Contributions
1,152 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDUnemployment FiguresMy Lords, I think the Minister is here to answer—20 Oct 2022HANSARDUnemployment FiguresI am grateful to my noble friend and will try again. The Minister is here to answer for the whole Government, but if she does not want to answer for anything but her own…20 Oct 2022HANSARDOut-of-work BenefitsMy Lords, the Minister mentioned people with ill health. The group falling out of the labour market fastest are the over-50s, and the ONS has found that more than half of over-50s…17 Oct 2022HANSARDSocial Security Payments: UpratingTo ask His Majesty’s Government what plans they have for uprating social security payments.10 Oct 2022HANSARDSocial Security Payments: UpratingMy Lords, I thank the Minister and welcome him to the Dispatch Box and his new brief—a great place to start. Last April, when inflation was 9%, benefits were raised by just 3.1%,…10 Oct 2022HANSARDChemicals (Health and Safety) Trade and Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations 2022I shall not press the Minister any further now. She has helpfully described what the regulations are intended to do, but she has not helped laypeople such as the noble Baroness,…19 Jul 2022HANSARDChemicals (Health and Safety) Trade and Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations 2022My Lords, I thank the Minister for her introduction to these regulations and for explaining them. I confess that I read both the regulations and the Explanatory Memorandum more…19 Jul 2022HANSARDCost of Living: Low Income Families with ChildrenMy Lords, I fully accept that the Government cannot solve every problem, but one of the problems is that they cut billions off the value of benefits and tax credits, which meant…13 Jul 2022HANSARDOccupational Pension Schemes (Governance and Registration) (Amendment) Regulations 2022My Lords, for those watching at home, I have just managed to pour water all over my speech, so I hope that noble Lords will bear with me if at points it ceases to make any sense.…12 Jul 2022HANSARDUniversal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill [HL]Does the Minister accept that encouraging parents to get better jobs and allowing them to have benefits for all their children are not mutually exclusive?08 Jul 2022HANSARDUniversal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill [HL]My Lords, I thank the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Durham for introducing his Bill so clearly and all noble Lords who have spoken. Although it is a Private Member’s Bill,…08 Jul 2022HANSARDFront-loaded Child Benefit Bill [HL]My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Farmer, for introducing his Bill and explaining the reasoning behind it, and I thank all noble Lords who have spoken. I am rather attached…08 Jul 2022HANSARDShortage of WorkersMy Lords, there are indeed lots of vacant jobs with no applicants, but that is just for government Ministers of course. The Government approach the problem of vacancies as though…06 Jul 2022HANSARDSocial Security (Additional Payments) BillNo.27 Jun 2022HANSARDSocial Security (Additional Payments) BillMy Lords, I thank the Minister for her introduction to the Bill and all noble Lords who have spoken. I thank my noble friend Lady Lister for halving the length of my speech by her…27 Jun 2022HANSARDGender Pensions GapMy Lords, to get a sense of scale, I wonder whether the Minister has read the 2019 report from the Pension Policy Institute. It found that, by the time they got to their early…27 Jun 2022HANSARDSocial Security (Additional Payments) BillEssentially, noble Lords all around the House have said, “This system is so simple but it’s creating rough justice. What will the Minister do?” The Minister’s answer is, “Give us…27 Jun 2022HANSARDSocial Security (Special Rules for End of Life) Bill [HL]My Lords, I thank the Minister for her remarks and thank all noble Lords who participated in this Bill at the previous stage. It is a short Bill, but one which will have real…22 Jun 2022HANSARDCost of Living: PensionersMy Lords, I am glad the Chancellor is finally putting something on the table, although we do not know what yet, but does the Minister agree that the process is not great? The…26 May 2022HANSARDSocial Security (Special Rules for End of Life) Bill [HL]My Lords, I thank the Minister for her introduction to this short Bill and all noble Lords who have spoken. We have packed quite a lot into a fairly short time. As we have heard,…24 May 2022