Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Jill Mortimer

Tuesday 19th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Jill Mortimer (Hartlepool) (Con)]

T5. In response to the spring Budget, I have heard from constituents who feel that they may have been forgotten. Under the Conservatives, the number of pensioners living in absolute poverty has been slashed by 200,000 across the country, and we have protected the triple lock, but could my right hon. Friend please remind me of all the steps that his Department is taking to support Hartlepool’s pensioners, so that I can tell them on the doorsteps this weekend?

[Jeremy Hunt]

I would be delighted to do that. The independent Resolution Foundation said that, because of measures that this Government have taken, pensioners are £1,000 better off in real terms than in 2010. We did two things specifically in the Budget: we put £6 billion into the NHS, which is used more by pensioners than anyone else; and we backed workers’ tax cuts to support growth in the economy, which means that we can continue to fund the triple lock for many years to come.