Jim Shannon: I thank the hon. Member for Hartlepool (Jill Mortimer) for setting the scene so very well and the hon. Member for Hexham (Guy Opperman) his contribution. It is always good to hear about personal experiences in speeches, as it shows us all what some people have gone through. My mother has had four miscarriages, while my sister has had two; Naomi, who works in my office, has had one. Although...
Graham Stuart: I thank all speakers for their contributions, which have been typically thoughtful. It was a pleasure for the whole Committee and it seemed right to have the ever-genial hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) bringing the Back Bench contributions to a close. I have a lot to cover but will none the less try to keep myself to a limited time. The hon. Member for Southampton, Test (Dr...
Jacob Rees-Mogg: The Bill is setting the immediate support, which will run until April. The Government are reviewing how to ensure that support is more targeted in future, but there is no question that there will be support, and the Bill provides the powers for that. It is important to emphasise that bills will still depend on usage. That is why I am grateful for the work of my hon. Friend the Member for...
Guy Opperman: The energy price guarantee is a key part of the growth plan, but too few businesses and households know about it, even if the Labour Party does not support it. Can I urge the Prime Minister to have a nationwide mail-out campaign to communicate what the Government are doing to assess people on reduction of energy and, more particularly, to have a reduction-of-energy campaign for public...
Guy Opperman: The energy price guarantee is an outstanding part of the growth plan. It is key, but far too few businesses and households know about it. May I urge the Chancellor to have a nationwide mail-out campaign, coupled with the Government taking the lead on the reduction of energy in all public buildings, as Germany and other countries are doing? That would have the twin benefits of saving consumers...
Guy Opperman: ...of a driving licence and removal of passport is considered. The Child Maintenance Service has focussed efforts to influence and enforce payment where a paying parent refuses to pay but has an ability to pay. The department has reduced its unpaid debt through the collect and pay service to an all time low of 8.3% of the total liabilities raised as at March 2022 compared to 9.9% in March...
Richard Holden: .... All of us need to be able to go about our business in the House and in our constituency without fear, so that we can serve our constituents as best we can. I thank not only the Bill’s sponsors, but my hon. Friends the Members for Bishop Auckland (Dehenna Davison), for Workington (Mark Jenkinson), for Darlington (Peter Gibson), for North Norfolk (Duncan Baker), for Sedgefield (Paul...
Guy Opperman: ...are benefiting from a workplace pension under automatic enrolment. That is a transformational thing that was genuinely not there barely 10 years ago. We all support the pensions industry, but it has basically been existing in the 19th century. With the pensions dashboard, we have jumped over the entire 20th century and into the 21st by bringing things online. The pensions dashboard will...
Kerry McCarthy: ...we have a duty of care to people who are at an incredibly traumatic time in their lives. As I said, it must be heart-wrenching to be in that situation. We have heard from Bliss, and we all pay tribute to the charities involved in campaigning for this Bill. They are there to support the parents of babies who are born prematurely or ill. As we have heard, one in seven babies born in the UK...
Chloe Smith: I am sure that the Pensions Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Hexham (Guy Opperman), would be happy to have a further conversation on that. Automatic enrolment is important. It has made progress, but there will be more to do.
Guy Opperman: I was the Minister who saw that the Labour party at the time did not object to our taking the actions we did in respect of the triple lock. The hon. Gentleman talks about a loss but, as he knows, the state pension was less than £100 in 2009, before the Government changed in 2010. He also knows that we have now virtually doubled the state pension and that there is in excess of £1,500 extra...
Guy Opperman: As my hon. Friend knows, I am in day three of being the Pensions Minister—but the previous one was very good, I did hear. The practical reality is that pension credit is a difficult benefit to try to get out, because everybody has to apply. It is very much our role as Members of Parliament across all parties to ensure that we send out the message that, if anybody is in doubt, they should...
Guy Opperman: ...area, and the jobs that he is concerned with, and I give him great credit for that. I am not the responsible Minister, and I know that that letter has only recently arrived into the Department, but I will ensure very definitely that the Minister in respect of this particular decision will meet him in the near weeks so that there can be a proper discussion in respect of the situation for...
Guy Opperman: If a customer has not paid enough National Insurance contributions to be entitled to a UK State Pension, but has worked and paid contributions in the USA, an investigation would take place to establish if contributions made in the USA can be taken into consideration towards a claimant’s UK State Pension, under the reciprocal agreement between the UK and USA.
Jon Ashworth: ...? Thirdly, I want to talk about pensioners. We have 2 million pensioners in poverty, and the number is rising. The Prime Minister promised that pensions would keep pace with wages and prices, but, without any thought as to how hard pensioners are finding it to make ends meet, Ministers broke that promise by removing the so-called triple lock. That meant a real-terms cut of about £500 in...
Guy Opperman: ...the rules about pension age are appropriate. The first review of State Pension age was undertaken in 2017. It set out the Government’s intention to bring forward the increase to 68 in 2037-39 but that the Government would carry out a further review before tabling any changes to legislation. Work has now begun on the second review of State Pension age, which will consider evidence from...
Guy Opperman: ...States covered by the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The UK also has reciprocal social security agreements with New Zealand (1983) and Canada (1995) covering provisions for State Pension, but these agreements do not provide for annual up-rating. As of November 2020, 63,930 State Pension recipients reside in New Zealand and 126,426 recipients reside in Canada. Source: State...
Matt Rodda: ...importance of energy security and tackling the climate emergency with not creating eyesores in the countryside. I am proud of our record in my area of central Berkshire. I represent an urban seat, but we have a strong tradition of solar power from our borough council and neighbouring local authorities, and in land nearby. Much of it is on the roofs of buildings and on brownfield land. I...
Guy Opperman: ...pension prior to 2012, and it is now 86%. Less than 24% of young people were saving in a workplace pension, and it is now 84%. This is a game-changing policy developed under successive Governments but pioneered by this Conservative Government.
Guy Opperman: You got there first, Mr Speaker, but I also congratulate the former Pensions Minister, the Chair of the Select Committee, on his knighthood, which is genuinely deserved. The whole House wishes him well when he goes to meet the Queen for his investiture. The right hon. Gentleman is a former Pensions Minister and will recall that the present uprating policy started in April 1987 and has...
