership managers will be engaging with local contacts to promote the support available.
We also promote the scheme through engagement with partners and stakeholders such as Remploy, as well as through other government departments and public sector bodies. We may also use some elements of paid for marketing where appropriate, although our spending plans have not yet been finalised.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 18 October 2017 to Question 106843, how much her Department plans to spend on promoting the Access to Work scheme in the next 12 months.
Answered by Sarah Newton
Funding for 2018/2019 to promote Access to Work has not been finalised. For our marketing approach, I refer the Hon Member to PQ 106839.
Last year saw an 8% rise in number of people who had an Access to Work award approved.