Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
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 encourage the pension industry to (a) divest pension funds from carbon-intensive industries and fossil fuel and (b) adopt the recommendations of the task force on climate-related financial disclosures on reporting structures.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government wants to support trustees in making responsible investment decisions. However, it does not seek to direct pension schemes to invest or divest in any particular way.
We recognise that climate change is a key national and international issue and we have made sure that pension schemes understand their role responding to its effects. In September 2018, following extensive consultation with the pensions industry, this Government laid regulations to clarify that trustees should be taking account of the financial risks of climate change when developing their investment strategies. The regulations come into force from October this year. The FCA are consulting on corresponding provisions for workplace personal pension schemes.
As the Minister for Pensions and Financial Inclusion I have spoken extensively about the new requirements and the Government expectations of pension schemes, including during the Westminster Hall debate regarding Pension Funds: Financial and Ethical Investments on the 22 May 2019:
“For too long there has been a perception by too many trustees -I am happy to clarify this as a Government Minister- that the environmental practices of the firms they invest in are purely ethical concerns, which they do not need to worry about: that is utterly wrong. Aside from the ethical considerations, there are real financial risks resulting from climate change. With the long-term horizons of pension investing, trustees must now consider that when they set out their investment strategies. Trustees who do not consider those matters will be breaching their statutory and potentially their fiduciary duties not only to current but future members.”
The full debate can be viewed here:
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions she has had with representatives from the pensions industry about (a) the divestment of pensions funds from carbon-intensive industries and from fossil fuels and (b) incorporating climate-related risk into their investment decision-making.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government wants to support trustees in making responsible investment decisions. However, it does not seek to direct pension schemes to invest or divest in any particular way.
We recognise that climate change is a key national and international issue and we have made sure that pension schemes understand their role responding to its effects. In September 2018, following extensive consultation with the pensions industry, this Government laid regulations to clarify that trustees should be taking account of the financial risks of climate change when developing their investment strategies. The regulations come into force from October this year. The FCA are consulting on corresponding provisions for workplace personal pension schemes.
As the Minister for Pensions and Financial Inclusion I have spoken extensively about the new requirements and the Government expectations of pension schemes, including during the Westminster Hall debate regarding Pension Funds: Financial and Ethical Investments on the 22 May 2019:
“For too long there has been a perception by too many trustees -I am happy to clarify this as a Government Minister- that the environmental practices of the firms they invest in are purely ethical concerns, which they do not need to worry about: that is utterly wrong. Aside from the ethical considerations, there are real financial risks resulting from climate change. With the long-term horizons of pension investing, trustees must now consider that when they set out their investment strategies. Trustees who do not consider those matters will be breaching their statutory and potentially their fiduciary duties not only to current but future members.”
The full debate can be viewed here:
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on encouraging local government pensions funds to divest from carbon-intensive industries and fossil fuels.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The DWP has regular discussions with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. However, much like with trustees of occupational pension schemes, the local pension committees of the individual Local Government Pension Funds are responsible for their own investment decisions.
As I said during the Westminster Hall debate regarding Pension Funds: Financial and Ethical Investments on the 22 May 2019:
“For too long there has been a perception by too many trustees -I am happy to clarify this as a Government Minister- that the environmental practices of the firms they invest in are purely ethical concerns, which they do not need to worry about: that is utterly wrong. Aside from the ethical considerations, there are real financial risks resulting from climate change. With the long-term horizons of pension investing, trustees must now consider that when they set out their investment strategies. Trustees who do not consider those matters will be breaching their statutory and potentially their fiduciary duties not only to current but future members.”
The full debate can be viewed here:
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the level of local housing allowance compared with the cost of rented accommodation in Bristol.
Answered by Will Quince
No assessment has been made of the adequacy of the level of Local Housing Allowance (LHA) compared with the cost of rented accommodation in Bristol.
The proportion of private market rents that are at or below the LHA rate are set out below. This is based on:
| Shared accommodation | 1 bedroom | 2 bedrooms | 3 bedrooms | 4 bedrooms |
Bristol | 8% | 7% | 5% | 7% | 10% |
South West | 12% | 14% | 13% | 12% | 15% |
Note: South West figures calculated as the average for the following Broad Rental Market Areas: Kernow West, North Cornwall & Devon Borders, Plymouth, South Devon, Exeter, North Devon, Mid & East Devon, Mid & West Dorset, Taunton & West Somerset, Yeovil, Weston-S-Mare, Mendip, Bath, Bristol, Gloucester, Cheltenham, West Wiltshire, Swindon, Salisbury and Bournemouth.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of rental accommodation is affordable to those receiving the maximum rate of local housing allowance in (a) Bristol and (b) the South West.
Answered by Will Quince
No assessment has been made of the adequacy of the level of Local Housing Allowance (LHA) compared with the cost of rented accommodation in Bristol.
The proportion of private market rents that are at or below the LHA rate are set out below. This is based on:
| Shared accommodation | 1 bedroom | 2 bedrooms | 3 bedrooms | 4 bedrooms |
Bristol | 8% | 7% | 5% | 7% | 10% |
South West | 12% | 14% | 13% | 12% | 15% |
Note: South West figures calculated as the average for the following Broad Rental Market Areas: Kernow West, North Cornwall & Devon Borders, Plymouth, South Devon, Exeter, North Devon, Mid & East Devon, Mid & West Dorset, Taunton & West Somerset, Yeovil, Weston-S-Mare, Mendip, Bath, Bristol, Gloucester, Cheltenham, West Wiltshire, Swindon, Salisbury and Bournemouth.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will take steps to ensure that Universal Support is available to claimants in advance of the managed migration stage of the roll-out of Universal Credit.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
Universal Support has been in place for a number of years. DWP has made funding available to Local Authorities (LAs) to help deliver Universal Support and the Department’s current funding arrangements with LAs will continue until March 2019.
Earlier this month, we announced a new partnership with Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland to deliver a new approach to Universal Support, initially up to March 2020. Our new partnership will ensure that all those who need to make a claim and need extra support can access it.
We are considering with stakeholders and partners what additional support might be needed to assist people through the managed migration process.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish an updated schedule for the next stage of the roll-out of Universal Credit.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The schedule for the migration onto Universal Credit has been published and can be found at
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-transition-to-full-service.
Rollout to all Jobcentres will be completed by December 2018.
The next stage of the rollout is managed migration. The regulations to enact managed migration will come before Parliament in the autumn and are subject to parliamentary approval. During 2019 we will test and refine our processes on a small scale to ensure they are working well before we take on larger volumes from 2020 onwards, and complete the process in 2023.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 23 April 2018 to Question 136602 on Support for Mortgage Interest, how many and what proportion of Support for Mortgage Interest claimants have (a) decided to take out and (b) declined the loan offered by her Department in each English region.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The information requested is not available at regional level and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
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 feasibility of seconding Job Centre staff to do outreach sessions at food banks to support people who are experiencing problems with the administration of the welfare system.
Answered by Priti Patel
Local Jobcentre Plus managers have the freedom to develop partnerships with a wide range of organisations based on local needs and circumstances.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
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 adequacy of the support available for people with progressive conditions; and to what extent the assessment process for (a) employment and support allowance and (b) personal independence payments takes into account the fluctuating and progressive nature of conditions such as Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and cystic fibrosis.
Answered by Mark Harper - Secretary of State for Transport
Both Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) have been designed to take full account of fluctuating conditions and healthcare professionals who undertake assessments are required to fully explore and report any fluctuations in a claimant’s condition(s).
If a claimant has a progressive medical condition, healthcare professionals will take this into consideration when advising the Department as to when the claimant might need to be reviewed.
Entitlement to both ESA and PIP is based on the impact of the claimant’s disability or health conditions.