Pensions Bill

The hon. Lady anticipates me, as I was about to say that social workers could undertake that role, although not to the exclusion of anyone else. For example, if a GP believed that the degree of care given to a person in the course of a week was reasonable and necessary, then his certificate to that effect should also be acceptable. Some people give up their whole lives to caring, and one can only admire what they do. They should not suffer from having a lower pension in the latter part of their lives as a result of the care that they have given. The change in national insurance contributions for those retiring before 6 April 2010 has been mentioned already. The current proposals for the reduction in qualifying years for those retiring after that date mean that the people who retire immediately before it will lose out considerably. It must be possible to construct some form of taper to remove that cliff edge: without it, an estimated 5 million women will suffer a very substantial diminution in their income for the rest of their lives. It should not be beyond the wit of the Government, in consultation with all other parties, to come up with a mechanism to deal with the problem. In conclusion, this is a good Bill. An enormous amount of thought has gone into it, and I wish it Godspeed.