Pensions Triple Lock

Gordon McKee Excerpts

Tuesday 13th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Pat McFadden]

My hon. Friend is right to say that there have been many reports and reviews over the years. There are differences this time. The first is that, in making the changes and putting forward this new settlement, we have identified a source of funding that will grow over the years and will help to fund the social care system. The second is political will. The Prime Minister has put this issue front and centre of his ambitions as Prime Minister, and front and centre of his speech to party conference a couple of weeks ago. He is putting his shoulder behind getting it resolved once and for all.

[Gordon McKee (Glasgow South) (Lab)]

The fundamental problems with social care that the Prime Minister outlined so powerfully in his conference speech are exactly the same fundamental problems with social care that my constituents in Glasgow experience, and indeed that my own family experienced when my grandparents had dementia. Does the Minister agree that, rather than playing politics, the Scottish and Welsh Governments should work with the Prime Minister to help to design a national care service that works for every corner of Britain?

[Pat McFadden]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. As I said, it would be a better future if the Scottish, Welsh and UK Governments could work together on this common challenge. That is the approach that should be taken forward, and that is the spirit in which the Prime Minister made the announcement in his speech at party conference. It is a new settlement, and we should be taking it forward together.