Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Department for Work and Pensions

Oral Answers to Questions

Neil Duncan-Jordan Excerpts
Monday 29th June 2026

(1 month ago)

Commons Chamber
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Stephen Timms Portrait Sir Stephen Timms
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There is a limit on how far back applications can be backdated, but if the hon. Gentleman would like to drop me a line with the details, I will make sure that we have a good look at the case he raises.

Neil Duncan-Jordan Portrait Neil Duncan-Jordan (Poole) (Lab)
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The Pensions Minister knows that there is no retirement on a dead planet, so will he commit to writing to the 50 largest UK pension funds to ask them to set out their timetable for divesting from fossil fuels?

Torsten Bell Portrait Torsten Bell
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My hon. Friend is a consistent campaigner on these issues in this place and in our regular meetings, and I always learn something from those conversations. I am not going forward with exactly the suggestion he brings forward, but I agree that there is more we can do, not least to provide clarity for trustees. We are working with industry to develop guidance clarifying that fiduciary duties allow trustees investing in members’ best interests to consider systemic risks, including climate change, and we will consult later this summer.