Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her Department's advertisement of 22 May 2019 about Universal Credit, published in the Metro newspaper, what the total cost was for that advertising campaign; how the information within that advertisement was sourced; and whether that advertisement was prepared by an independent organisation or by employees of her Department.
Answered by Lord Sharma
The Department provides services to around 22 million people, and has a responsibility to communicate policy and essential information to claimants and other key audiences, in a similar way to other government departments. Newspaper advertising contributes to our routine communications activity that has been running alongside the rollout of Universal Credit since 2013.
The Universal Credit Uncovered media partnership with the Metro is currently underway and running for a further six weeks so we are unable to provide accurate spend to date figures for the partnership. However, we can commit to publish final full spend on the partnership at the end of July once all activity has concluded.
The information used for the partnership was sourced by DWP officials. The content features actual claimant case studies and interviews from Jobcentre work coaches, and the advertorials have been developed in partnership with the Metro.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of youth unemployment.
Answered by Lord Sharma
The Department has not made an estimate of the overall costs of youth unemployment.
The most recent data (July-September 2018) from the ONS Labour Force Survey shows that youth unemployment is at a near record low of 476,000 – down by nearly 50% (463,000) since the 2010 election.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions his Department has had with the Financial Conduct Authority on the protection of savers automatically enrolled into contract-based pension schemes from climate change risks material to their investments.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Department for Work and Pensions works closely with the Financial Conduct Authority to ensure that pension savers benefit from comparable protection whether they are members of an occupational pension scheme or a workplace personal pension scheme. This includes considering together how best to ensure that schemes take appropriate account of climate change risks and other financial risks material to their investments.
Last month government laid regulations which, from October 2019, will require trustees of occupational pension schemes to set out how they take account of climate change and other risks that are material to their investments.
The Financial Conduct Authority will consult in the first quarter of 2019 on a rule change to require the Independent Governance Committees of workplace personal pension schemes to report on their firm’s policy on evaluating financially material considerations, including climate change.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has plans to submit a formal response to the consultation undertaken by the Financial Conduct Authority on changes to rules governing the operation of Independent Governance Committees in Quarter 1 2019.
Answered by Guy Opperman
We welcome the Financial Conduct Authority’s commitment to consult on the changes to IGC rules. It is important that independent regulators regularly review their rules, consulting where appropriate, to determine whether they need to be changed.
Government departments do not respond to FCA consultations – however, we regularly engage with the FCA on many issues relating to pensions, to ensure a coherent regulatory approach across contract based and occupational schemes. This includes engagement on issues relating to pension scheme governance and investment policies.