Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to help reduce waiting times for referrals to the Pensions Ombudsman for people in Yeovil constituency.

The Pension Ombudsman (TPO) has been experiencing over several years a significant increase in customers complaining about their pensions or schemes and this trend is continuing. This has impacted on waiting times. TPO does not hold specific information on referrals received from people in the Yeovil constituency.

DWP has allocated additional funding to TPO to reduce waiting times. TPO has also implemented an Operating Model Review (OMR) programme to improve the efficiency of its operations. This is beginning to have a positive impact on waiting times.