Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Justin Madders and Laura Trott

Tuesday 19th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Justin Madders (Ellesmere Port and Neston) (Lab)]

14. What recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the OBR’s growth forecasts on living standards.

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Laura Trott)]

The OBR revised up its growth figures after data revisions by the Office for National Statistics indicated the economy had recovered more fully from the pandemic than had been expected, which means that the current level of real GDP is nearly 3% higher than was predicted in March forecasts.

--- Later in debate ---

[Laura Trott]

I want to reassure the hon. Gentleman: no decision has been made about the household support fund. More broadly, however, we have pulled in an average of £3,700 per household this year to help people with exactly what we are talking about. This Government are on the side of people during what is a very difficult time.

[Justin Madders]

According to the Low Pay Commission, one in five people who should be receiving the national minimum wage do not even get that. This is a huge failure of enforcement. How can we have increased living standards if people do not even receive the legal minimum to which they are entitled?

[Laura Trott]

If the hon. Gentleman can give individual examples, I ask him please to let us know. It is, obviously, extremely important that we enforce this, but I should point out that we will increase the levels by 9.8% next year, which will make a significant difference to households up and down the country.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Justin Madders and Laura Trott

Monday 24th April 2023 Commons Chamber

[Justin Madders (Ellesmere Port and Neston) (Lab)]

1. What support he provides to people whose pre-1997 occupational pensions are not subject to indexation.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Laura Trott)]

You will notice, Madam Deputy Speaker, that I am not the Secretary of State. He sends his apologies as he is currently travelling back from the G7 in Japan, but we will endeavour to do a reasonable job in his absence.

Pre-1997, as the hon. Gentleman knows, occupational pension defined-benefit schemes were not required to be indexed. I emphasise that defined-contribution schemes, which most people are on today, are also, obviously, not required to be indexed.

[Justin Madders]

As we know, inflation is racing ahead at the moment, and more and more pensioners who are members of occupational pension schemes with pre-1997 service that has not been index linked, and those who are part of the Pension Protection Fund, are noticing the difference. Will the Department carry out an audit of how many people are being affected by those rules, and by how much?

[Laura Trott]

Those rules were in place for a large period of the last Labour Government, and if Labour Members were interested in changing them, I suggest they should have done so at the time.