Winter Fuel Payment
Neil Shastri-Hurst Excerpts(4 days, 15 hours ago)
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Torsten Bell
My hon. Friend raises the important issue of the complexity of pensioner poverty. I will just give one example, which does not get mentioned in these discussions often enough. The growth rate—the value people are getting; the returns on every pound saved into a private pension—absolutely needs to be as strong as possible. Private pensions support the living standards of our pensioners. We need a pension industry that is focused on driving the best possible value for savers.
Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst (Solihull West and Shirley) (Con)
There appears to be universal support for this damascene conversion by the Government. Last year, they told pensioners that the right course of action was to scrap the winter fuel payment for millions, but they are now telling them that a means-tested system is right, so how can pensioners possibly believe anything that the Government say?
Torsten Bell
Did we actually get a Conservative party policy there? Is the hon. Member saying that the Conservatives support today’s announcement? [Interruption.] That is a no. We do not have an answer yet, after an hour and 10 minutes, on what the Conservative party’s policy is. I can give him the answer that he would like: yes, we will provide certainty that this is the policy of this Government.
Oral Answers to Questions
Neil Shastri-Hurst Excerpts(5 months, 4 weeks ago)
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Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst (Solihull West and Shirley) (Con)
The Minister for Employment (Alison McGovern)
The Budget made the choices needed to fix the foundations of our economy. Taking those into account, the Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts that unemployment will fall to 4.1% next year and remain low until 2029. We are taking action to support jobs and growth, and to transform employment support to get Britain working.
Dr Shastri-Hurst
Will the Minister answer a simple question: since the Budget, have unemployment rates gone up or down?
Alison McGovern
I have just given the OBR’s assessment. It is worth noting that there are still a significant number of vacancies in the economy. We are determined that the Department for Work and Pensions will be reformed to serve employers better, so that they can fill those vacancies.