Speeches by Bedford.

“In response to our pensioner poverty report, you talked about plans to share additional data with local authorities. Can you give us a progress update? Is that programme on track?”

“The £16,000 asset test has not been uprated for 20 years. Do you have a view on that?”

“Do you foresee any learnings for the Pensions Regulator, which is responsible for overseeing the governance going forward?”

“That is not quite true.”

“So are you going to make the amendment part of the law? Are you going to make a statement of intent? What are you doing?”

“There have clearly been some problems with civil service pensions administration. The Government have acknowledged that the delays are totally unacceptable. When do you expect the service to be stabilised?”

“On the state pension age for those approaching retirement, and particularly those in ill health, you touched earlier on whether they use their savings or the means-tested benefit system; can you elaborate further on what policy we are looking at in this area? I have another constituent who is in their early to mid-60s,…”

“There is a disparity. This gentleman came from a very modest background—a single-parent family. He invested a lot of his savings during his lifetime in saving for his later years, and now that is going to be brought into the scope of inheritance tax. Do you see that the incentive has been taken away for people who stri…”

“As you well know, most of the Bill was progressed under the previous Government. There are lots of good parts of that Bill that will help to increase the savings of pensioners. That is why we did not vote against Second Reading, but we did propose amendments on the mandation point that were voted down by the Government…”

“Turning to broad policy, like many MPs I had a surgery at the weekend. Someone came to my surgery and expressed a lot of concern that I have raised previously about the scope of inheritance tax now encompassing private pension provision. He said to me he was going to essentially draw down huge amounts from his pension …”

“Turning to private pensions and savings, clearly mandation as part of pensions schemes was a very controversial topic. However, I understand that you said recently that you were going to clarify the position on the use of that power in the Bill. Can you elaborate on how that is going to happen? Is it going to be at the…”

“This is a socialist economic statement. If it moves, the Government tax it; if it keeps moving, they regulate it; and if it stops moving, they subsidise it. Will the Secretary of State accept that his national insurance rises, the changes to business rates and the “unemployment” rights Act have contributed to the hosti…”

“People should have the right to protest, but that needs to be coupled with responsibilities. As my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) mentioned, it is outrageous that fringe groups feel emboldened to protest in support of terrorist ideology, contrary to basic British values. What steps is the Departm…”

“As we have heard, the number of NEETs has surged to just under a million. The CIPD says that 37% of employers are reducing or freezing recruitment for new posts and 74% of employers say that the Employment Rights Act, as we have just heard, is going to add significant costs. In that difficult employment environment spe…”

“I am conscious of the time. Kate, do you have anything else to add to the ideas that have already been suggested?”

“Do you feel that you are inputting your expertise and ideas in this area into Government policy on that, and are the Government listening? Is the DWP listening? Are those people charged with implementing the policies listening?”

“Turning to how local government can help the Government hit their target of getting two-thirds of young people into higher-level learning, Jan, you have some examples from initiatives that you were conducting in Norfolk. Can you touch on how local government can help support this and what more government can do to supp…”

“Yes.”

“When this Government came into office, unemployment stood at 4.2%. After a brutal 18 months of job-destroying, anti-business, anti-growth policies, it now stands at 5.2%, with young people bearing the brunt—1 million of them are not in employment, education or training. We Conservatives believe in being in work and off…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger. I thank my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) for introducing this immensely important debate. The UK’s charity sector is facing mounting challenges. Just like many small businesses, charities across the cou…”