Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2015-12-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department has taken to seek the views of pensioners on (a) his Department’s policies and (b) winter fuel allowance since the closure of the UK Advisory Forum on Ageing.
Justin Tomlinson
The UK Advisory Forum on Ageing closed on 2nd December 2015. Since then the Department has continued to work with older people, employers, the financial services industry and other stakeholders on issues such as simplifying automatic enrolment into workplace pensions, the introduction of the new State Pension, and fuller working lives. For example, the Department has conducted structured research into the attitudes of people over 50 to fuller working lives, the new State Pension, and Class 3A Voluntary National Insurance Contributions. The Department is also working with the Money Matters Working Group of the Age Action Alliance on increasing take-up of benefits by older people, and especially take-up of Pension Credit.
With specific regard to the Winter Fuel Payment, the Government has committed to help provide dignity and security in retirement by protecting it and other pensioner benefits, such as free bus passes, for the lifetime of this Parliament. Where issues arise linked to older people and fuel poverty, both the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Energy and Climate Change are active members of the Safe, Warm Homes Working Group of the Age Action Alliance, which is a valuable forum for both developing both policy and innovative ways of delivering support and advice to older people.
