My Lords, I support Amendments 14 and 15; I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Stedman-Scott, for her explanation of the thinking behind them. I apologise to the noble Lord, Lord Davies, that on this occasion I find it difficult to agree with much of what he said.
I agree that these schemes have been a…
My Lords, I support these amendments and I have added my name to Amendments 19 and 20, which deal with issues around surpluses and distribution.
There are important issues in all these areas, in particular when there is a surplus and councils are considering how to spend the money that they have un…
+4 more contributions in this session
LordsCommittee Stage12 January 20269 contributions
My Lords, I will be brief. I declare my interests as a board adviser to a pension scheme and a non-executive director of a pension administration and consultancy firm.
I support this amendment because, with such wide Henry VIII powers, it is really important to have some framework to hang our discu…
My Lords, I will be brief. I have added my name to Amendments 2, 5 and 6. I support the thrust of these amendments. I agree wholeheartedly with the noble Lord, Lord Davies, that the local government pension schemes have been successful. One reason is that they have been able to take higher risks—in …
My Lords, it is a great honour to follow the noble Baroness. The problem with speaking so far down a list of many eminent speakers is that, I am afraid, a lot of the good stuff I was going to say has already been said—but I am still going to crack on.
This is the first time I have engaged with the …
My Lords, I welcome many features and proposals in this substantial and significant Bill. It does, of course, draw on the work of the previous Government, and indeed continues progress on pensions that has long been conducted on a cross-party basis. I think back to my time as shadow Work and Pension…
LordsOral Questions25 November 20252 contributions
My Lords, the Chancellor will deliver the Budget tomorrow. She has rightly been clear with the country about the challenges we face and the need to deliver stability in the public finances. The Budget will build more resilient public finances to withstand global turbulence. It will reduce inflationa…
I am most grateful to the noble Baroness for her question. As she knows, I am not going to comment on the ongoing Budget process, which will conclude tomorrow when the Chancellor delivers her Budget. She asked about growth. Growing the economy, and supporting businesses to create jobs and innovate, …
LordsOral Questions17 November 20253 contributions
My Lords, the Government continue to incentivise pension savings for their intended purpose of funding retirement. Most unused pension funds and death benefits payable from a pension will form part of a person’s estate for inheritance tax purposes from 6 April 2027. This removes distortions resultin…
I am grateful to the noble Baroness for her question; I think the short answer is no. Let us be very clear: this is not a retrospective policy change. It takes effect for deaths on or after 6 April 2027, so that is in no way retrospective. As for the examples that the noble Baroness gives, it is imp…
There is much to be done in looking at local authority pension funds—I agree with the noble Baroness on that. We are working through that process. Of course, there is a balance to be struck between how you might use that for capital spending, which would be an investment that there may be a return o…
LordsOral Questions9 September 20252 contributions
My Lords, the Government recognise the considerable value that UK-listed investment companies bring to the UK, making up 30% of the FTSE 250 and providing crucial funding to high-growth sectors. The Government have not undertaken a specific assessment of the use of UK-listed investment companies by …
I am grateful to the noble Baroness for her question. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to her expertise and the consistency of her campaigning in this area. I fully understand the points that she is raising and recognise the important role that investment companies play in providing access to …
Having worked so closely with the Minister, I know how dedicated she is to getting this right. I congratulate her and the Government on their decision to act swiftly on Sir Jon Cunliffe’s excellent report. I relay congratulations from my friend, the noble Duke, the Duke of Wellington, who was a lead…
My Lords, I will speak to my Amendment 106A in this group. I also echo fully the support for Amendments 106, 109 and 119, which is consequential, from the noble Baroness, Lady Grender. I thank the right reverend Prelate for his support as well.
LordsStatutory Instrument3 July 20253 contributions
My Lords, I thank my noble friend and the noble Baroness, and I thank the Minister for always listening to different perspectives with respect. We do not have to agree to be able to respect one another.
I support the proscription of the paramilitary and white supremacist IRM—or RIM, as I now have t…
My Lords, I compliment the Minister for summarising the situation, because no one has done so yet. The question seems to be, as has been so ably put by so many people, the difference between criminal activity and terrorism. There is a general acceptance that the actions of Palestine Action are crimi…
My Lords, it is a pleasure to add my name to Amendment 8, so ably moved by the noble Duke, the Duke of Wellington, who has contributed so much to the work of this House, as have so many other noble Lords who happen to be hereditary Peers and whose tremendous and dedicated contributions to this House…
Fracture liaison services do an incredible job. I refer the noble Baroness to the words of the Secretary of State—I will not quote them because I do not have them to hand and there is nothing worse than misquoting somebody, particularly the Secretary of State—who has made his intentions quite clear …
My Lords, Assura’s portfolio of over 500 properties is leased to GPs and other NHS and private healthcare providers. Arrangements for leased properties and their ongoing healthcare are secured through lease arrangements. A change in ownership does not affect their legal status; leases will continue …
I understand the noble Baroness’s concern, but perhaps I could assure her and your Lordships’ House that it was decided this week by the board of Assura to recommend to shareholders an offer from Primary Health Properties, which is another UK real estate investment trust, similar to Assura, which is…
My Lords, I too wish the Minister a happy birthday, and I declare my interests.
Does the Minister recognise the damage caused to UK growth by pension funds? We have the second largest pension system in the world according to the Government, the Exchequer gross contribution is £70 billion a year, an…
I have seen the plans, and I know that those working on this project have gone to great lengths to make sure that they will protect Victoria Tower Gardens. They will improve the gardens—that will be the outcome of this project. From what we are hearing, it is as if nobody has taken any care about wh…
My Lords, I declare my interests as being on the Chief Rabbinate Trust and the Jewish Leadership Council, and as someone whose family was mostly wiped out by the Holocaust. My parents escaped and came here, and have always been hugely grateful for the protection of this country. I am deeply saddened…
My Lords, I declare my interests, and I am glad that the Government have listened. I welcome the undoing of a terrible wrong. Can the Minister confirm that the Government estimate that about 50,000 more pensioners were in poverty last winter and 100,000 more pensioners ended up in A&E? Does this…
I repeat to the noble Baroness that these things are a judgement call. I reassure her and the House that we have kept the family constantly informed of our efforts, and certainly we will continue to do so. It is our hope and determination to see his early release.
My Lords, I welcome this initiative. Indeed, I would be pleased to see the Government go even further in ensuring that our long-term pension funds have faith in Britain, invest in Britain and use the £70 billion of taxpayer money that goes into pensions every year to add to contributions made by ind…
In begging leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper, I declare my interests as shown in the register.
My Lords, it is clear that there is a desperate urgency to get humanitarian aid into Gaza. As the UN has said, it is hard to see how the proposal to distribute aid through private companies would meet the scale of the need, protect civilians, protect aid workers and be consistent with humanitarian p…
My Lords, I too thank the noble Lord, Lord Cryer, for introducing this debate and giving us such a wonderful opening address. Conor Cruise O’Brien said that
“anti-Semitism is a light sleeper”.
Well, it was woken with a bang on the morning after the devastating slaughter of men, women and children …
My Lords, is the Leader able to tell the House what has to be done to actually lose government funding in this type of situation? It seems to me that Kneecap are trying to play the country, or the system, given that they put in their public statement:
“Kneecap’s message has always been—and remains—…