Pensions Reform

Yes, that will go on the record and I hope that any employers taking an interest in today’s debate will hear what my hon. Friend says. Any system must be able to cope with workers who frequently change their jobs and, of course, with disorganised, short-lived employers, as they are often called. I have already briefly mentioned the issue of demographic shift, as it impacts on my own area. The figures show that when the state pension was introduced, there was one pensioner for every 14 employees. Today, there is one pensioner for only four employees. I therefore understand the reasoning behind raising the retirement age over time. However, we must acknowledge that longevity is not equal throughout the country. My hon. Friend the Member for Aberdeen, South (Miss Begg) referred to that. Extended life expectancy, which is good news in some parts of the country, is not experienced in many others. I know from conversations with colleagues from Glasgow and other industrial heartlands that three score years and 10 is not an option for many of their constituents. Admittedly, lifestyle has something to do with not only early retirement on the ground of ill health, but early departure from this world. My hon. Friend the Member for Bradford, North (Mr. Rooney), the Chairman of the Select Committee, was right to discuss what people would do in their mid to late 50s and beyond. There needs to be a general change in attitude and understanding of how those in the latter years of their working lives will be best employed. That will mean retraining and ensuring that opportunities exist for people. The White Paper contained announcements for carers and women. The Department has carried out research that demonstrates that pensions are not high among women’s priorities, but that, thankfully, that will change. Women tend to be more concerned about their families’ short to medium-term needs than saving for their future, and feel that their partner should or will provide for their retirement. They rarely think of pensions when making child-related employment choices, and few would have made different life choices if they had considered their future financial position. I worry even now when I watch programmes and witness young people, especially women—some are in their mid to late 30s and are professional people—who openly admit that they have made no attempt to provide for their retirement. It worries me when people of that age group who work in the City and who, one would think, know better, have made no provision. The word ““consensus”” is bandied about the Chamber too often. When I came into the Chamber earlier, one of my colleagues said that I had a weakness in that I made rash judgments about the Opposition. If that is my only weakness, I am delighted. However, I worry that ““consensus”” trips off the tongue nicely, and has done so more often since the main Opposition party appointed a new leader towards the end of last year. For me, the jury is still out on whether we will reach consensus in the Chamber on the issue that we are considering, or any other. When we discussed the recent ombudsman’s report, the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond), when pressed by the Secretary of State about what he would do about it, refused to give a commitment and merely said that he would look to the future. Yet the hon. Member for Eastbourne (Mr. Waterson) said in response to my hon. Friend the Member for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock (Sandra Osborne) that the Conservative party would consider unclaimed assets to deal with the matter. I believed that two Front Benchers would have given the same answer to the same question. Consensus is needed, but perhaps not political consensus in the Chamber and the other place. Consensus is needed in the country because what we determine will affect everyone’s future and we therefore need to carry people with us. We do not need some sort of consensus that is discussed here, but does nothing more than blur the edges and allow people to say that we are all the same in any case. We are not all the same, and the White Paper is a genuine starting point for the future of the pensioners of tomorrow.