Funded pension schemes

The Government Actuary’s Department (GAD) provides advice to trustees of a number of funded pension schemes, which cover over 300,000 members with combined assets of around £30 billion.

The funding positions of the funded pension schemes can fluctuate over time as conditions in the financial markets change. To support Trustee Boards in managing these arrangements, GAD is developing a tool which will allow the estimated funding position to be tracked on a daily basis.

We also advise the main unfunded public service pension schemes (such as the armed forces, the Civil Service, NHS and teachers).

Working with software

To obtain an estimate of the funding position, it is necessary to compare the value of the assets and liabilities. A full actuarial valuation is usually undertaken every 3 years. Results from the most recent valuation are used to estimate the funding position at times between full valuations.

The funding monitoring software being developed is designed to calculate “real-time” values of both the scheme assets and liabilities. The software links to market indices which inform asset values and will be used to determine updated financial assumptions for the assessment of scheme liabilities (for example, assumed future levels of inflation and interest rates).

Added value

This work forms part of our wider strategy to provide enhanced client services by upgrading our technology. We are working with our clients to understand their needs and enhance our delivery.

This development should add value for clients by providing instant access to an approximate funding position for their scheme. Once introduced, it is expected to facilitate more effective monitoring and save time and costs removing the need for some existing manual calculation updates.

Since we launched our online Tell DVLA you’ve sold, transferred or bought a vehicle service back in 2015 more than 40 million transactions have been processed.

Making it easy for users

We wanted to make telling us you’ve sold, transferred or bought a vehicle as quick and easy as possible. Using your feedback we’ve made the service simple, putting the needs of customers, both public and trade first. Telling us you’ve changed a vehicle is now quicker and easier than ever.

By using the online service, the DVLA database is updated immediately, and you get instant confirmation by email without having to send any documents in the post.

You’ll automatically receive a refund for any full remaining months of vehicle tax, this will be sent to the address on your V5C vehicle registration certificate (log book). Your online notification will cancel any Direct Debit you’ve set up for your vehicle tax – it’s as easy as that.

One tip to make sure the process does run this smoothly is to make sure the address on your V5C registration certificate is the correct one.

If you’ve moved, you can tell DVLA straight away by using this service: https://www.gov.uk/change-address-v5c

Over the past 12 months, over 70% of vehicle keepers told us online that they’ve sold, bought, or transferred a vehicle.

The service is available 7am to 7pm, 7 days a week.

Our easy step by step guide to tell us you’ve sold or transferred a vehicle privately

All you need is the 11-digit document reference number from your vehicle V5C (log book).

1. Go to gov.uk/sold-bought-vehicle.
2. Tell us you’ve sold it privately to a person or business.
3. Remember to give the full name (not initials) and address of the new keeper.
4. Give the new keeper the green ‘new keeper’ slip (V5C/2) so they can tax the vehicle.

If you sell your vehicle to a motor trader or garage or need to tell us the vehicle is scrapped or written off

With your consent, the trader can tell DVLA that you’ve sold the vehicle to them online – just give them the V5C and ask them to use the online service to tell us straight away.

If you prefer, you can tell DVLA online that you’ve sold or transferred a vehicle yourself by using the 11-digit document reference number on the yellow slip (V5C/3).

You can also use this service to tell us about the scrapping of a vehicle and any insurance write-offs.

Protect yourself from fraud

Please keep your V5C (log book) safe. The V5C’s 11-digit document reference number is the key to using our services online and, like a credit card number, shouldn’t be shared, copied, or photographed.

What our service users have said

Be part of our research – join our online panel to help improve our services

We value customer feedback through our research and are looking for volunteers to test our services. To volunteer, join our online research panel.

In the meantime…

Check out our wide range of online services – they’re all quick and simple. I’ve highlighted just a few below:

Follow DVLA on Twitter, follow us on Facebook and connect with us on LinkedIn. You can also subscribe to the DVLA digital services blog.

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Some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) in mainstream schools are not getting enough help to support their learning and development, even when external services are involved, according to a new research report by Ofsted.

Published today, the study finds that specialist support from multi-agency services often complements the support offered by schools. Although families and school staff value this external support, it is not always timely or implemented appropriately.

Many of the schools and families participating in the research had experienced long wait times and high levels of bureaucracy in the education, health and care (EHC) plan process. In some instances, families were commissioning or paying for additional services themselves. This suggests that the playing field is not level for pupils from poorer backgrounds.

Through different case studies, the research identifies important issues that influence how in-school support, therapies and other multi-agency services are provided for pupils with SEND. The findings include the following.

• Gaps in teachers’ or staff’s understanding of pupils’ needs has a negative impact on children’s experiences at school and their learning and development. This is especially the case when pupils did not have an EHC plan or were less well known to their special educational needs coordinators (SENCos).
• Almost all pupils who took part in the research, including those on SEND support, had teaching assistants (TAs) allocated to them. In a small number of cases, pupils had become over-reliant on their TAs, which could potentially impact on their ability to develop independence. Some parents and carers also raised concerns around social exclusion because of the amount of time their child spent out of class in small-group or individual interventions.
• Occasionally, schools were teaching a curriculum that was not properly sequenced or well matched to pupils’ needs. A few pupils did not have the background knowledge and skills required, due to missed learning or unmet needs. In some cases, pupils were not always given the chance to master basics before moving forwards with their learning.
• Some parents and carers took part in decision-making around special education provision. However, others felt that they were not given enough information about their child’s learning and development, or the opportunity to input into support plans.
• Some SENCos were also full-time class teachers. This suggests that they may not have enough time to fully support pupils with SEND at their school.

Sean Harford, Ofsted’s National Director for Education, said:

Many children and young people with SEND have found it harder to engage with remote education during the pandemic, so getting the support right for these pupils is more important than ever.

This research shows that high-quality education for these children is underpinned by a good understanding of their individual needs, and strong relationships between families and schools. Effective joint work between schools and other services, especially including health, is also critical to children’s learning and development.

The findings from this research will be really valuable as we continue to build on our inspection practice and develop the new area SEND inspection framework.

Ofsted carried out the research in the spring term of 2019 to 2020, before the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. It draws on interviews with pupils, parents, teachers, support staff and leaders from a sample of schools across 2 local authorities. Representatives from the local authorities and clinical commissioning group were also interviewed. The findings are based on a small number of case studies. Therefore, they are not necessarily reflective of the wider population of pupils with SEND.