Nigel Huddleston: ...also thank the hon. Member for City of Durham (Mary Kelly Foy), my hon. Friend the Member for Bishop Auckland (Dehenna Davison), and the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for their contributions today. We have many great advocates here, including my hon. Friend the Member for North West Durham (Mr Holden). He is unable to speak, because he is my Parliamentary Private Secretary,...
Guy Opperman: ...are required to reflect any guarantees given in their Annual Report and Accounts. These accounts are laid before Parliament annually. The Pension Protection Fund will only invoice eligible schemes; but it would refund any levies from schemes that are subsequently found to be ineligible, including where a scheme can demonstrate that it had a historic crown guarantee.
Wendy Chamberlain: ...A little over a month ago, I raised the issue of long covid and employment in an Adjournment debate answered by the Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the hon. Member for Hexham (Guy Opperman). Although I was grateful for his responses then, I would like to raise some issues again—my hon. Friend the Member for Oxford West and Abingdon has raised some of them—because there...
Baroness Merron: ...the noble Baroness, Lady Redfern, on introducing this important Bill. I am particularly grateful for the clarity with which she simplified the complexities. Noble Lords will realise that I am but a stand-in for my excellent noble friend Lady Sherlock, to whom we send our best wishes for a full and speedy recovery. I hope I will do justice to her today. As we have heard, guaranteed minimum...
Guy Opperman: ...Scotland Act 2016 and the capability of his Government to intervene if they should choose to do so—which, to be fair, they have done. The hon. Gentleman shrugs his shoulders and heaves a sigh, but he probably does that when he tries to analyse and understand the policy of that humble merchant banker-crofter the right hon. Member for Ross, Skye and Lochaber (Ian Blackford), whose...
Guy Opperman: I hate to disagree with the Chair of the Select Committee but he is wrong. As he knows, because he did this job in 2007-08, the Department does not know the exact numbers of a means-tested benefit that was set up by Gordon Brown specifically for circumstances where there is not the capability of saying exactly who can apply. The right hon. Gentleman is also wrong, however, that the stats are...
Guy Opperman: ...customers in Great Britain. There is also the £150 non-repayable council tax rebate and the £144 million of discretionary funding for local authorities to support households who need support but are not eligible for the council tax rebate.
Guy Opperman: ...my hon. Friend’s constituents and others claim pension credit, because it is an important source of money for the most vulnerable. We already spend £5 billion on it, and we want to spend more, but people must claim.
Guy Opperman: ...time, I am determined to make it easier for pension schemes to invest in illiquid assets and get better outcomes for savers. The Pension Charges Survey 2020 showed that two thirds of defined contribution schemes had zero direct investments in illiquid assets – which include infrastructure and green energy projects and venture capital investments which have the potential to achieve...
Guy Opperman: ...volumes of claims over recent months, at around 3,300 per week. This management information has not been subjected to the usual standard of quality assurance associated with official statistics but are provided here in the interests of transparency. The impact of these claim volumes on numbers of successful awards and on Pension Credit take-up will take longer to establish given the...
Guy Opperman: ...Credit in the leaflet accompanying their annual up-rating letter. The leaflet includes prominent messaging which highlights that an award of Pension Credit not only tops up their State Pension but can provide access to help with housing and heating costs, NHS costs and for those over 75, a free TV licence.
Guy Opperman: Employers are responsible for choosing a pension scheme that is suitable for them and their employees. There are minimum standards for automatic enrolment and requirements for equal treatment – but there is scope for a huge variety of scheme design in the pensions market, in terms of structuring contributions and benefits offered.
Guy Opperman: ...data is then modelled using a static microsimulation model known as the Policy Simulation Model (PSM) which allows estimates of the population and unclaimed amounts for those who are entitled but not receiving (ENRs). Therefore, this process takes several months after the data has been collected.
Guy Opperman: ...West and Hessle raised a couple of points that I want to refer to briefly. She described the number of pension pots as four to five; we will probably have 10 to 11. It is a much bigger problem, but we are on it with two particular interventions. In the short term there is the pension tracing service, which I strongly urge all colleagues to recommend to their constituents, because they can...
Guy Opperman: ...continues to raise awareness of Pension Credit through the annual uprating mailing, sent to over 11 million pensioners in Great Britain, including those who are eligible for Pension Credit but not claiming. Proactive press and stakeholder activity will also continue. Our initial internal management information suggests new claims for Pension Credit in the twelve months to December 2021...
Guy Opperman: ...up-rating letter. This includes prominent messaging highlighting that an award of Pension Credit can also open the door to a range of additional benefits – not only extra help with fuel costs, but also help with rent and a free over-75 TV licence. Our initial internal management information suggests new claims for Pension Credit in the past twelve months to December 2021 were around...
Guy Opperman: ...banks with a reference up to 18 characters which for most DWP Benefits incorporates the NINO. The Department is aware that banks use the information in the exact format provided to them by DWP, but ultimately how much of it appears on the customer’s statement is the responsibility of the bank. It is also important to note that the use of the NINO in this way does not breach the Data...
Guy Opperman: ...hon. Member for Westminster North (Ms Buck) on behalf of Her Majesty’s Opposition. I assure her that there will be full consultation on the legislation. There will also be broad communication, but I will write to her on that point and place a copy of the letter in the Commons Library and the House of Lords Library so that all peers and Members can see it. In respect of gender inequality,...
Guy Opperman: ...communities that people need to get the jab, because the way out of this and back to normal life and living with covid is clearly to embrace the vaccine. There is much more that I could touch on, but that is the main point. Specific guidance was set out in the detailed “COVID-19 Response: Living with COVID-19” document put forward by the Prime Minister. The hon. Lady said that there...
Guy Opperman: ...volumes of claims over recent months, at around 3,300 per week. This management information has not been subjected to the usual standard of quality assurance associated with official statistics but are provided here in the interests of transparency. The impact of these claim volumes on numbers of successful awards and on Pension Credit take-up will take longer to establish given the...
