Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2021
Lord Truscott Excerpts(3 years, 2 months ago)
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Lord Truscott (Ind Lab) [V]
My Lords, I will try to be brief, as many issues have been raised by other noble Lords. In these challenging times for pensioners struggling with the pandemic, and with the over-75s faced with paying the BBC licence—in effect a tax imposed by the BBC—many pensioners will receive very little support from the Government. They cannot go on furlough; they are not self-employed; they cannot take out business loans. Many are not on benefits: they either will not or do not claim them. I am glad that the Minister has at least confirmed that the Government remain committed to the triple lock for pensions, but as a number of noble Lords have mentioned the triple lock, can the Minister confirm that this remains government policy, up to and including the next Parliament?
The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Baroness Healy of Primrose Hill) (Lab)
The noble Lord, Lord Randall of Uxbridge, has withdrawn, so I now call the next speaker, the noble Baroness, Lady Ritchie of Downpatrick.