The Growth Plan
Debate between Dan Poulter and Kwasi Kwarteng(2 years, 2 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Kwasi Kwarteng
We absolutely care, which is why have the energy intervention that we announced last week and that we have mentioned today. We have eco schemes, such as the warm home discount, and a reduction of council tax for bands A to D. We have already done a huge amount of intervention and we will always protect the most vulnerable.
Dr Dan Poulter (Central Suffolk and North Ipswich) (Con)
My right hon. Friend has made clear his intention to lift the bankers’ bonus cap, but I draw his attention to another cap or threshold: the £40,000 annual pension allowance, which is also causing challenges, particularly to many experienced and senior public sector workers. My right hon. Friend will be aware of the NHS workforce challenges that our health service currently faces. Unless this issue is dealt with effectively and we scrap the £40,000 annual allowance for defined-benefit pension schemes, we are going to lose a lot of very experienced clinicians at a time when the NHS needs them most. If he can look at bankers’ bonuses, can he also look at this issue?
Kwasi Kwarteng
The issue has been raised, and it is a question of not just the annual limit but the lifetime allowance: anecdotally I hear that the fact that it has been reduced successively over time is a big driver of people leaving the profession. I would be happy to have a discussion with my hon. Friend about that.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Dan Poulter and Kwasi Kwarteng(4 years ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Kwasi Kwarteng
The hon. Lady will be aware that the green jobs element of the transition is at the centre of the Government’s net-zero strategy, and we fully intend to have something like 2 million green jobs by 2030, although now we have only 460,000. Green jobs are at the centre of the recovery that we are trying to drive.
Dr Dan Poulter (Central Suffolk and North Ipswich) (Con)