Clause 2
Commissioner for Older People (Wales) Bill [Lords]
11:15 am
Cheryl Gillan (Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, Wales; Chesham and Amersham, Conservative)
We now move on to clause 2, which sets out the general functions of the commissioner. Although this aspect of the matter has been scrutinised to an enormous extent, for me the question remains whether the commissioner has enough power to get to the heart of the matter in relation to the issues and problems that face older people.
The functions of the commissioner set out in clause 2 are constricted, being
“exercisable only in relation to fields in which the Assembly has functions.”
The commissioner will not have the competence to consider the wider situation affecting older people in Wales. That is why I tabled amendments Nos. 11 and 12.
Amendment No. 12 would remove subsection (2). I appreciate that that would be nonsense, but the amendment is merely a vehicle to probe how the Minister envisages the commissioner gaining some real say and representational opportunities over, for example, pensions. Amendment No. 11 would set in statute a duty on the commissioner to consider the adequacy of retirement provision and pension arrangements for older people.
The commissioner does not have any locus in the Department for Work and Pensions or with regard to benefits, including housing and council tax benefits. That is a lacuna. In that area, the Department, as opposed to the Assembly, will adversely affect pensioner poverty. I hope that the amendments provide the Minister with an opportunity to set out how he envisages the job succeeding, given that the commissioner is effectively cut off from the parts of political and governmental life that cause some of the greatest problems for the older community in Wales.