Speeches by Hack.

“In the ’60s, North West Leicestershire lost its only passenger rail service, the Ivanhoe line. In 2025, my constituents still have no direct access to the rail line. Increasing connectivity of railways is crucial to securing economic growth. Will the Minister share the Department’s plans to improve access to passenger …”

“Is there a risk of weaker protections without the regulation for superfund transitions?”

“We have started along the path about how pensions are invested in the UK economy. Are there any more barriers to investing in the UK economy other than what you have explained? I think, Jesse, you started off with some of those barriers.”

“If we look across the domestic example, how do we compare with other countries? For instance, Canada and Australia are often used by the Chancellor.”

“We have Canadians investing in UK infrastructure. How can they make such large investments and our pension companies do not?”

“The Bill is expected to include legislation for superfunds, and the first pension scheme to transfer to a superfund was announced about a year and a half ago. Is legislation needed, or is it too late?”

“At the moment, a superfund will only profit when a scheme secures buy-out. Is there a model where a superfund makes a profit before a buy-out is sustainable?”

“Rachel, I don’t know if you want to add anything.”

“How does easier surplus extraction fit into the superfund debate?”

“Does anyone else have any further points?”

“Has some of the discretionary money been used to improve the amount of support from an advice point of view?”

“We have heard across this whole inquiry on pensioner poverty particularly about local welfare support being put on a longer-term sustainable footing. In England we have had seven rounds, I think, of the household support fund. What is needed in Wales? If the fund ended, what would the impact be?”

“I wanted to come back to you, Faye, because Care & Repair in England has had a really difficult time keeping consistency across the services that it provides in England. It is quite nice to have a reflection of what is happening in Wales with that consistency, and what benefit that can give to the local population. Tha…”

“You mentioned that there are issues here in Wales with older, more poorly insulated homes and that the number of homes with EPC A to C ratings is far lower. What would it take to address this? Do these homes tend to be in the social housing sector, or are they private? Are there any themes among some of those colder, p…”

“Rhian, as the Older People’s Commissioner, what specific challenges have you been trying to look at?”

“That is really helpful; thank you. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the discretionary assistance fund that you have here in Wales?”

“As it is discretionary, who sets the criteria?”

“Have you made representations on that basis?”

“To what extent is it a postcode lottery? It feels like maybe it is a lottery based on the criteria rather than geographical postcode. What do we need to do to get the balance right between fairness and consistency to meet local needs, particularly of the older population?”

“We are short on time, so I want to focus on a couple of things. I was involved in a roundtable a couple of months ago with people with lived experience of poor mental health and employers who had supported individuals with mental health conditions to stay in work. I am interested in understanding what work we can do to…”