Retail Sector: Unemployment

Lord Naseby Excerpts

Wednesday 27th January 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

I am delighted to hear that the noble Lord is speaking up for Colne and for many other high streets, because they play a critical role in our smaller towns. We have brought forward £81.5 million from the £3.6 billion towns fund to kick-start local investment projects of the exact kind that he refers to. Of course, we have to accept that we cannot protect every job during this crisis, but we will help people to get through it and help them get back into work at the end of it.

[Lord Naseby (Con) [V]]

My Lords, I declare an interest as a trustee of the parliamentary pension fund. What action will Her Majesty’s Government take to ensure that the pensions of thousands of redundant employers, who mainly will be female and will have given years of service, will be protected and that these employees will be told exactly what is happening with regard to their pensions?

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

My noble friend makes a very good point. I appreciate that these will be concerning times for members of these pension schemes, but there are measures in place for these situations. We will ensure that we do everything we can to provide support for those who potentially will be impacted. The Pensions Regulator is working closely with both the company and the scheme to ensure that all prior commitments entered into are fulfilled.