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1,402 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDCarer’s AllowanceNo, I would not. I am not ruling out the possibility that it may yet become a mess, but certainly on our watch it was never a mess. In fact, it dispenses about £280 billion-worth…16 Oct 2024HANSARDCarer’s AllowanceIndeed. What we want, ideally, is a system that is as simple as possible. The motion suggests that we bring in a taper, but that would be a complication of the system. I will come…16 Oct 2024HANSARDCarer’s AllowanceRegardless of what the right hon. Gentleman may or may not have said in his opening remarks, the text of the motion cannot be disputed. On the point of whether anyone should be…16 Oct 2024HANSARDWinter Fuel PaymentIn the general election, the Labour party promised that it had no plans to means-test the winter fuel allowance, yet we learn that millions of pensioners are to be affected.…07 Oct 2024HANSARDWinter Fuel PaymentI think I need to correct the right hon. Lady: there were actually 200,000 fewer pensioners in absolute poverty under the previous Conservative Government. She quite rightly is…07 Oct 2024HANSARDTopical QuestionsOn 10 September, two days before recess, I led a debate in this Chamber, secured by the Conservative party, on the winter fuel allowance. The right hon. Lady spoke just now about…07 Oct 2024HANSARDWinter Fuel PaymentMy right hon. Friend makes a powerful point. This is a very serious step that the Government are taking. Of all the steps that should be properly scrutinised, surely this is one…10 Sept 2024HANSARDWinter Fuel PaymentI beg to move, That this House regrets that the Government approved the use of the urgency exemption in section 173 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 to make and lay…10 Sept 2024HANSARD Social SecurityThe hon. Gentleman is entirely right, as always, and I completely agree with every word that he has just said. We are the party of the triple lock, and we were the party of the…10 Sept 2024HANSARDWinter Fuel PaymentI thank my right hon. Friend for his intervention. It has been suggested that the Government are examining ways of ameliorating some of the harshest effects of this policy, and…10 Sept 2024HANSARD Social SecurityI am left feeling that that intervention was barely worth the wait. The fact that we even have a debate today is near miraculous given the resistance from the Labour party—we have…10 Sept 2024HANSARD Social SecurityI will give way to the hon. Gentleman, who has been very patient.10 Sept 2024HANSARD Social SecurityI will come to the hon. Gentleman. In fact, the only authority to comment thus far on these measures is the House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee, which said:…10 Sept 2024HANSARD Social SecurityI thank my right hon. Friend for his appropriate intervention. He is right, of course. The only surprising thing is how remarkably quickly this has all fallen apart. The…10 Sept 2024HANSARD Social SecurityHow could I not?10 Sept 2024HANSARD Social SecurityThe hon. Gentleman is entirely wrong. We went into the election promising the triple lock plus. Unlike his party, under which millions of pensioners are going to be dragged into…10 Sept 2024HANSARD Social SecurityThank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. That slightly lengthy question might be better addressed by way of a rather lengthy letter to the leaders of Birmingham city council. Of course,…10 Sept 2024HANSARD Social SecurityI will in a moment. We do not know what the impact will be across the income distribution. No Member of this House knows what the impact will be within their own constituency. We…10 Sept 2024HANSARD Social SecurityI beg to move, That an humble Address be presented to His Majesty, praying that the Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Regulations 2024 (SI, 2024, No. 869), dated 22 August 2024, a…10 Sept 2024HANSARDWinter Fuel PaymentI am sure that those on the Government Front Bench will have heard the hon. Gentleman’s intervention. The reality is that the Government want to rush this through so that they can…10 Sept 2024