Pensions

My Lords, reference has already been made to the recent speech by the noble Lord, Lord Turnbull. When a former and just-retired head of the Home Civil Service says that something is indefensible, I am somewhat inclined to think that he knows about these things. When the Minister’s defence was that in 27 years’ time a majority of the Civil Service will be in private schemes, I could not help but think that many in the private sector will have 27 years of thinking that the whole arrangement is beastly unfair. One other general criticism follows that. I always distrust announcements which put off the really difficult changes for many years—or, in this case, for many decades. The House laughed when it was told that no one over 47 would have to work for longer. The fact is that life expectancy has been rising, is rising and will have risen a great deal further by then. Why on earth are the Government not getting on with some of these changes a great deal more urgently?