Contributions
2,291 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDStandards in Public LifeCan I remind you of the five-minute limit?09 Sept 2021HANSARDHouse of Lords Appointments CommissionI remind noble Lords that the time limit is two minutes.06 Sept 2021HANSARDHouse of Lords Appointments CommissionMy Lords, this debate is limited to one hour. That is very tight and, in order to give time for the Minister to respond, all noble Lords apart from the noble Lord, Lord Norton of…06 Sept 2021HANSARDTrade AgreementsThe noble Lord has asked his two questions.15 Jul 2021HANSARDPensions: Gender GapThis Government recognise the challenge of the gender pensions gap resulting from historical differences in labour market participation. Through automatic enrolment and the new…13 Jul 2021HANSARDPensions: Gender GapMy noble friend asks a number of very important questions. We are happy to meet to discuss them fully; there just is not time to do justice to them today. My noble friend also…13 Jul 2021HANSARDPensions: Gender GapMy Lords, the DWP is working extremely hard on making sure that these underpayments are repaid. It is putting in a new team of 360 people to work through it, and we hope that all…13 Jul 2021HANSARDPensions: Gender GapI lost some of the noble Lord’s question there. The state pension underpayment that we are talking about affects both men and women. We will have estimated costs and data in the…13 Jul 2021HANSARDPensions: Gender GapMy Lords, the Government have no plans to look at the basic pension. What is happening now is that people—women in particular—are beginning to build up their pension schemes, and…13 Jul 2021HANSARDUniversal CreditMy Lords, the Government announced in the 2021 spring Budget a six-month extension to the temporary £20 a week increase to universal credit. Eligible working credit claimants also…13 Jul 2021HANSARDUniversal CreditMy Lords, we help those most vulnerable in our society with free school meals and with free fruit and veg in primary schools. We are continuing to look at the obesity strategy to…13 Jul 2021HANSARDUniversal CreditThe noble Lord brings up a very good point. What we need to do, and what we have done, is to train and recruit good work coaches, working from our jobcentres, who personalise the…13 Jul 2021HANSARDUniversal CreditAs I have said, when the Government put in the £20-a-week increase in universal credit, it was always going to be a temporary position. We now have a comprehensive plan for jobs.…13 Jul 2021HANSARDUniversal CreditThe noble Lord talks about in-work poverty. Our focus today is still on supporting people financially through the Covid pandemic, but our long-term ambition remains to build an…13 Jul 2021HANSARDPensions: Gender GapMy noble friend must not forget that today’s working-age people are tomorrow’s pensioners. Future generations of pensioners, not just the current ones, will benefit from this…13 Jul 2021HANSARDUniversal CreditMy noble friend is probably talking about the Restart programme, which looks at referrals on a case-by-case basis with work coaches and can restart jobs for people who have lost…13 Jul 2021HANSARDUniversal CreditAs I have explained, what we are doing and what we intend to do is to take away something that was always going to be temporary and invest in making sure that these families get…13 Jul 2021HANSARDPensions: Gender GapThe noble Baroness brings up a very interesting point. I do not believe that we have discussed that, and it is not in our plans to deliver that, but I will take it back to the…13 Jul 2021HANSARDUniversal CreditI do not think I can add anything further to what I said to the right reverend Prelate. We are looking at the obesity strategy. We have a great free school meals programme, which…13 Jul 2021HANSARDUniversal CreditMy Lords, as I said, we are investing over £30 billion in our ambitious plan for jobs, which is already delivering for people of all ages right across this country. We have…13 Jul 2021