Social Security (Up-rating of Benefits) Bill

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth Excerpts

2nd reading
Tuesday 13th October 2020 Grand Committee

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Con) [V]]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Greengross, who has done so much in our House on issues of longevity. I always listen to her with great pleasure. I thank my noble friend the Minister for setting out the Bill with characteristic grace and good humour. It is indeed a very short Bill.

Like others, I look forward immensely to the maiden speeches of the noble Lord, Lord Field of Birkenhead, and the noble Baroness, Lady Stuart of Edgbaston. They are two very distinguished parliamentarians, who I know will add massively to the strength of our House. I have known the noble Baroness for a long time. I taught her company law and I recall that on one occasion, before either of us got very involved in politics, she said to me that I was a far better lawyer than a politician. I think that my repost was that she was a far better student than she was a politician. We both find ourselves in the House of Lords and I look forward to her contribution to our House immensely.

I believe that this Bill is necessary. It ensures that state pensions can potentially be uprated, despite the likely fall in earnings. It is matter of pride to me that our country and our Government believe in the pension triple lock—it is something that we should welcome, as indeed I do. I recognise that there is a great issue of intergenerational unfairness at present and I would like to say something about that, too. The Bill is necessary to amend legislation because of earnings falling, albeit by a relatively small amount, and it is necessary that the Bill gets Royal Assent, I understand, by mid-November, which I am sure will happen.

It is right to say, as others have, that many pensioners are well off now—the noble Baroness addressed this point. However, there are still some 2 million pensioners living in poverty—that is according to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, and the Government’s own figures are only just under that. Despite the financial security that many pensioners enjoy in retirement, there is still a real issue for many others. We should rejoice that pensioners are living longer, but we need to recognise that there are ongoing issues of poverty in retirement for many people.

I want to say a little about intergenerational fairness, which was addressed briefly also by the noble Lord, Lord Blunkett. Many people at the young end of the age spectrum—16 to 24—will be massively disadvantaged through this crisis. They have seen their education missed, disrupted apprenticeships and lost jobs, and they will continue to do so. According to a report this year by the Social Metrics Commission, chaired by my noble friend Lady Stroud, an estimated 8.5 million people of working age are living in families in poverty. Can the Minister say something about that? I know that it is something that the Secretary of State will come to, but can my noble friend say something about the timing and the likely thinking, because there is a much greater issue here than the important points about pensions that we are addressing. Yes, this Bill is important and it is right that we focus on it today, but, for the next 10 years, the issue will be the fairness that we need to apply to the younger generation, who are likely to have to pay the bills of this crisis and who have seen their education and jobs disrupted. I shall certainly support the Bill, but I hope that my noble friend will be able to say something about the broader picture of benefits for those at the other end of the age spectrum.