Pension Schemes: Guidance

Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Naseby

Monday 13th March 2023 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)]

The noble Lord makes a good point. He has pointed out a few issues that were in the initial outlines. He mentioned data, which is an issue. Metrics and the use of implied temperature rises—for example, carbon offsetting and scenario planning—are definitely challenges that are being worked on domestically and internationally. As I said, we are the first country in the world to do this. It is good work, which needs to be built on.

[Lord Naseby (Con)]

My Lords, I declare an interest as a trustee of the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund. I hope that those who are members have received the annual report and will recognise the performance of our fund, which grew from 104.3% in April 2020 to 130% in April 2022. However, that is not really the key point. My key point is that a fair number of pensions—though not our pension—have suffered from LDI and the chaos in the financial markets in September last year. Against that background, I suggest to my noble friend on the Front Bench that all those who are affected have more than enough on their plate at this time tackling those challenges, without having any further advice from anywhere else.

[Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)]

Well, I do not really agree with the general points my noble friend has made. The main thing is that the regulator has a particularly strong role here, and it plans to publish its findings on what we are doing soon to provide schemes with examples of good practice. The regulator has found so far that most reports were published on time. This is to do with the publishing of reports. Almost all were substantial documents showing trustee engagement. In terms of my noble friend’s point about LDI, he will know that much progress has been made, led largely by the independent Bank of England working closely with the Treasury.

Local Housing Allowance Rates

Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Naseby

Wednesday 22nd February 2023 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)]

Again, I note the comments made by the noble Baroness. We are very aware of this, and we are aware of the juxtaposition of what central government can do and the role of local authorities. As I said earlier to the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, local authorities are best placed to understand exactly where the funds that we give them are best targeted. However, there is more than that; I mentioned the discretionary housing payments, but we also have the household support fund. There are a number of other initiatives which are important to mention as regards helping people, particularly to stay in their homes.

[Lord Naseby (Con)]

I accept what my noble friend says about the Autumn Statement, but is there not one sector of the public who are particularly badly affected? That is the people who are unfortunately unemployed and who are totally dependent on the local housing allowance and therefore disadvantaged, according to the local authorities that I have checked with.

[Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)]

Yes, indeed, and this plays into what we spend a lot of time doing in our department, which is looking at universal credit and the benefit cap, including the need for housing. We therefore recognise the importance of safeguarding the welfare of claimants, particularly those who, I am afraid, have got into debt. Looking at how they are able to afford housing is a key part of that.

Gambling: Fixed-odds Betting Machines

Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Naseby

Tuesday 30th October 2018 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

I answered the question from the noble Lord, Lord Alton, about whether the levy was mandatory or voluntary. The Government take suicide prevention extremely seriously and much work is being done, particularly with the National Health Service. Support is available. GamCare provides the national gambling helpline and a national network of counselling services. It is very important that we run this in parallel with the lead-up to the date that we bring in this change to the fixed-odds terminals.

[Lord Naseby (Con)]

My Lords, my noble friend says that it is going to take another year and, as we understand from the Chancellor, there may be a Budget in the spring. Did my noble friend listen to the strong feeling of, I suspect, almost everybody in this Chamber today? Perhaps it would be possible in such a Budget to implement what should happen.

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

I will certainly take the noble Lord’s comments back, but the date is fixed.

Building Safety Update

Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Naseby

Thursday 15th March 2018 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)]

Order, my Lords. There is time for a number of noble Lords to get in, but on this side we need to decide which noble Lord would like to speak first.

[Lord Naseby]

My Lords, I declare an interest as the founder of the all-party parliamentary group on building and other housing groups. First, are Her Majesty’s Government going to issue a directive to every manufacturer of fire doors that they lodge within seven days certificates for those doors that they come up to standard? Secondly, are these particular fire doors to be withdrawn from sale across the whole of the UK? Thirdly, will the Minister confirm that the procedures for testing fire doors across Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and England are identical? If they are not, what action is being taken to consult with the other parts of the UK to ensure that we have an identical standard across this nation?

Drones

Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Naseby

Tuesday 19th January 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Naseby]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they propose to address the threat of a drone being flown into a commercial jet or being used to launch a terrorist attack, as highlighted in the recent report of Detective Chief Inspector Colin Smith.

[Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)]

The Government recognise that this emerging technology creates exciting opportunities for the UK economy, but also new risks for security and safety. A cross-government working group is undertaking a detailed analysis of this emerging threat, including the risks of the use of drones for terrorism and criminal purposes. This work is ongoing and kept under constant review. Initial guidance on tackling the risks has been provided to constabularies across the UK.

[Lord Naseby (Con)]

As my noble friend will realise, as a former RAF pilot I have looked at what is happening around the world. All the leading countries—the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France and even Ireland—now have restrictions on drones. We can add to that that drones in a world of cyberwarfare make problems even more relatively difficult. In the light of the Hostile Drones report, which makes chilling reading, will my noble friend confirm that the Government will act with real urgency, perhaps guided by the latest US registration scheme launched in January and Ireland’s—dare I mention it?—SI 563 of 2015?

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

My Lords, I am aware of the Hostile Drones report. It is informative and generally well written, and chimes very much with the work being undertaken by the cross-government working group. As for licensing, which my noble friend mentioned, particularly in the US and Ireland, the Government and the CAA are talking to the US Federal Aviation Administration and the Irish Aviation Authority about both schemes. I would, however, add a caveat that such schemes are only as good as the enforcement mechanisms behind them.

Automotive Industry

Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Naseby

Wednesday 19th March 2014 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

I very much welcome the news that came through today that Bentley will consolidate its W12 engine production in Crewe. This will secure 100 new jobs, which will help families and give them greater security to look ahead to their future.

[Lord Naseby (Con)]

Is my noble friend aware that, as far as the high-powered Formula 1 area is concerned, within Northamptonshire there must be something like 25 or 30 high-tech companies contributing to the development of the automotive industry? I will make one comment on what is still missing. Is my noble friend aware that the Queen’s Award for Enterprise needs to be revitalised to recognise all the exciting work coming out of these creative industrial engineering companies?

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

Certainly that is something that we are looking at. As my noble friend Lord Borwick said, the Midlands is a centre of excellence for the automotive industry, focusing on companies such as JLR and Dunlop—the list is almost endless.

Living Wage

Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Naseby

Wednesday 6th November 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Naseby]

No, I am sorry; you have to listen to this. As I understand it, my noble friend is quite clear: the benefits of the growth that we establish will be for all sections of society.

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

My noble friend has made some strong and passionate points and I agree with the gist. However, I should say that our key policy is to support the low-paid through the national minimum wage. It is set at a level that helps as many low-paid workers as possible, but without damaging their employment prospects. My right honourable friend Vince Cable has asked the Low Pay Commission to look at what economic conditions would be needed to allow the national minimum wage to rise in the future by more than current conditions allow, without having an adverse impact on jobs.

UK Clothing Sector: Safety

Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Naseby

Monday 13th May 2013 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

I understand that even if wages were doubled in Bangladesh—I know that we are talking about a health and safety issue—it would put only 2p on the price of a T-shirt, so there are some real issues to tackle. As I mentioned earlier, this is a cross-departmental issue. For example, DfID is supporting the ethical trading initiative which is a leading alliance of companies, trade unions and NGOs, and the Government very much support it. Secondly, DfID, with government support, is supporting the Responsible and Accountable Garment Sector challenge fund, known as RAGS, so a number of initiatives are being pushed by the Government, and we continue to put the necessary pressure on the retail organisations.

[Lord Naseby]

I have lived and worked in that part of the world. Is my noble friend aware that there is nothing wrong with the building regulations? It is entirely a matter of whether the buildings are inspected. Clearly, the loading on the floors of this particular factory was far in excess of what it should have been. Can the Government not think of something practical to do? We have high commissioners in Commonwealth countries and ambassadors in non-Commonwealth countries. We usually have a trade section. Why can we not have someone within our own sphere of interest liaising principally with the importers in the UK and the major retailers—

[Lord Naseby]

It is not too long when more than 1,000 people were killed. Why can we not have someone liaising with the two parties to ensure that this sort of tragedy does not happen again?

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

There are two strands to that. First, I reassure my noble friend that Governments, particularly the UK Government, are working extremely hard with the Bangladesh Government and others at all levels—political and diplomatic—to get to the bottom of the reasons behind this dreadful collapse. Secondly, there is now even greater pressure on organisations to look at their supply-chain management and the multiplicity of those links, to be sure that health and safety issues at the beginning of the supply chain are up to scratch.

National Lottery

Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Naseby

Tuesday 18th December 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Naseby]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they propose to take to safeguard the position of the National Lottery in the light of competition from groups of local society lotteries.

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

The Health Lottery is the most significant scheme that promotes numerous society lotteries under a single banner. Since it was launched in October 2011, the Government have been monitoring its impact on the National Lottery and other society lotteries. While there appears to be a limited impact overall, the Government want to ensure that the lottery market delivers the maximum benefit to charities and other good causes, including those supported by the National Lottery. The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has therefore announced today the Government’s intention to consult in the new year on whether to increase the minimum percentage of the proceeds that certain society lotteries have to return to their good causes.

[Lord Naseby]

Is my noble friend aware that when the National Lottery was set up in 1993, 28p in the pound went to good causes and 12p went to the Exchequer as a levy, whereas the Health Lottery provides only up to 20p in prizes and no subvention to the Treasury? Against that background, and with recent calculations that the Health Lottery has siphoned off £70 million that would have gone to the National Lottery, does my noble friend really think that consultation is the right approach? Would it not be preferable to have an amending Bill that re-emphasises that the National Lottery is a monopoly and is there to provide for good causes throughout the nation?

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

My Lords, I do not agree with the idea of an amending Bill. Independent research that we commissioned and have published today suggests that there is a potential sales diversion of up to £300,000 a week. Camelot believes that it is potentially up to £1.5 million a week. It is difficult to assess the true figure due to seasonal factors and complexities in customer behaviour. However, an impact at these levels would be relatively minimal, particularly in the context of National Lottery sales, which are on track to beat last year’s record sales figures of £6.5 billion. The Government are determined to ensure that the lottery market delivers the maximum benefit to good causes, which is why we wish to consider whether the minimum amount that society lotteries are required to provide to their good causes is set at the right level.