Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham Ladywood)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether there is a statutory limit on the length of a Health and Safety Executive investigation.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
There is no statutory limit on the length of a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation. HSE has a number of processes in place to expedite investigations including:
HSE focuses on investigating the most serious of incidents, particularly those that result in fatalities or major injuries and these can be very complex to investigate. HSE understands that timeliness is important and has strengthened procedures. Since 2013/14 there has been an improvement in the percentage of fatal investigations completed within 12 months of primacy for the investigation passing to HSE from the police, as shown in the table below:
2013/14 | 14/15 | 15/16 | 16/17 | 17/18 | 18/19 | 19/20 |
43% | 61% | 63% | 73% | 75% | 56% | 75%(p) |
The percentage of non-fatal investigations completed within 12 months is shown in the table below:
2013/14 | 14/15 | 15/16 | 16/17 | 17/18 | 18/19 | 19/20 |
90% | 90% | 90% | 90% | 89% | 89% | 90%(p) |
(p) – Provisional and based on live operational information and is therefore subject to change.
HSE’s key performance indicators framework includes indicators on the timeliness of completing investigations, in particular 80% of fatal investigations completed within 12 months of primacy and to complete 90% of non-fatal investigations within 12 months. Performance is regularly reviewed by the HSE Board who are appointed by the Secretary of State and figures are published annually in their Annual Report and Accounts.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham Ladywood)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what processes are in place to expedite Health and Safety Executive investigations.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
There is no statutory limit on the length of a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation. HSE has a number of processes in place to expedite investigations including:
HSE focuses on investigating the most serious of incidents, particularly those that result in fatalities or major injuries and these can be very complex to investigate. HSE understands that timeliness is important and has strengthened procedures. Since 2013/14 there has been an improvement in the percentage of fatal investigations completed within 12 months of primacy for the investigation passing to HSE from the police, as shown in the table below:
2013/14 | 14/15 | 15/16 | 16/17 | 17/18 | 18/19 | 19/20 |
43% | 61% | 63% | 73% | 75% | 56% | 75%(p) |
The percentage of non-fatal investigations completed within 12 months is shown in the table below:
2013/14 | 14/15 | 15/16 | 16/17 | 17/18 | 18/19 | 19/20 |
90% | 90% | 90% | 90% | 89% | 89% | 90%(p) |
(p) – Provisional and based on live operational information and is therefore subject to change.
HSE’s key performance indicators framework includes indicators on the timeliness of completing investigations, in particular 80% of fatal investigations completed within 12 months of primacy and to complete 90% of non-fatal investigations within 12 months. Performance is regularly reviewed by the HSE Board who are appointed by the Secretary of State and figures are published annually in their Annual Report and Accounts.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham Ladywood)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the efficiency of Health and Safety Executive investigations.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
There is no statutory limit on the length of a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation. HSE has a number of processes in place to expedite investigations including:
HSE focuses on investigating the most serious of incidents, particularly those that result in fatalities or major injuries and these can be very complex to investigate. HSE understands that timeliness is important and has strengthened procedures. Since 2013/14 there has been an improvement in the percentage of fatal investigations completed within 12 months of primacy for the investigation passing to HSE from the police, as shown in the table below:
2013/14 | 14/15 | 15/16 | 16/17 | 17/18 | 18/19 | 19/20 |
43% | 61% | 63% | 73% | 75% | 56% | 75%(p) |
The percentage of non-fatal investigations completed within 12 months is shown in the table below:
2013/14 | 14/15 | 15/16 | 16/17 | 17/18 | 18/19 | 19/20 |
90% | 90% | 90% | 90% | 89% | 89% | 90%(p) |
(p) – Provisional and based on live operational information and is therefore subject to change.
HSE’s key performance indicators framework includes indicators on the timeliness of completing investigations, in particular 80% of fatal investigations completed within 12 months of primacy and to complete 90% of non-fatal investigations within 12 months. Performance is regularly reviewed by the HSE Board who are appointed by the Secretary of State and figures are published annually in their Annual Report and Accounts.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham Ladywood)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to increase the efficiency of Health and Safety Executive investigations.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
There is no statutory limit on the length of a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation. HSE has a number of processes in place to expedite investigations including:
HSE focuses on investigating the most serious of incidents, particularly those that result in fatalities or major injuries and these can be very complex to investigate. HSE understands that timeliness is important and has strengthened procedures. Since 2013/14 there has been an improvement in the percentage of fatal investigations completed within 12 months of primacy for the investigation passing to HSE from the police, as shown in the table below:
2013/14 | 14/15 | 15/16 | 16/17 | 17/18 | 18/19 | 19/20 |
43% | 61% | 63% | 73% | 75% | 56% | 75%(p) |
The percentage of non-fatal investigations completed within 12 months is shown in the table below:
2013/14 | 14/15 | 15/16 | 16/17 | 17/18 | 18/19 | 19/20 |
90% | 90% | 90% | 90% | 89% | 89% | 90%(p) |
(p) – Provisional and based on live operational information and is therefore subject to change.
HSE’s key performance indicators framework includes indicators on the timeliness of completing investigations, in particular 80% of fatal investigations completed within 12 months of primacy and to complete 90% of non-fatal investigations within 12 months. Performance is regularly reviewed by the HSE Board who are appointed by the Secretary of State and figures are published annually in their Annual Report and Accounts.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham Ladywood)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Health and Safety Executive investigations have exceeded 12 months in duration in each of the last three years.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
HSE’s Key Performance Indicators for fatal and non-fatal investigations completed are published in its Annual Report as a percentage. In 2019/20, the target for fatal investigations is the completion of 80% within 12 months of HSE assuming primacy and for non-fatal investigations the target is 90% within 12 months.
For work related deaths, the police initially take the lead for the investigation and primacy is passed to HSE when they decide not to press charges under their legislation. The percentage of those fatal and non-fatal investigations which exceeded 12 months in duration in the last 3 years are:
Fatal investigations not completed within 12 months of primacy: | ||
2016/17 | 2017/18 | 2018/19 |
28% | 25% | 35%(p) |
Non-fatal investigations not completed within 12 months: | ||
2016/17 | 2017/18 | 2018/19 |
10% | 11% | 11%(p) |
The above figures are taken from data published in HSE’s Annual Report and Accounts 2018/19.
(p) – Provisional and based on live operational information and is therefore subject to change.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham Ladywood)
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 increase the number of people claiming pension credit in the last 12 months; and what progress she has made in increasing that number.
Answered by Guy Opperman
1.6 Million people are already claiming some £5.4 billion in pension Credit. The Government wants to make sure that all pensioners eligible can claim the Pension Credit to which they are rightly entitled. That is why from the 10 February we are launching a nationwide campaign to raise awareness of Pension Credit and encourage those over State Pension age to check whether they’re eligible. The campaign, which will run for 12 weeks, includes a short, animated video that will be shown in GP waiting rooms and in Post Offices. It will also be shown to Facebook users over State Pension Age and be supported by messaging on social media.
We regularly work with our stakeholders to help spread the key messages from the campaign because we know that often the best ways to reach eligible pensioners is through trusted stakeholders working in the community. The Pension Credit toolkit is being updated with the campaign materials to supplement the resources it already contains for those working with pensioners, such as guides to Pension Credit and guidance designed to help older people understand how they could get Pension Credit. The toolkit is designed to help organisations support someone applying for Pension Credit as well as provide ideas for encouraging take-up. It can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkit
The Department for Work and Pensions continues to use a wide range of channels including information on www.gov.uk, in leaflets and by telephone to communicate information about benefits including Pension Credit to potential claimants. We target activity on engaging with people who may be eligible to benefits at pivotal stages, such as when they claim State Pension or Attendance Allowance or report a change in their circumstances which may mean that they could be eligible for Pension Credit. In addition, the Pension Credit calculator https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit-calculator enables potential claimants to check if they are likely to be eligible and get an estimate of what they may receive.
The Department for Work and Pensions publishes an annual report detailing latest available statistics regarding the estimated take-up of Pension Credit and other income-related benefits.
The latest version can be found here:
The next report containing 2017/18 data is currently due to be published at the end of February 2020.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham Ladywood)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential incentive for mixed-aged couples to live alone as a result of the changes to pension credit entitlement which came into force in May 2019.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Pension Credit is intended to provide long term support for people who have permanently retired from the labour market on grounds of age.
The Government does not believe it is right that different labour market conditions should apply to people below State Pension age based on the age of their partner. The younger partner in a mixed age couple should have the same incentives to work and save for their own retirement as other people of the same age. Unlike Pension Credit, which in most cases allows couples to retain only £10 a week of earned income, Universal Credit provides clear incentives for people to find and progress in work. The younger partner in a mixed age couple claiming Universal Credit will get the personalised support provided by Work Coaches to help them find and progress in work where appropriate. If the younger partner is unable to work because of disability or caring requirements, additional amounts may be payable and conditionality requirements adjusted.
No work-related requirements will be applied to the older partner and there is no effect on entitlement to, or ability to receive, a State Pension.
This change does not apply to couples already claiming Pension Credit and/or Housing Benefit for pensioners on 14 May 2019 for as long as they remain entitled to either benefit.
In means-tested benefits, couples in a household are treated and assessed as a single unit rather than on an individual basis. The rate for a couple is lower than the rates would be for two single people to take account of lower aggregate living expenses for a couple. There is no evidence from elsewhere in the tax-benefit system that this leads to couples separating. In developing the policy, it was judged that the strategic objective of maintaining contact with the labour market and incentives to save for retirement outweighed the risk of genuine separation, given this lack of evidence.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham Ladywood)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what additional financial support her Department provides to mixed-age couples as a result of the changes to pension credit entitlement which came into force in May 2019.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Pension Credit is intended to provide long term support for people who have permanently retired from the labour market on grounds of age.
The Government does not believe it is right that different labour market conditions should apply to people below State Pension age based on the age of their partner. The younger partner in a mixed age couple should have the same incentives to work and save for their own retirement as other people of the same age. Unlike Pension Credit, which in most cases allows couples to retain only £10 a week of earned income, Universal Credit provides clear incentives for people to find and progress in work. The younger partner in a mixed age couple claiming Universal Credit will get the personalised support provided by Work Coaches to help them find and progress in work where appropriate. If the younger partner is unable to work because of disability or caring requirements, additional amounts may be payable and conditionality requirements adjusted.
No work-related requirements will be applied to the older partner and there is no effect on entitlement to, or ability to receive, a State Pension.
This change does not apply to couples already claiming Pension Credit and/or Housing Benefit for pensioners on 14 May 2019 for as long as they remain entitled to either benefit.
In means-tested benefits, couples in a household are treated and assessed as a single unit rather than on an individual basis. The rate for a couple is lower than the rates would be for two single people to take account of lower aggregate living expenses for a couple. There is no evidence from elsewhere in the tax-benefit system that this leads to couples separating. In developing the policy, it was judged that the strategic objective of maintaining contact with the labour market and incentives to save for retirement outweighed the risk of genuine separation, given this lack of evidence.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham Ladywood)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has put in place additional financial support for mixed-age pensioners as a result of the May 2019 changes to pension credit entitlement for mixed-aged couples; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Pension Credit is intended to provide long term support for people who have permanently retired from the labour market on grounds of age.
The Government does not believe it is right that different labour market conditions should apply to people below State Pension age based on the age of their partner. The younger partner in a mixed age couple should have the same incentives to work and save for their own retirement as other people of the same age. Unlike Pension Credit, which in most cases allows couples to retain only £10 a week of earned income, Universal Credit provides clear incentives for people to find and progress in work. The younger partner in a mixed age couple claiming Universal Credit will get the personalised support provided by Work Coaches to help them find and progress in work where appropriate. If the younger partner is unable to work because of disability or caring requirements, additional amounts may be payable and conditionality requirements adjusted.
No work-related requirements will be applied to the older partner and there is no effect on entitlement to, or ability to receive, a State Pension.
This change does not apply to couples already claiming Pension Credit and/or Housing Benefit for pensioners on 14 May 2019 for as long as they remain entitled to either benefit.
In means-tested benefits, couples in a household are treated and assessed as a single unit rather than on an individual basis. The rate for a couple is lower than the rates would be for two single people to take account of lower aggregate living expenses for a couple. There is no evidence from elsewhere in the tax-benefit system that this leads to couples separating. In developing the policy, it was judged that the strategic objective of maintaining contact with the labour market and incentives to save for retirement outweighed the risk of genuine separation, given this lack of evidence.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham Ladywood)
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 Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on promoting pension credit to people affected by the BBC's decision to end the provision of free TV licences to people aged over 75 years.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The policy for the TV licence concession for those aged 75 and over is currently the responsibility of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and will pass to the BBC in June 2020.
DWP officials are in discussion with DCMS officials regarding issues resulting from the BBC’s decision to end from June 2020 the free TV licence concession to those people aged 75 or over who are not receiving Pension Credit. The BBC has undertaken to write to all those who may be affected.
The Government remains committed to ensuring that older people receive the support they are entitled to using a wide range of channels to communicate information about benefits to potential customers; including information in leaflets and on https://gov.uk/. Potential customers can use the Pension Credit https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit-calculator to check if they are likely to be eligible and get an estimate of what they may receive. People wishing to claim Pension Credit can do so by calling 0800 99 1234.