Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to provide pension protection for Thomas Cook staff.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Thomas Cook schemes provide both Defined Contribution and Defined Benefit pensions.
Defined Contribution pensions are operated independently of Thomas Cook, with funds held separately. Pension pots will not be affected and will continue to be invested on behalf of the members. If there are unpaid pension contributions the Insolvency Service can make payments out of the National Insurance Fund within specified limits.
The Thomas Cook Defined Benefit pension schemes are protected by the Pension Protection Fund. These schemes are well funded and are able to continue to paying out pensions to their members. The Pension Protection Fund will assess whether it will need to take responsibility for payments in the future. Payments cannot be lower than the level of Pension Protection Fund compensation – which is 100% of pension for those currently above the scheme retirement age, and 90% subject to a cap for those who are younger, but this may be higher.
The trustees of the Defined Benefit pension schemes are in touch with members. The Pension Protection Fund has provided contact details if members have questions.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the amount of tax and duty owed by Thomas Cook at the time of their entry into administration; and what assessment they have made of whether there is any prospect of recovering the amount owed or any proportion thereof.
Answered by Earl of Courtown - Captain of the Queen's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Lords)
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) do not disclose details of their work on the tax affairs of particular taxpayers.
Asked by: Lord Myners (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost to the taxpayer of repatriating customers of Thomas Cook to the UK; and what are the significant factors which are likely to determine whether that estimate is an (1) over, or (2) under, estimate.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Operation to repatriate customers of Thomas Cook is modelled on the successful repatriation of passengers after the collapse of Monarch Airways.
The final cost of the Monarch operation to taxpayers was about £50 million and the repatriation effort with Thomas Cook is estimated to be about twice the size and far more complicated as Monarch was an airline based in Europe, whereas Thomas Cook was a global travel group.
This is the biggest peacetime repatriation in UK history, involving more than 150,000 passengers, so any problems or delays could lead to additional costs.
The Government will, however, seek to minimise the impact on the taxpayer by entering into discussions with third parties with a view to recovering some of the costs of this large operation. We will also look to recoup some of the costs from relevant credit and debit card providers and travel insurers.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost to the taxpayer of repayments to Thomas Cook customers who lost future bookings.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
There are no costs to the taxpayer of refunding future bookings. If the booking is covered by the ATOL scheme, then the refund will be paid out of the Air Travel Trust Fund. For other bookings, the customer may be able to reclaim the costs from a credit or debit card provider or from their travel insurance provider.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the amount of the cost to the taxpayer arising from the administration of Thomas Cook they will be able to recoup from (1) travel insurers, (2) debit and credit card providers, and (3) other travel providers through which passengers may have booked their Thomas Cook holiday.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
This is one of the largest travel company failures we have ever seen. A failure of this size, and the number of passengers affected, is unprecedented. In these circumstances it is right that the Government should step in and help affected passengers return home as smoothly as possible.
We are seeking to minimise the impact on the Government and taxpayers by recovering tax payer funds expended in relation to the repatriation operation where appropriate through the ATOL scheme, credit card companies and travel insurance.
The majority of Thomas Cook passengers were ATOL protected. The costs for repatriating those passengers will be covered by the ATOL scheme.
Asked by: Luke Pollard (Labour (Co-op) - Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much money he expects to recover from credit and debit card companies in relation to the costs incurred after the collapse of Thomas Cook.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
This is one of the largest travel company failures we have ever seen. A failure of this size, and the number of passengers affected, is unprecedented. In these circumstances, it is right that the government should step in and help affected passengers return home as smoothly as possible.
We are seeking to minimise the impact on government and taxpayers by recovering tax payer funds expended in relation to the repatriation operation where appropriate through the ATOL scheme, credit card companies and travel insurance.
Asked by: Lord Browne of Ladyton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost to the National Insurance Fund of the payments (1) made, and (2) which will be made, by the redundancy payment service and the insolvency service to Thomas Cook employees who are owed redundancy and notice pay.
Answered by Lord Duncan of Springbank
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. I will correspond directly with the noble Lord.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employees of Thomas Cook who have lost their jobs following the company's collapse have been offered alternative employment opportunities as of 2 October 2019.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP stands ready to support anyone affected by the closure of Thomas Cook, with our Rapid Response Service (RRS) offer. This is a redundancy service designed to give support and advice to employers and their employees when faced with redundancy. It is coordinated nationally by the National Employer and Partnership Team (NEPT) and is managed by Jobcentre Plus.
The RRS has been mobilised to help people find a new job as soon as possible by offering tailored support. Each Jobcentre Plus district deploy resources according to the situation and the requirements of the workforce. The RRS is delivered in partnership with a range of national and local partners, including National Careers Service and local service providers.
NEPT have contacted several large employers and trade bodies to identify a range of opportunities for Thomas Cook members of staff who have lost their jobs and the Department is working closely with over 100 employers to offer support and opportunities. We are delivering over 65 Job Fairs nationally, where ex-employees can meet local employers with vacancies.
The full range of support available from Jobcentre Plus and partners includes:
Our local teams are monitoring all new claims to benefits to identify where the claimant is an ex-employee of Thomas Cook so that they quickly receive the right level of support.
The information requested on the number of ex-employees who have been offered alternative employment opportunities is not available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what dedicated emergency support her Department has put in place to help and advise Thomas Cook members of staff who have lost their jobs.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP stands ready to support anyone affected by the closure of Thomas Cook, with our Rapid Response Service (RRS) offer. This is a redundancy service designed to give support and advice to employers and their employees when faced with redundancy. It is coordinated nationally by the National Employer and Partnership Team (NEPT) and is managed by Jobcentre Plus.
The RRS has been mobilised to help people find a new job as soon as possible by offering tailored support. Each Jobcentre Plus district deploy resources according to the situation and the requirements of the workforce. The RRS is delivered in partnership with a range of national and local partners, including National Careers Service and local service providers.
NEPT have contacted several large employers and trade bodies to identify a range of opportunities for Thomas Cook members of staff who have lost their jobs and the Department is working closely with over 100 employers to offer support and opportunities. We are delivering over 65 Job Fairs nationally, where ex-employees can meet local employers with vacancies.
The full range of support available from Jobcentre Plus and partners includes:
Our local teams are monitoring all new claims to benefits to identify where the claimant is an ex-employee of Thomas Cook so that they quickly receive the right level of support.
The information requested on the number of ex-employees who have been offered alternative employment opportunities is not available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Myners (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they took steps, in the light of the collapse of Monarch Airlines and the expenditure of public funds in repatriating travellers, to ensure that public funds will not be irrecoverably spent in repatriating customers of Thomas Cook; and if so, what steps.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The failure of Thomas Cook is one of the largest travel company failures we have ever seen. A failure of this size, and the number of passengers affected, is unprecedented. In these circumstances, it is right that the Government should step in and help affected passengers return home as smoothly as possible. We are seeking to minimise the impact on the Government and taxpayers by recovering costs where appropriate through the ATOL scheme, credit card companies and travel insurance.
The majority of Thomas Cook passengers are ATOL protected and the costs for repatriating those passengers will be covered by the ATOL scheme.
An independent Airline Insolvency Review, chaired by Peter Bucks concluded earlier this year and the Government published the final report on 9 May 2019. The Review also acknowledged there was no “silver bullet or one-size-fits-all” solution, to ensure consumer protection in the event of airline insolvency. The recommendations are complex and represent an evolutionary, incremental policy approach over many years that takes into account an expected implementation period. The Government is actively considering the recommendations of the review and is committed to taking steps accordingly.