Pensions Bill

My Lords, we move on to a different section of the Bill on bereavement benefits. In moving Amendm...

My Lords, I will speak to Amendment 62ZA, but before doing so I must apologise to your Lordships—...

My Lords, I support these amendments very strongly. The points about bereavement have been made m...

My Lords, I raised this issue at Second Reading and have no hesitation in raising it again. I ris...

My Lords, I will speak to Amendments 62ZZA and 62ZB, in my name and that of my noble friend Lady ...

My Lords, I start by thanking noble Lords for their thoughtful speeches. I know that they have be...

This benefit was introduced or revised after quite a lot of work and research in 2000. In what wa...

The history is where it is thought that a partner is a dependent rather than an independent agent...

I entirely agree with the Minister, but it is my belief that since 2000 the percentage of people ...

I do not think that I want to get into a debate with the noble Baroness on whether the reforms th...

Perhaps the Minister could help me. He is arguing that this is an improvement and an increase in ...

Clearly, if people can live on the current bereavement payments alone, no conditionality is impli...

In other words, at the moment someone could get a full widow’s benefit under this, together with ...

The noble Baroness is looking at a pretty narrow group where people are taking general bereavemen...

Did the Minister say “allowing people”; in other words, is he suggesting that it is the choice of...

Yes, I did. There is an element of push-pull and expectation, and the expectation here is that pe...

I apologise if I am interrupting the Minister when he is about to clarify something further, but ...

One of the key things is that there are clearly some terribly tragic and difficult situations inv...

But why, unless the Minister is actually accusing widowed parents of exploiting or milking the sy...

It is important that the system sets out some generous norms against other examples we are lookin...

Except that it may be better for some, but what the Minister is doing is making it a requirement ...

The noble Baroness is now going back to the conditionality debate, but I am now going on to the a...

Will the noble Lord perhaps deal more fully with the point raised by my noble friend Lord Browne ...

We think that it is essential to retain the contributory principle, and it is reasonable for peop...

We have been considering this for a long time and I do not want to prolong the debate, but that r...

The point is that, depending on if it is a late payment, it would be possible to make a very smal...

My Lords, I am very appreciative of everyone’s contributions. A lot of issues have been explored,...

I want to make sure that the noble Baroness adjusts the figure of 88% on the record, because that...

I emphasise again that without seeing the Minister’s detailed working I will sustain the figures ...

Moved by

Lord Freud

62: Before Schedule 15, insert the following new Schedule—

...

Moved by

Baroness Sherlock

62ZC: Clause 32, page 16, line 28, leave out “of which the...

My Lords, as we move on to Part 5 of the Bill on private pensions, I want to take the opportunity...

My Lords, I would like to speak in support of this amendment. When the Pensions Commission addres...

My Lords, the previous two speakers have covered the main arguments that I was planning to raise,...

My Lords, I will try not to duplicate some of the excellent contributions that have been made. Pe...

My Lords, perhaps I may reiterate for continuity that the areas for concern with PFM can be group...

My Lords, I have not spoken on this item hitherto except briefly at Second Reading. In my opinion...

My Lords, I can certainly assure the noble Baroness, Lady Turner, that we will take very seriousl...

Will the Minister accept that, whereas getting every automatic enrolment qualifying scheme up to ...

The Government are not averse to excellent aspirations in a whole range of policy areas but in th...

I do not want to get into that political debate because there might be some merit in what the nob...

Yes, and our hope and belief is that there will be higher standards. That cannot be issued by dik...

My Lords—

The noble Baroness always asks an honest and genuine question, and I am trying to give an honest ...

He would say that, wouldn’t he?

He might say that but he is one of the providers and I therefore think that that is certainly wel...

They may be getting their heads around the Government’s position, but that does not mean that the...

The noble Baroness says they do not agree with it, but when the ABI actually carried out a survey...

Did the noble Lord not say a moment ago that perhaps the aggregator model was initially slightly ...

The noble Lord makes my point: it is more difficult to understand. What are we trying to do? We a...

I would not presume to speak for the noble Lord, Lord Turner—I learn from him, not the other way ...

It is a shame that the noble Lord, Lord Turner, is not here to respond to that himself or to clar...

I thank the Minister for that response and am also very grateful to all noble Lords who have cont...

Yes.

That is marvellous. So the ABI backs a scheme and the survey conducted by the ABI backs the schem...

Moved by

Lord Freud

62A: Schedule 16, page 91, leave out lines 11 to 13

Moved by

Lord Freud

62B: Schedule 16, page 92, line 23, after “State” insert “or the ...