Automatic enrolment has achieved a quiet revolution through getting employees into the habit of pension saving, and reversing the decline in workplace pension participation in the decade prior to these reforms. Since automatic enrolment started in 2012 participation rates have been transformed with 87% of eligible employees saving into a workplace pension in 2018, up from 55% in 2012.

The Department does not hold data for individual constituencies in relation to opt outs or the number of individuals who have saved above the automatic enrolment minimum contribution level. However, we do know that overall around 9% of automatically enrolled workers have chosen to opt out which is significantly below original estimates; and our latest evaluation report shows that, in April 2017, approximately 5.9 million eligible employees were already meeting the April 2019 minimum contribution rates¹.

I am providing the following information about the impact of automatic enrolment in your constituency, as at end of September 2019²:

In the West Bromwich West constituency since 2012, approximately 16,000 eligible jobholders have been automatically enrolled and 1480 employers have met their duties.

¹Automatic Enrolment Evaluation Report 2018, available via the following weblink: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/764964/Automatic_Enrolment_Evaluation_Report_2018.pdf.

²The Pensions Regulator’s data on Automatic enrolment declaration of compliance by constituency, available via the following weblink:

https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/document-library/research-and-analysis/data-requests

The Government carefully considered the case for reform prior to announcing this change last year, and it is the Government’s view that taxpayers can reasonably expect that when they have successfully paid their taxes, these go to fund public services as intended.

This measure represents a proportionate approach that balances the interests of taxpayers, the Exchequer, and other creditors.

The Government expects the impact on the sustainability of Pension Protection Fund (PPF) to be marginal. This reform will not lead to a significant change in recoveries to the PPF compared to current returns.

The Government does not expect this reform to affect significantly SMEs’ access to finance or corporate insolvencies, and in line with the Government’s commitment to open and consultative policymaking is engaging with a wide variety of stakeholders to ensure policy changes are well informed and based upon the best available evidence.

The Government carefully considered the case for reform prior to announcing this change last year, and it is the Government’s view that taxpayers can reasonably expect that when they have successfully paid their taxes, these go to fund public services as intended.

This measure represents a proportionate approach that balances the interests of taxpayers, the Exchequer, and other creditors.

The Government expects the impact on the sustainability of Pension Protection Fund (PPF) to be marginal. This reform will not lead to a significant change in recoveries to the PPF compared to current returns.

The Government does not expect this reform to affect significantly SMEs’ access to finance or corporate insolvencies, and in line with the Government’s commitment to open and consultative policymaking is engaging with a wide variety of stakeholders to ensure policy changes are well informed and based upon the best available evidence.

The Government carefully considered the case for reform prior to announcing this change last year, and it is the Government’s view that taxpayers can reasonably expect that when they have successfully paid their taxes, these go to fund public services as intended.

This measure represents a proportionate approach that balances the interests of taxpayers, the Exchequer, and other creditors.

The Government expects the impact on the sustainability of Pension Protection Fund (PPF) to be marginal. This reform will not lead to a significant change in recoveries to the PPF compared to current returns.

The Government does not expect this reform to affect significantly SMEs’ access to finance or corporate insolvencies, and in line with the Government’s commitment to open and consultative policymaking is engaging with a wide variety of stakeholders to ensure policy changes are well informed and based upon the best available evidence.

The Government carefully considered the case for reform prior to announcing this change last year, and it is the Government’s view that taxpayers can reasonably expect that when they have successfully paid their taxes, these go to fund public services as intended.

This measure represents a proportionate approach that balances the interests of taxpayers, the Exchequer, and other creditors.

The Government expects the impact on the sustainability of Pension Protection Fund (PPF) to be marginal. This reform will not lead to a significant change in recoveries to the PPF compared to current returns.

The Government does not expect this reform to affect significantly SMEs’ access to finance or corporate insolvencies, and in line with the Government’s commitment to open and consultative policymaking is engaging with a wide variety of stakeholders to ensure policy changes are well informed and based upon the best available evidence.

In my first orals in this role, I am very pleased to pay tribute to the hard work of all our prison staff. I have had the opportunity, since I was appointed, to visit a number of prisons and I have seen at first hand the dedication of their staff. It is critical that we recruit and retain staff to keep our prisons secure. We have invested significantly in increasing staff numbers, recruiting a net total of an additional 4,366 prison officers between October 2016 and June 2019, surpassing our original target of 2,500, and we will continue to recruit officers to ensure that our prisons are decent and safe.

I spoke this week to the Home Secretary and the Policing Minister about security matters and exiting the European Union. My Department’s Ministers and officials hold regular meetings with the Home Office, and we are working closely to prepare for business, keeping our plans under rigorous review, and I will continue to do so.

We have regular discussions with Treasury Ministers on a range of subjects, including the importance of the manufacturing sector to the UK economy—it is the fourth largest in the EU and supports 2.7 million jobs. We are taking several measures to support manufacturing growth, including £141 million for the Made Smarter industrial digitalisation programme and £600 million for the high-value manufacturing catapult.

This Government is committed to legislating to facilitate the delivery of collective defined contribution schemes when parliamentary time allows.

Our highest priority is for patients to continue to have access to the medicines and medical products that they need. Since the extension of article 50, close engagement with the pharmaceutical industry has continued and we are confident that we will have the necessary plans in place to ensure continuity of medical supply.

As the hon. Gentleman will know, there are huge opportunities for advanced manufacturers, especially in his region, and the sector

benefits from a minimum of frictions in trade, so it is very important that we conclude a deal with the European Union.

It is not a regulated activity for firms to issue their own securities, including mini-bonds, due to an exemption within the Regulated Activities Order 2001. This exemption exists to ensure that companies in the real economy can raise finance to fund their business without having to become authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

However, to protect consumers, the marketing and promotion of such securities, including mini-bonds, are subject to the financial promotion restrictions set out in the Financial Services and Markets Act. This requires that the content of any financial promotion be approved by an FCA authorised firm unless an exemption applies. It is the responsibility of the FCA authorised firm to ensure the financial promotion is clear, fair and not misleading. Authorised firms that fail to meet these requirements may be subject to enforcement action by the FCA.

HM Treasury keeps the regulatory framework for financial services under review, and updates it as necessary. We are committed to maintaining a strong and safe financial system, with high standards of consumer protection. On 1 April, I announced that I will direct the FCA to launch an investigation into the events at London Capital & Finance, a firm which issued mini-bonds in order to fund loans that it made to other parties. This followed a request from the FCA Chair, Charles Randell, to launch such an investigation.

In September 2017, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence announced its plans for a full update to the existing clinical guideline on the diagnosis and management of chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) to ensure that treatment reflects the latest available evidence. The revised guideline will be published in 2020.

Since 2011, we have also invested £6 million into research into CFS/ME via the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health Research.

Once someone has been awarded Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which can be paid at one of eight rates, that award will be reviewed. Reviews of PIP are a key part of the benefit to ensure that awards remain correct where needs may change (including where needs increase and the award may need to increase) and that we maintain contact with the claimant, both features that are missing from its predecessor Disability Living Allowance. The length of an award is based on an individual’s circumstances and can vary from nine months to an on-going award, with a light touch review after ten years.

We introduced updated guidance for case managers and an updated PIP Assessment Guide in 2018 which will ensure that those people who receive the highest level of support under PIP, and where their needs are unlikely to change or may get worse, will now receive an ongoing award with a light touch review at the ten-year point. In line with PIP’s aim to be needs-based rather than condition-based, the change to the guidance is not condition specific. However, we believe the changes will ensure that those with severe and/or progressive conditions receive the most appropriate award duration that reflects their condition and the needs arising.

Special considerations also apply to claimants who are terminally ill, and our arrangements recognise the particular difficulties faced by people who only have a short time to live. Claims by people with a terminal illness are fast tracked, are not subject to a face-to-face assessment and they are guaranteed the enhanced rate of the Daily Living Component; nearly all also receive the enhanced rate of mobility.

Once someone has been awarded Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which can be paid at one of eight rates, that award will be reviewed. Reviews of PIP are a key part of the benefit to ensure that awards remain correct where needs may change (including where needs increase and the award may need to increase) and that we maintain contact with the claimant, both features that are missing from its predecessor Disability Living Allowance. The length of an award is based on an individual’s circumstances and can vary from nine months to an on-going award, with a light touch review after ten years.

We introduced updated guidance for case managers and an updated PIP Assessment Guide in 2018 which will ensure that those people who receive the highest level of support under PIP, and where their needs are unlikely to change or may get worse, will now receive an ongoing award with a light touch review at the ten-year point. In line with PIP’s aim to be needs-based rather than condition-based, the change to the guidance is not condition specific. However, we believe the changes will ensure that those with severe and/or progressive conditions receive the most appropriate award duration that reflects their condition and the needs arising.

Special considerations also apply to claimants who are terminally ill, and our arrangements recognise the particular difficulties faced by people who only have a short time to live. Claims by people with a terminal illness are fast tracked, are not subject to a face-to-face assessment and they are guaranteed the enhanced rate of the Daily Living Component; nearly all also receive the enhanced rate of mobility.

Flights between the United Kingdom and the European Union will continue whatever the outcome of EU exit. The Government will continue to work closely with the UK aviation sector as we negotiate our future relationship with the EU, including to maintain the leading position of the sector.

DFID discusses regularly the impact of Exit with development organisations. Leaving the EU will not change the UK’s commitment to support the world’s poorest, and our world-class development sector will continue to be a crucial part of delivering that commitment.