Clause 2
Finance Bill
12:45 pm
Jeremy Browne (Shadow Chief Secretary To the Treasury, Treasury; Taunton, Liberal Democrat)
I support the Government’s proposals, but pensioners in my constituency and elsewhere would not thank me if I did not mention that the overall package incorporating the proposals for those aged over 60 is not as advantageous as one might believe from reading the clause. That is particularly so for those aged between 60 and 64 who have retired and regard themselves as pensioners. They do not benefit from the changes, but they also lose under other proposals, including the freezing of the winter fuel payment and the failure to index the basic state pension with earnings, as the Government promised. Therefore, many pensioners will find themselves in hard circumstances, even though those changes are to their immediate advantage.