Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have received from the Welsh Government concerning Allied Steel and Wire pensioners; and what response they have made.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
A significant number of Welsh Government ministers have written to the Minister for Pensions regarding Allied Steel and Wire pensioners or raised the issue orally.
Partly in response to Welsh Government representations, Budget 2025 announced that the UK Government will introduce increases on compensation payments from the Pension Protection Fund and Financial Assistance Scheme that relate to pensions built up before 6 April 1997. These will be CPI-linked (capped at 2.5%) and apply prospectively (i.e. to payments going forward) for members, including Allied Steel and Wire pensioners, whose former schemes provided for these increases.
Asked by: Baroness Stedman-Scott (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to introduce additional pension protections to recognise periods of unpaid childcare, to mitigate the long-term pension disparities faced by women arising from maternity leave and reduced earnings.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The new State Pension, introduced in 2016, addresses historically poorer outcomes for women, low earners and self-employed people. This means, on average, women on the new State Pension are receiving almost £20 more per week than those on the pre-2016 system. That is around 98% of the amount received by men (the average for women under the pre-2016 system is 86%).
There are a wide range of National Insurance credits available to support a diverse range of people to build up entitlement to a State Pension, including credits linked to the provision of care for children (under 12).
Automatic Enrolment has succeeded in transforming workplace pension participation rates, in particular for women. We have seen participation rates amongst eligible women in the private sector now equal with those for men.
However, significant gaps remain, both in terms of pension participation and wealth. That is why we revived the Pension Commission, to consider what is required in the long term to deliver a pensions framework that is stronger, fairer and more sustainable. This will include exploring how to improve retirement outcomes, including for women, and those on the lowest incomes and at the greatest risk of poverty or under-saving.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to support employment businesses in verifying Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) eligibility in circumstances where agency workers may be registered at multiple agencies and claim SSP from each party.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Currently, agency workers can sign up to work for multiple agencies and, once they have done some work under that contract, are eligible to receive Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) from each individual employer during periods of sickness absence. This will not change. Guidance on gov.uk already provides support to employers in verifying an employee’s eligibility to SSP.
The changes being made to SSP through the Employment Rights Act ensure that people who work through employment agencies and employment businesses have comparable rights and protections to their counterparts who are directly employed. The changes to SSP are limited and do not change the existing eligibility criteria beyond removing the waiting period and Lower Earnings Limit.
The Government intends to conduct a post-implementation review (PIR) of the Employment Rights Act within five years of implementation. The impact of the measures to strengthen Statutory Sick Pay will be monitored on employers and employees alike. This can include considering the impact on workers in the agency sector.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what their assessment is of the number of additional families and children who will be affected by the benefit cap as a result of its thresholds not being uprated from April 2026; and what its thresholds would be from April 2026 had they been uprated in line with the universal credit standard allowance since (1) 2016 when the current thresholds were set, and (2) 2023 when they were last uprated.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has been made of the number of additional families and children who will be affected by the benefit cap as a result of its thresholds not being uprated from April 2026.
The requested figures for thresholds uprated in line with the Universal Credit standard allowance are shown below. Note these are annual figures for 2026/27.
| Actual | Uprated since 2016 (1) | Uprated since 2023 (2) |
National (couple or lone parents) | £22,020 | £26,732 | £25,372 |
National (single) | £14,753 | £17,910 | £16,998 |
Greater London (couple or lone parents) | £25,323 | £30,742 | £29,178 |
Greater London (single) | £16,987 | £20,598 | £19,573 |
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government by what year 99 per cent of Wales will have 5G reception.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The rollout of 5G infrastructure is commercially driven and government does not hold data on where, or when, future rollout of mobile infrastructure will take place.
Government has a clear ambition for all populated areas to have higher quality 5G standalone connectivity by 2030. All three mobile network operators have committed significant investment across the UK working towards achieving this.
In Ofcom’s Connected Nations Annual Report 2025 (published November 2025), which shows coverage as of July 2025, 5G coverage is already present outside of 91% of premises across Wales, and that standalone 5G is available outside of 59% of premises
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish HSE enforcement data on illegal gas work, including (a) investigations, (b) prosecutions, (c) convictions, and (d) penalties imposed since 2020.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 (GSIUR) which address the safe installation, maintenance, and use of gas systems, in commercial and domestic premises. These regulations require that no employer or self-employed person shall carry out gas work without Gas Safe Registration. HSE and Local Authorities regulate this through enforcement powers set under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Enforcement powers available to regulators include prosecution, prohibition notices and improvement notices.
HSE will apply the principles laid down in the Enforcement Policy Statement (EPS), Enforcement Management Model (EMM) and internal gas procedures to ensure that enforcement action is proportional to the health and safety risks and the seriousness of the breach.
HSE cannot review the level of criminal penalties for illegal gas cases. The Health and Safety Sentencing Guidelines are set by the Sentencing Council. HSE and Local Authorities are the enforcing authorities under GSIUR and the police investigate homicide cases. Where a person dies because of illegal and/or poor-quality gas work; the police must decide whether a manslaughter offence has been committed, the priority given to the case is a matter for the investigating police force. Guidance is in place to support the HSE and Police in the event of a fatal gas incident though the Work-Related Death Protocol.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
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 implications for his policies of the findings of the report by the Brain Tumour Charity entitled The Price You Pay: The Financial Impact of a Brain Tumour.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The welfare system is there to support people with their living costs in times of need. Universal Credit provides means-tested support including a standard allowance and additional amounts to provide for individual needs such as housing, children, disability, and childcare costs.
Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance and Personal Independence Payment provide a contribution towards the extra costs that may arise from a long-term disability or health condition. These benefits are non-contributory, non-means-tested and can be worth up to £9,747.40 a year, tax free.
Additionally, we have launched the Timms Review to ensure PIP is fair and fit for the future. To ensure lived experience is at the heart of its work, the Review will be co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, and other experts.
More details about the Review’s scope can be found in its Terms of Reference, available here: Timms Review of PIP: Terms of Reference.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
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 potential merits of (a) introducing a national inventory registrar for gas‑critical products and parts and (b) restricting access to those items to operatives holding Gas Safe Register accreditation.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 19 November 2025 to Question UIN 89028.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has plans for digital verification tools to confirm operative identity and competence at the point of purchase and installation of gas‑critical parts.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 17 November 2025 to Question UIN 89029.
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment it has made of the level of investments by open UK defined benefit schemes, including the Parliamentary Pension Scheme, into UK equities.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Private sector defined benefit (DB) pension schemes which are open to new members allocate 42% of their assets to equities. However, this is not broken down by UK equities. See the PPF Purple Book for further detail: https://www.ppf.co.uk/-/media/PPF-Website/Public/Purple-Book-Data-2025/Pension-Protection-Fund-Purple-Book-2025-accessible.pdf
Public sector DB pension schemes are estimated to allocate around 9% of their assets to listed UK equities. See the Pension Policy Institute’s 2025 “Pension scheme assets” report: https://www.pensionspolicyinstitute.org.uk/media/i2cgonin/20250604-pension-scheme-assets-2025-final.pdf
The scheme trustees are responsible for the investment strategy of the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund and information on asset allocation is published in the scheme’s Annual Report and Accounts. These are published on the website of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority www.theipsa.org.uk/annual-reports.