Equitable Life (Payments) Bill

Part of Apprenticeships and Skills (Public Procurement Contracts) – in the House of Commons at 7:21 pm on 14 September 2010.

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Photo of Nia Griffith Nia Griffith Labour, Llanelli 7:21, 14 September 2010

I would like to continue for a moment, because I want to explain what I have understood from the speech made by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury today.

I was perturbed by what the Minister said. Far from giving any assurance that there would be a disregard for tax and benefit purposes, he said that the Department for Work and Pensions would sort these matters out in the usual way. That will set alarm bells ringing, as anyone who has lost benefit, pound for pound, as a result of receiving a payout will confirm. Equitable Life victims, having waited all these years, could end up receiving their payment only to lose the equivalent amount in benefits or additional tax. We need assurances from Treasury and DWP Ministers alike that insult will not be added to injury in that way.