Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman report into the changes to Women’s State Pension Age, published on 21 March 2024, if he will bring forward a response to that report before 23 July 2024.
Answered by Paul Maynard
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman report into the changes to Women’s State Pension Age, published on 21 March 2024, if he will apologise to the women impacted by the changes to state pension age in that report.
Answered by Paul Maynard
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department's policy is on communicating future increases to the State Pension age to the public.
Answered by Paul Maynard
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the number of pensioners in poverty.
Answered by Paul Maynard
Statistics on the number of pensioners living in absolute and relative poverty in the UK are published annually in the “Households Below Average Income” publication in “table 1_6b” of “summary-hbai-timeseries-1994-95-2022-23-tables” at Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab).
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Child Maintenance Service in securing funds from paying parents.
Answered by Paul Maynard
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) has a range of strong enforcement powers that can be used against those who consistently refuse to meet their obligations to provide financial support to their children. These include forcing the sale of property, disqualification from driving or commitment to prison. We are committed to making the most effective use of these strong enforcement powers and have made a number of improvements to our enforcement processes to make it quicker and more efficient.
Since December 2022, there has been an increase from 65% to 68%, in those paying something towards their maintenance through Collect & Pay.
We have recently concluded a public consultation on proposals to introduce administrative liability orders, which will significantly speed up the process and get money to children quicker, reducing the time it takes to secure an order from 22 weeks to as low as 6 weeks. The Government published their response on 12 February 2024 and will bring forward legislation as soon as possible.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of people in destitution.
Answered by Jo Churchill
I refer the Hon Member to the answer of 13 May 2024 to question number 902774.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to help fill job vacancies in Portsmouth.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The Jobcentre team are supporting residents into work and helping those in work to progress to higher paid jobs. We are working with local and national employers to help fill vacancies quickly, delivering Sector-Based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs), recruitment days, Job Fairs, and work trials.
Our Youth Team works with the Prince’s Trust to provide additional support and courses to prepare young people who are not in education and training, including those without parental support, to attain training and employment.
The Jobcentre works closely with the National Careers Service who, after a successful trial, will deliver ongoing bespoke Group Information Sessions to customers who require a CV or need their current CV enhancing to apply for jobs.
The Jobcentre is hosting a bespoke Armed Forces recruitment event that will follow up on the UK’s national Armed Forces Day. This is in partnership with the Royal Navy, British Army, Royal Air Force and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
Additionally, the team in Portsmouth are working closely with local employers including Nature’s Way, Solent Sky Services and Thatched House (Greene King) to fill their job vacancies as well as working closely with partners such as the local Chamber of Commerce to offer regular Job Fairs focussed on specific sectors and customer groups.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of the number of in-work Universal Credit claimants that have had payments stopped due to errors made by his Department in the last 12 months.
Answered by Jo Churchill
No estimate has been made. Customers can request a mandatory reconsideration if they do not agree with the decision to stop their Universal Credit.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his planned timetable is for responding to the findings and recommendations from the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman report into the changes to Women’s State Pension Age, published on 21 March 2024.
Answered by Paul Maynard
In laying the report before Parliament at the end of March, the Ombudsman has brought matters to the attention of this House, and a further update to the House will be provided once the report's findings have been fully considered.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he last met with the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman to discuss the findings and recommendations of its report on changes to Women’s State Pension Age, published on 21 March 2024.
Answered by Paul Maynard
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has not met with the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman since the report into Women’s State Pension age was published on 21 March 2024.