Contributions
1,152 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDPensions CommissionI can indeed, and I am grateful to my noble friend for his welcome back. He will forgive me, as I will not be able to give him any specific answers on the future rates of the…22 Jul 2026HANSARDPensions CommissionMy Lords, last year, the Government revived the Pensions Commission to examine how to improve retirement outcomes for future generations. Its interim report, published on 19 May…22 Jul 2026HANSARDPensions CommissionI now realise that I did a terrible job, because repeatedly during the passage of the Pension Schemes Act I tried to explain why that was not right, and I utterly failed—I will…22 Jul 2026HANSARDPensions CommissionMy Lords, I am not pre-empting anything that the commission will say, but the Government are very aware of the position of people who have terminal illnesses. As the noble…22 Jul 2026HANSARDPensions CommissionYes. The single best guarantee of a happy retirement is a happy working life where people have the opportunity to earn enough money and to save enough money. We absolutely are…22 Jul 2026HANSARDPensions CommissionThe noble Lord raises an excellent point. In fact, we have seen a significant drop. In the 1990s, roughly half of people who were self-employed were saving for a pension; it is…22 Jul 2026HANSARDPensions CommissionI am grateful—I will never be so appreciated ever again, so I am really going to enjoy this session. My noble friend raises an important point. In a sense, it is up to individual…22 Jul 2026HANSARDPensions CommissionMy Lords, the law is clear at the moment. The state pension age is now gradually rising from 66 to 67. That began in April 2026, and it will finish in March 2028. What I can say…22 Jul 2026HANSARDUniversal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Decisions and Appeals) (Amendment) Regulations 2026My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Stedman-Scott, for introducing her Motion. I am also grateful to all noble Lords for their contributions, and I appreciate…22 Jul 2026HANSARDUnemployment: People with AutismThe noble Baroness makes an extremely important point. One reason we have focused the nature of our support through the connect to work specialist programme, which works with…25 Jun 2026HANSARDUnemployment: People with AutismI must confess to my noble friend that I have not seen it, but I will seek it out. His point is really important. If we can get young autistic people—indeed, any autistic…25 Jun 2026HANSARDUnemployment: People with AutismThe noble Baroness raises an excellent question about schools and education, and I reassure her that my department is working very closely with the Department for Education to…25 Jun 2026HANSARDUnemployment: People with AutismMy Lords, the Government are committed to supporting autistic people into employment, including through targeted specialist support. Our £1 billion connect to work programme…25 Jun 2026HANSARDUnemployment: People with AutismI am grateful to my noble friend and will be delighted to talk to him about examples and take them back to the department. He is right to focus on the importance of supporting…25 Jun 2026HANSARDUnemployment: People with AutismThe noble Baroness is absolutely right to focus on support. Alan Milburn made the point very strongly about the need—across the system, not just in employment—to engage with…25 Jun 2026HANSARDUnemployment: People with AutismWhat I have been trying to describe is our intention to make sure we have personalised support. The noble Baroness raises an important question. She will know, from having seen…25 Jun 2026HANSARDUnemployment: People with AutismThe noble Lord raises an important point. I reassure him that the Government are completely committed to delivering on the manifesto commitment to introduce mandatory ethnicity…25 Jun 2026HANSARDUnemployment: People with AutismThe noble and learned Lord asks an excellent question; I would love to hear after this who the employer is and see what we can learn from them. I would be especially interested to…25 Jun 2026HANSARDChild PovertyMy Lords, let me add my words of appreciation to my noble friend Lady Lister, who must at this point be blushing from the compliments showered upon her, but they are very well…18 Jun 2026HANSARDHealth-related Benefits AssessmentsMy Lords, face-to-face assessments are an important part of our multichannel approach. For some individuals, they are the best way for us to understand the impacts of their health…08 Jun 2026