Contributions
1,127 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDOlder Persons Commissioner for EnglandThere are a number and there is a cost associated with them. What we should do is look at the outcomes of their work to assess their value for money and the difference they make.…19 Oct 2022HANSARDOlder Persons Commissioner for EnglandAs I hope I have proved to the noble Lord on many occasions, I am very happy to meet him and others to discuss this.19 Oct 2022HANSARDOlder Persons Commissioner for EnglandI am very pleased to say to my noble friend that we are investing £1.34 billion in education and skills training for adults through the adult education budget. We have the…19 Oct 2022HANSARDOlder Persons Commissioner for EnglandI think the noble Lord, Lord Foulkes, has a recruit to his group. I hope that my noble friend will take up that opportunity. I am sure that, given the benefits of such a position…19 Oct 2022HANSARDOlder Persons Commissioner for EnglandI know that noble Lords like to get me into trouble but the fact of the matter is that the Government’s position, as it stands, is that there is no plan to introduce a…19 Oct 2022HANSARDOlder Persons Commissioner for EnglandI thank the noble Baroness for her question. I am going to be absolutely straight; my knowledge about the change to bank accounts and the Post Office card is not as sharp as it…19 Oct 2022HANSARDOlder Persons Commissioner for EnglandThe noble Baroness has put forward reasons for having somebody to represent older people and I hear that. I am sure that by the time officials in my department have read Hansard…19 Oct 2022HANSARDOlder Persons Commissioner for EnglandI could not possibly comment.19 Oct 2022HANSARDOlder Persons Commissioner for EnglandOn the request to meet the WASPI ladies, the noble Baroness will understand that I will need to go back and talk to our new Minister for Pensions. I will put that request in and…19 Oct 2022HANSARDOlder Persons Commissioner for EnglandNow the noble Lord, Lord Foulkes, has an agent for the job. I take my noble friend’s point.19 Oct 2022HANSARDOlder Persons Commissioner for EnglandI am not aware of there being a Minister for older people—unless anybody else can help me out here. As for whether there should be one, I suppose at some appropriate point we…19 Oct 2022HANSARDOut-of-work BenefitsMy Lords, building on all the work that we have done to date, we will continue to support people to move into and progress in work. Unemployment is at a near low of 3.5%, so our…17 Oct 2022HANSARDOut-of-work BenefitsLet me start by saying that the intention behind our efforts is not to issue punitive measures. Let us clear this up right now: as I have always said, sanctions are imposed only…17 Oct 2022HANSARDOut-of-work BenefitsMy noble friend makes many important and accurate points. As of February 2022, 5.18 million working-age adults, or 12.7% of the GB working-age population, were receiving…17 Oct 2022HANSARDOut-of-work BenefitsI am not aware of any discussions with the Prime Minister, who probably has enough on her plate at the moment. We are well aware that the longer people have health problems—the…17 Oct 2022HANSARDOut-of-work BenefitsPlease believe me when I say that we all understand the desire for benefits to be uprated in line with inflation. I have to wait until the Secretary of State carries out her…17 Oct 2022HANSARDOut-of-work BenefitsI completely agree with my noble friend, and we need to take this up with the Department for Education, which has responsibility for this. My noble friend has been a long-time…17 Oct 2022HANSARDOut-of-work BenefitsThat was the exam question. As my noble friend knows, the Restart scheme gives jobseekers out of work for nine months more intensive support to find a job. It has achieved more…17 Oct 2022HANSARDOut-of-work BenefitsI am very happy to look into it. Before I do so, maybe I can speak with the noble Baroness to get some more information to share with my colleagues in the department.17 Oct 2022HANSARDOut-of-work BenefitsWe have our programme for over-50s and our over-50s champions. If somebody over 50 is on a benefit, they will be engaged with a work coach, who will have to identify the barriers…17 Oct 2022