Asked by: Lesley Laird (Labour - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how the increases in state pension for 2019-20 were calculated; and for what reasons pensioners reaching the age of 80 are awarded an increase of 25 pence in 2019-20.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As a result of the Triple Lock, from April 2019, the full yearly amount of the basic State Pension is around £675 higher than if it had just been up-rated by earnings since April 2010. That’s a rise of over £1,600 in cash terms.
The Government is committed to ensuring economic security for people at every stage of their life, including during retirement. We are forecast to spend over £120 billion on benefits for pensioners in 2019/20. This includes £99 billion of expenditure on the State Pension.
In 2019/20, the basic State Pension and the new State Pension (apart from Protected Payments) were both uprated by 2.6%. This was in line with the Triple Lock guarantee that these will rise by the highest of average earnings growth, price inflation, or 2.5%. In 2019/20 the highest measure was earnings growth at 2.6%. The full basic State Pension went up by £3.25 to £129.20 a week whilst the full rate of the new State Pension rose by £4.25 to £168.60 a week.
Protected Payments, Additional State Pension and Graduated Retirement Benefit elements are uprated each year by the increase in prices. They rose by 2.4% (CPI) in 2019/20.
The 25p age addition to contributory and non-contributory retirement pensions is paid with the State Pension when individuals reach age 80. It is a separate issue from the uprating process outlined above. When the age addition was first introduced in 1971 the value of the basic State Pension for a single person was £6 per week and the amount of 25p constituted a more substantial sum in relation to the total State Pension than it does nowadays in relation to the current basic State Pension of £129.20 a week.
Although there are no plans to uprate the age addition amount, this should be considered alongside the range of other measures and benefits, including Pension Credit, that are available to pensioners, over age 80. Moreover, people who are aged 80 and over receive a Winter Fuel Payment of £300, instead of the standard Winter Fuel Payment of £200 for pensioners below that age. Additionally, the non-contributory Category D State Pension is available to those aged over 80 with either no entitlement to a basic State Pension or who are entitled to State Pension of less than £77.45 per week who meet the residency conditions.
Asked by: Lesley Laird (Labour - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2019 to Question 218361, whether she plans to make an assessment of the effect of the roll-out of universal credit in Fife on the provision of services for lone parents and disadvantaged families by local authorities and third party sector organisations in the next six months.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department currently has no plans to make this assessment. We do continue to evaluate Universal Credit as it is delivered. Research and analysis is conducted to assist and inform the evaluation and the expansion of Universal Credit, focusing specifically on the effects of Universal Credit on claimants’ behaviours and outcomes. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-evaluation-framework-2016.
Universal Credit spending will be £2 billion higher compared to the system it replaces, meaning on average £300 extra per year for a family on Universal Credit relative to the legacy system.
We have implemented a number of changes to help families on Universal Credit. For example, work allowance rates will be increased by £1000 from April 2019, directing additional support to some of the most vulnerable low paid working families.
Furthermore, New Burdens funding has been provided to local authorities to cover additional costs associated with rollout.
Asked by: Lesley Laird (Labour - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the roll-out of universal credit in Scotland on provision of services for lone parents and disadvantaged families by (a) local authorities and (b) third sector organisations.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We have not made an assessment of the effect of the roll-out of universal credit in Scotland on provision of services for lone parents and disadvantage families by Local Authorities and third party sector organisations.
We are committed to helping parents into work. Childcare is essential in enabling parents to work, although we recognise that this can cause additional financial difficulty.
Universal Credit claimants are able to claim up to 85 per cent of their childcare costs, compared to 70 per cent on the legacy system. People with an offer of paid work can also get childcare costs paid a month in advance.
On 11 January 2019, Secretary of State Rt. Hon Amber Rudd MP announced measures that will provide increased support for Universal Credit (UC) claimants. This included piloting a more flexible approach to claimants reporting childcare costs, which will allow people to be reimbursed for childcare even when they aren’t able to provide immediate evidence.
Asked by: Lesley Laird (Labour - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of the roll-out of universal credit in Fife on provision of services for lone parents and disadvantaged families by (a) local authorities and (b) third sector organisations.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We have not made an assessment of the effect of the roll-out of universal credit in Fife on provision of services for lone parents and disadvantage families by Local Authorities and third party sector organisations.
We are committed to helping parents into work. Childcare is essential in enabling parents to work, although we recognise that this can cause additional financial difficulty.
Universal Credit claimants are able to claim up to 85 per cent of their childcare costs, compared to 70% on the legacy system. People with an offer of paid work can also get childcare costs paid a month in advance.
On 11 January 2019, Secretary of State Rt. Hon Amber Rudd MP announced measures that will provide increased support for Universal Credit (UC) claimants. This included piloting a more flexible approach to claimants reporting childcare costs, which will allow people to be reimbursed for childcare even when they aren’t able to provide immediate evidence.
Asked by: Lesley Laird (Labour - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information her Department holds on the steps the JPI Media Board will take to mitigate pension losses and to stabilise the pension scheme for employees of Johnston Press.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Johnston Press Pension Plan is currently in the Pension Protection Fund’s (PPF) assessment period, where it will be assessed whether the scheme’s funding level is sufficient to secure pensions to its members at least equal to the level of compensation the PPF would pay. If the scheme’s funding is not sufficient, then it will transfer into the PPF and compensation will be paid at 100 per cent for individuals over their scheme’s retirement age at the date of the insolvency, and 90 per cent of the member’s accrued benefits, subject to an overall cap for everyone else. Benefits accrued post 1997 will be linked to PPF indexation going forward.
There are around 5,000 pension scheme members who will be affected.
The Pensions Regulator and the PPF are working together with the administrators to understand the circumstances surrounding the sale and its implications for the Johnston Press Pension Plan.
Asked by: Lesley Laird (Labour - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information she holds on the (a) number of past and present employees of Johnston Press who will be affected by its decision to transfer its pension scheme to the Pension Protection Fund and (b) potential proportionate change in the value of the pensions of those employees.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Johnston Press Pension Plan is currently in the Pension Protection Fund’s (PPF) assessment period, where it will be assessed whether the scheme’s funding level is sufficient to secure pensions to its members at least equal to the level of compensation the PPF would pay. If the scheme’s funding is not sufficient, then it will transfer into the PPF and compensation will be paid at 100 per cent for individuals over their scheme’s retirement age at the date of the insolvency, and 90 per cent of the member’s accrued benefits, subject to an overall cap for everyone else. Benefits accrued post 1997 will be linked to PPF indexation going forward.
There are around 5,000 pension scheme members who will be affected.
The Pensions Regulator and the PPF are working together with the administrators to understand the circumstances surrounding the sale and its implications for the Johnston Press Pension Plan.
Asked by: Lesley Laird (Labour - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions,what the Pension Protection Fund has determined the value of Johnston Press pension deficit to be.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Johnston Press Pension Plan is currently in the Pension Protection Fund’s (PPF) assessment period, where it will be assessed whether the scheme’s funding level is sufficient to secure pensions to its members at least equal to the level of compensation the PPF would pay. If the scheme’s funding is not sufficient, then it will transfer into the PPF and compensation will be paid at 100 per cent for individuals over their scheme’s retirement age at the date of the insolvency, and 90 per cent of the member’s accrued benefits, subject to an overall cap for everyone else. Benefits accrued post 1997 will be linked to PPF indexation going forward.
There are around 5,000 pension scheme members who will be affected.
The Pensions Regulator and the PPF are working together with the administrators to understand the circumstances surrounding the sale and its implications for the Johnston Press Pension Plan.
Asked by: Lesley Laird (Labour - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the number of students receiving child tax credits and who will be transferred to universal credit this year in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK; and what assessment she has made of changes in the level of funding for those students.
Answered by Alok Sharma - COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
We have made no such estimate. Claimants currently only migrate from existing benefits to Universal Credit following a relevant change of circumstance that would previously have prompted a new claim to another existing benefit. Therefore it is not possible to estimate with accuracy when such changes may occur.
We will start to move legacy benefit claimants to Universal Credit as part of our Managed Migration process from July 2019. At this point, claimants will receive transitional protection if their overall Universal Credit entitlement would be less than under the old system, provided that their circumstances remain the same.
Asked by: Lesley Laird (Labour - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department has taken to proactively (a) contact and (b) advise people affected by the introduction of personal independence payment; and what advice her Department provides to those people.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The Department is committed to ensuring that Disability Living Allowance (DLA) claimants who will be invited to claim Personal Independence Payment (PIP) are made aware of this. Since 2014, the annual DLA uprating notice sent to current DLA claimants has contained information about PIP and that DWP will write to them to invite them to claim PIP when their DLA is due to end.
The Department ran a communications campaign about DLA ending between November 2015 and April 2016. This included digital advertising and the distribution of leaflets by community organisations. The ‘DLA is ending’ leaflet is still available.
DWP continues to work closely with organisations and national stakeholder forums to raise awareness and understanding of PIP, and improve the information we provide. Information about PIP is available on the GOV.UK and on all the main disability organisations’ websites. We also update professional bodies and associations covering hospitals, GP surgeries and local authorities on PIP changes.
Asked by: Lesley Laird (Labour - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applicants for employment and support allowance have waited over one year for a medical assessment in (a) Scotland and (b) Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath constituency in the last year.
Answered by Sarah Newton
The available information on waiting times and appeals in Scotland can be found in the ESA Outcomes of Work Capability Assessments quarterly statistics published here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/esa-outcomes-of-work-capability-assessments-including-mandatory-reconsiderations-and-appeals-june-2018
This information is not readily available at constituency level and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.