Speeches by Blackman.

“I declare an interest as a holder of deferred membership of a local government pension scheme in Scotland, which will come into scope should the Government amendments go through, as I imagine they will. First, I thank the Government for working with the Scottish Government to make these changes and for taking the decis…”

“Have the Government done an equality assessment on how cancelling family reunion differentially impacts those from ethnic minority backgrounds?”

“Q Do the majority of trustees already take into account what they think scheme members would think about certain investments anyway, or about ESG, for example? Charlotte Clark: Almost certainly.”

“Q In relation to private assets and the investment in them, is the balance between carrots and sticks correct in the Bill, or should more carrots, for example, be provided to encourage that investment? Tim Fassam: That is another very good question. As the previous witnesses said, it is important to ensure that there i…”

“Q Thank you very much for all your hard work on this, for your passion and for how articulate you are, particularly for those people that cannot be there and cannot make the case themselves. I really appreciate it. I absolutely agree with what you are saying on indexation; I think it is incredibly important. You were t…”

“Q I have two questions. If the Minister could just answer “yes” to the first one, that would be great. The Regulatory Policy Committee has said in its assessment of the impact assessment that the monitoring and evaluation plan is weak—it has used that word. It has said that more detailed plans are needed on monitoring …”

“Q The other question is in relation to the fact that there are 273 amendments—240 normal amendments and 30 new clauses—which we got yesterday. I have raised my concerns with the Minister privately about this, but I want to say publicly that this is a really big issue. It is very difficult for us to read 273 amendments …”

“I was on that one as well. Torsten Bell: We have all made life choices. The thing that I am trying to avoid—and the reason why there are so many at this stage—is what has happened with other Bills, such as the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill in the last Parliament. I do not want to table loads of amendment…”

“If the Government amendments in relation to the local government pension scheme go through, I have an interest as I am a deferred member of a local government pension scheme in Scotland.”

“Q There is a question around surplus release, and the power of trustees in relation to surplus release. It makes sense that there should be surplus release, but trustees may feel under pressure from employers to release the surplus when it might not be the right thing for scheme members. Do you think the Bill has got t…”

“Q I have a question about the balance of decision making. Trustees are obviously required to steward and grow assets on behalf of scheme members. This Bill slightly changes the priorities in relation to value for money. There is potential for future mandation, in that it basically allows the Government, or the regulato…”

“Q I am pleased to hear you talking about what scheme members want, not just in terms of the return that they are expecting, but also the projects that are invested in. My question is about consolidation and local concerns that people might have. For example, they may not want a wind farm invested in because they are wo…”

“Q Obviously, there is a mix of people on some of these boards that you would not necessarily find on other trust boards. I have been a councillor, so I am well aware of the different directions you are pulled in if you are a councillor or an officer in local government. Are boards able to find enough engaged members to…”

“Q On that last point about paying the surplus to scheme members—I am afraid we have had a massive pile of evidence—is that written in any of the evidence there, along with a suggestion of how to go about it? Helen Forrest Hall: Yes, I think at least one of us has something, but we can certainly provide more details if …”

“Thank you, that would be really helpful.”

“Q This is about people who do not get financial advice, which is the vast majority of people, and their understanding of pensions and what they are likely to get. On a DB scheme, you get an annual statement that says you will get x amount a month or x amount a year. On a DC scheme, it is more like, “This is your total …”

“Q In relation to investments and some of the stuff that was not invested in historically, if we are talking about renewable projects and affordable housing—things that, historically, pension funds have maybe not invested in—you said that investing in these projects is a problem for smaller companies until they build up…”

“Scotland is the only part of these islands where child poverty is falling, as a result of the Scottish child payment and the mitigation of the bedroom cap. When will the Labour Government move from empty words to actual action to take children out of poverty?”

“We have a responsibility to deal in the truth and to counter plainly false narratives. The Minister talked about the fact that this protest crossed over into mindless thuggery. Every one of us should stand up here and say that to our constituents or to anyone who gets in touch. People are spreading rumours that have no…”

“We are at a really interesting point with this Bill: a year’s worth of politics happened last week, and it feels like there is more to come. Like the Chair of the Work and Pensions Committee, the hon. Member for Oldham East and Saddleworth (Debbie Abrahams), I begin by thanking all the disabled people’s organisations w…”