Pensions Tax Relief: Employment and Retention

Lord Rooker Excerpts

Tuesday 1st November 2022 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)]

Again, I will take the message back to the department. I reassure the noble Baroness that we are taking action to support NHS staff, including those at the top end. The Department of Health and Social Care has commissioned NHS England to develop a long-term workforce plan. This will look at all aspects, including pay at the senior end, as well as the other aspects that have cropped up this afternoon in terms of how we can reward and keep our very best senior people.

[Lord Rooker (Lab)]

Is it still the case, as it was when I was at the DSS from 1999 to 2001, that when Ministers were given any information whatever about pensions— any options, anything at all—they were always given a 30-year timeframe? That meant that there were no surprises of the detailed decisions that might be taken. Along with this Question and the one that is going to follow, there is probably a good case for looking at how our pensions are funded, both private and public, in this country.

[Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)]

I do not think that there was a question there—but, again, it is a matter that I shall reflect on and certainly pass back to the department.