Contributions
571 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDPensions ReviewI thank my hon. Friend for raising that case. I would be very happy meet him, or any other hon. Member who has such cases in their constituency; however, the pensions review will…11 Nov 2024HANSARDPensioner PovertyThe last Labour Government lifted more than 1 million pensioners out of poverty, and this Government remain absolutely committed to supporting pensioners. We know that there are…11 Nov 2024HANSARDPensioner PovertyIt is good to see that the SNP Government are focusing on that issue now, because during their 17 years in government, we have seen increases in pensioner poverty across Scotland.11 Nov 2024HANSARDPensioner PovertyI reassure my hon. Friend that we have redeployed 500 additional staff to process the claims. We are working at pace to process them, but 21 December remains the deadline.11 Nov 2024HANSARDPension Credit: UptakeYes, and no.11 Nov 2024HANSARDPension Credit: UptakeI associate myself with the hon. Gentleman’s comments and those of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. I will look carefully at what the hon. Gentleman has suggested and…11 Nov 2024HANSARDPension Credit: UptakeYes, indeed. Assessing somebody for pension credit is a complex procedure, so we urge all those on low incomes to check whether they are eligible. We have seen an increase in the…11 Nov 2024HANSARDPension Credit: UptakeWe have launched the next phase of our pension credit campaign on radio, TV and print media, and the Government have written to 120,000 pensioners on housing benefit who may be…11 Nov 2024HANSARDPension Credit: UptakeWe have seen a 152% increase in pension credit claims since late July, with over 74,000 pension credit claims up to mid-September. We know that many local authorities and, indeed,…11 Nov 2024HANSARDPension Credit: UptakeIn addition to merging housing benefit and pension credit, which will help some of the people whom the hon. Gentleman has in mind, the Secretary of State and I have asked the…11 Nov 2024HANSARDPension Credit: UptakeI thank the hon. Lady for her question. We want people who are eligible to get support, and we have redeployed 500 staff to process those claims. I can assure her that that is…11 Nov 2024HANSARDPension Credit: UptakeI welcome the hon. Gentleman to his place. In answer to his questions, we have published an equality analysis, which he can find on the Government’s website. Owing to the…11 Nov 2024HANSARDPension Credit: UptakeEstimates for pensioners who are eligible for but not receiving pension credit were published in early October. The estimates show that more than 800,000 pensioners—individual…11 Nov 2024HANSARDPension Credit: UptakeI refer the hon. Gentleman to my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell): the deadline remains 21 December. Thanks to the Government’s steadfast…11 Nov 2024HANSARDPensions ReviewI am leading the Government’s landmark pensions investment review, which aims to increase pensions investment in the UK economy and improve retirement outcomes for future…11 Nov 2024HANSARDWinter Fuel Payment Eligibility: ImpactThe Government remain absolutely committed to supporting pensioners. We are urging pensioners to check their eligibility for pension credit to ensure that as many people as…11 Nov 2024HANSARDWinter Fuel Payment Eligibility: ImpactI am glad to hear that the hon. Lady was able to help her constituent. We are looking at the form, as I mentioned in a previous answer, and we will update the House soon on those…11 Nov 2024HANSARDPension Credit: UptakeI gently say to the hon. Lady that we are not delaying the publication of statistics. A new set of statistics will be published soon. As I said in previous answers, we have…11 Nov 2024HANSARDPension Credit: UptakeThe Department does not have a pension credit application target. Published application numbers show that we received around 74,400 pension credit claims in the eight weeks from…11 Nov 2024HANSARDTopical QuestionsAs the hon. Gentleman will know, the ombudsman took six years to consider a range of complex cases, and we are looking at their complexity. I was the first Minister in six years…11 Nov 2024