(11 years, 9 months ago)
Commons ChamberOrder. We have a lot of Members who wish to speak and they should recognise that if they have already intervened, they will go down the list—and not be upset about that.
I take on board the hon. Lady’s point.
As well as compromising trade, the cost of APD is felt by the aviation and tourism sector across the country. Last year, more than 30 million visitors came to Britain and spent £18 billion in our economy. We all want to see that number increase, and I want to see more foreign tourists flying to our international airports and travelling to see attractions elsewhere in the country—including the county of Essex, where the tourist sector supports 54,000 jobs and adds £3 billion to our local economy.
(13 years, 2 months ago)
Commons ChamberI am going to close my remarks shortly, so I hope that the hon. Lady will forgive me if I do not take her intervention.
I want to touch briefly on auto-enrolment. We know that millions of people are not putting aside anywhere near enough money for their retirement. I was previously an employer, including of young graduates. On starting their working lives, they do not think about retirement, saving for their pensions or anything of that nature. Although auto-enrolment was started by the previous Government, it is a good thing, and we really have to get on with it. This is about a culture change to people’s understanding of the need to save, and of how much they need to save, for their retirement. It is not about one lump sum. It is about what they expect to get out of retirement and their potential quality of life.
To conclude, I think that these reforms are welcome and long overdue. The changes to the state pension age and auto-enrolment will lead almost to a cultural revolution and a transformation of the pensions and savings culture in our society. That is a welcome step forward.
I remind the next speaker that she must finish by 9.30 pm.