Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff in his Department work on child benefit.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC has a dedicated team of trained staff members available to support and assist customers with queries related to Child Benefit. The staffing numbers are regularly reviewed and adjusted based on demand throughout the year. The Department has the capability to train existing colleagues from outside the Child Benefit team as needed to address priority areas.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department has had discussions with the devolved Administrations on how they support veterans at risk of homelessness.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
DLUHC Ministers and officials engage regularly with their counterparts in the devolved administrations to discuss a range of issues, including tackling all forms of homelessness.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people opted out of auto-enrolment workplace pension schemes in each of the last ten years for which figures are available.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The data requested for the number of people who opted out of automatic enrolment workplace pension schemes in each of the last ten years is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs.
The department makes regular publications of the data that is held, including the Workplace Pension Participation and Savings Trends, which is available on GOV.UK. This publication includes aggregated data from large private pension providers in which the proportion of new member enrolments to have opted-out of workplace pension saving stood at 11.79% in July 2023. Over the period from January 2020 to July 2023, these opt-out rates have fluctuated between a low of 7.03% and a high of 12.23%. From the same aggregated private pension provider data, the proportion of pension scheme members making an active decision to cease saving was 0.50% in July 2023.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to amend the State Pension Regulations 2015 to allow deferred pension entitlement accrued by individuals not (a) married and (b) in a civil partnership to be considered part of their estate upon death.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government has no plans to amend the State Pension Regulations 2015.
These regulations make transitional provisions enabling a person in the new State Pension system to inherit a deferral payment where their deceased spouse or civil partner had deferred an old State Pension.
Apart from transitional rules, it is no longer possible for a spouse or civil partner to inherit or derive State Pension entitlement from their partner, under the new State Pension system, introduced in 2016.
If an individual is not married or in a civil partnership, it is possible for an arrears payment to made to the deceased's estate under Regulation 30 of the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1987. A maximum of three months arrears of State Pension may be awarded which may include arrears of extra State Pension accrued by the deferral.
Asked by: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
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 potential impact of the provisions of the State Pension Regulations 2015 which prevent individuals from taking (a) a lump sum payment and (b) an enhanced pension on the finances of pensioners.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
No such specific assessment has been made.
The Government prepared an impact assessment which looked at the effect of the new State Pension reforms overall on the various types of income that pensioners receive from the state, available at: The single-tier pension: a simple foundation for saving - Impact Assessment (publishing.service.gov.uk).
This included estimates on the impacts of changes to deferral policy.
Asked by: Paul Beresford (Conservative - Mole Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Third Report of the Work and Pensions Committee of 2023-24 on Defined benefit pension schemes, HC 144, published on 26 March 2024 and the Fifty-Seventh Report of the Committee of Public Accounts of 2022-23 on AEA Technology Pension Case, HC 1005, published on 14 June 2023, if he will publish a redress scheme for AEA Technology pension scheme members by 23 July 2024.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
This is a complex issue, which spans the responsibility of several departments. My officials are in discussion with their counterparts at the Cabinet Office.
As part of the government’s response to the Third Report of the Work and Pensions Committee of 2023-24 on Defined Benefit pension schemes (HC144) we will carefully consider this issue, involving other relevant departments as appropriate and respond in due course.
Asked by: Stephen Farry (Alliance - North Down)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the PHSO report on changes to women’s State Pension age, published on 21 March 2024, if he will implement its recommendations.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are considering the Ombudsman’s report and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the annual budget is for regional schools commissioners, per commissioner per region in each financial year since 2014-15; and how many staff were employed by each commissioner on average in each financial year since 2014-15.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department has identified the costs as the workforce costs and the General Administration Expenditure for the Regional Schools Commissioners (RSCs) and their teams up to 2022, and for Regional Directors and their teams from 2022 onwards. RSCs were replaced in 2022 by Regional Directors with an expanded remit.
The department's policy of retaining financial records for seven years limits access to data before the 2016/17 financial year.
In 2019 the department underwent re-organisation to align its delivery work in relation to academies, free schools and school improvement, bringing together functions that were previously delivered in different parts of the department. This data for 2019/2022 is therefore not directly comparable to previous years, as the functions delivered by the RSC teams expanded.
The RSC Staff programme budget, represented in the table below, was held centrally until the 2020/2021 financial year and then was split and allocated to the individual regions from 2021/2022. This was a change in where the budget sat rather than a change in staffing levels.
Workforce actual spend data for Regional Schools Commissioner teams 2016/2022
Workforce Actual Spend (Millions of GBP) | FY 2016/17 | FY 2017-18 | FY 2018/19 | FY 2019/20 | FY 2020/21 | FY 2021/22 |
RSC East of England and North East London | £1.60 | £1.62 | £1.15 | £1.07 | £1.20 | £1.99 |
RSC East Midlands and Humber | £1.90 | £1.48 | £1.39 | £1.10 | £1.33 | £2.58 |
RSC Lancashire and West Yorkshire | £1.85 | £1.91 | £1.45 | £1.33 | £1.39 | £2.86 |
RSC North & Opportunity North East | £1.57 | £1.29 | £1.16 | £0.74 | £0.93 | £3.36 |
RSC North West London and South Central England | £1.89 | £1.62 | £1.27 | £1.33 | £1.51 | £3.06 |
RSC South East and South London | £2.18 | £1.66 | £1.43 | £1.11 | £1.63 | £3.40 |
RSD South West | £2.20 | £1.98 | £1.39 | £1.59 | £1.81 | £3.55 |
RSC West Midlands | £1.90 | £1.91 | £1.15 | £1.20 | £1.67 | £3.18 |
RSC Staff Programme Costs* | £4.08 | £9.95 | £14.68 | £15.90 | £16.31 | £0.37 |
Full Time Equivalent staffing data for Regional Schools Commissioner teams 2016/2022
Full Time Equivalent Staff per Region | FY16/17 | FY17/18 | FY18/19 | FY19/20 | FY20/21 | FY21/22 |
RSC East of England and North East London | 44.01 | 41.46 | 42.6 | 47.4 | 41 | 41.6 |
RSC East Midlands and Humber | 46.99 | 59.93 | 47 | 51.4 | 53 | 49.9 |
RSC Lancashire and West Yorkshire | 54.16 | 68.71 | 48.6 | 64.2 | 64.1 | 54.5 |
RSC North & Opportunity North East | 40.48 | 41.28 | 32.6 | 41.9 | 37.7 | 37.3 |
RSC North West London and South Central England | 49.35 | 52.43 | 48.4 | 64.1 | 51.6 | 43 |
RSC South East and South London | 54.19 | 58.52 | 42.4 | 61.7 | 54.8 | 52.3 |
RSC South West | 54.66 | 55.59 | 53.7 | 67.2 | 59.2 | 58.9 |
RSC West Midlands | 58.62 | 52.57 | 46.7 | 57.9 | 58.6 | 56.3 |
In July 2022, the creation of Regions Group within the department led to the replacement of the RSC role with Regional Directors, with a broader remit for the delivery of special educational needs and disabilities support and children’s social care improvement and interventions in their regions alongside their role in relation to academies and free schools. The regional structures were also re-organised to align with geographical boundaries of English regions. This data is therefore not directly comparable to the previous years.
Workforce actual spend data for Regional Director teams 2022/2024
Workforce Actual Spend Data for Regional Director Teams 2022 – 2024 (Millions of GBP) | Workforce Actual | Workforce Actual (at end of Feb 2024) |
FY 2022/23 | FY 2023/24 | |
Regional Directorate - East Midlands | £2.70 | £3.11 |
Regional Directorate - East of England | £3.60 | £3.58 |
Regional Directorate - London | £4.06 | £3.68 |
Regional Directorate - North East | £2.47 | £2.09 |
Regional Directorate - North West | £4.44 | £4.36 |
Regional Directorate - South East | £4.04 | £3.93 |
Regional Directorate - South West | £4.34 | £4.13 |
Regional Directorate - West Midlands | £4.26 | £3.91 |
Regional Directorate - Yorkshire and the Humber | £4.00 | £3.89 |
Full Time Equivalent staffing data for Regional Director teams 2022/2024
Full Time Equivalent Staff per Region | FY22/23 | FY23/24 (Actual FTE at end of Feb 24) |
Regional Directorate - East Midlands | 47.7 | 54.6 |
Regional Directorate - East of England | 53.0 | 65.5 |
Regional Directorate - London | 55.6 | 56.3 |
Regional Directorate - North East | 38.3 | 33.2 |
Regional Directorate - North West | 76.2 | 80.0 |
Regional Directorate - South East | 62.8 | 61.2 |
Regional Directorate - South West | 66.3 | 78.5 |
Regional Directorate - West Midlands | 69.7 | 70.7 |
Regional Directorate - Yorkshire and the Humber | 62.7 | 71.7 |
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will hold discussions with (a) the hon. Member for North Tyneside and (b) Parkinson's UK on the potential impact of the social security system on people living with Parkinson's disease.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Work Capability Assessment (WCA) assesses individuals against a set of descriptors to determine how their health condition or disability affects their ability to work. The WCA takes into account the functional effects of fluctuating and degenerative conditions such as Parkinson’s. A key principle is that the WCA considers the impact that a person’s disability or health condition has on them, not the condition itself.
Claimants with the most severe health conditions and disabilities whose condition is unlikely to ever improve are no longer routinely reassessed.
From 2025, we are reforming the WCA to reflect new flexibilities in the labour market and greater employment opportunities for disabled people and people with health conditions, whilst maintaining protections for those with the most significant conditions. Claimants who currently have no work-related requirements, except in some very limited circumstances, will not be reassessed or lose benefit because of these changes.
When making decisions on changes to the WCA, we carefully considered over 1300 consultation responses, including from disabled people, people with health conditions, and the organisations that represent and support them. We also engaged directly with clinical experts, employer groups and disability organisations across the country.
With these changes to the WCA criteria, 371,000 fewer people will be assessed as having limited capability for work and work-related activity by 2028-29 and will receive personalised support to help them move closer to employment. A further 29,000 individuals will be found fit for work by 2028-29 and will receive more intensive support to search for and secure work than would be the case under the current WCA rules. These figures are not based on specific conditions. This is because the WCA considers the impact that a person’s disability or health condition has on their ability to work, not the condition itself.
The department routinely engages with a wide range of organisations that represent and support disabled people and people with health conditions, including people living with Parkinson’s disease.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
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 potential impact of proposed changes to Work Capability Assessments on people with Parkinson's disease.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Work Capability Assessment (WCA) assesses individuals against a set of descriptors to determine how their health condition or disability affects their ability to work. The WCA takes into account the functional effects of fluctuating and degenerative conditions such as Parkinson’s. A key principle is that the WCA considers the impact that a person’s disability or health condition has on them, not the condition itself.
Claimants with the most severe health conditions and disabilities whose condition is unlikely to ever improve are no longer routinely reassessed.
From 2025, we are reforming the WCA to reflect new flexibilities in the labour market and greater employment opportunities for disabled people and people with health conditions, whilst maintaining protections for those with the most significant conditions. Claimants who currently have no work-related requirements, except in some very limited circumstances, will not be reassessed or lose benefit because of these changes.
When making decisions on changes to the WCA, we carefully considered over 1300 consultation responses, including from disabled people, people with health conditions, and the organisations that represent and support them. We also engaged directly with clinical experts, employer groups and disability organisations across the country.
With these changes to the WCA criteria, 371,000 fewer people will be assessed as having limited capability for work and work-related activity by 2028-29 and will receive personalised support to help them move closer to employment. A further 29,000 individuals will be found fit for work by 2028-29 and will receive more intensive support to search for and secure work than would be the case under the current WCA rules. These figures are not based on specific conditions. This is because the WCA considers the impact that a person’s disability or health condition has on their ability to work, not the condition itself.
The department routinely engages with a wide range of organisations that represent and support disabled people and people with health conditions, including people living with Parkinson’s disease.