Economic Inequality

Lord Davies of Oldham Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd October 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Newby]

My Lords, one of the commission’s recommendations was that intergenerational equity could be improved if pensioners paid a higher share. That has not been the view that the Government have taken. Particularly given the very high levels of pensioner poverty, against which many noble Lords have campaigned over many years, we have taken the view that the real value of pensions should be protected during this period of fiscal consolidation. However, we accept that there may be more to be done. Indeed, for people who receive payments such as the winter fuel allowance, there are now a number of voluntary schemes under which they can make that payment available via charities so that it can be used for people on low incomes.

[Lord Davies of Oldham (Lab)]

My Lords, why did the Minister not respond to his Liberal Democrat colleague who asked the initial Question with total honesty by saying that he is a junior member of the junior party in a coalition, of which the majority party has in its DNA the promotion and preservation of inequality?

[Lord Newby]

My Lords, the biggest task in reducing inequality, as the commission points out, is to get more people into work, and this Government are doing that. For example, the number of NEETs has fallen consecutively over many quarters, the number of people in work increased by 155,000 in the last quarter and the proportion of the population in work is at a record level. We on this side of the House will take no lessons from him about getting people into work and earning good money.