Business of the House

I reassure the hon. Gentleman that we remain very concerned about the position of retired people in the current economic climate. I responded a few moments ago to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Islington, South and Finsbury (Emily Thornberry) about leaseholders. Many of them are people who, on retiring with a lump sum, bought their council property as leaseholders but now find themselves facing bills. That is just one example of the problems they face in the current economic climate. We know the increase in energy costs is particularly difficult for older people who spend more time at home, need more heat as they move around less, and often have less disposable income than younger people. I assure the hon. Gentleman that we are very much focused on the concerns of retired people. I would also remind him, however, that we operate from a position that is now much better than it was in 1997. If we take into account all the different categories of people—single people without children, couples without children, couples with children, retired people and so forth—we find that the people whose income in percentage terms has increased most among the whole population are single women in retirement. I am not complacent about that, but the hon. Gentleman should recognise that although we have more to do, we have done a great deal since his party were in government.