Saving Gateway Accounts Bill

This has been an enjoyable Bill to be involved with, and I am grateful to Members of all parties for that. The debate has been good-humoured and largely consensual, and we have done some good work. At worst, the Bill will put about £250 million into the pockets of people on low incomes that they would not have otherwise had. At best, it will encourage some of those on low incomes to get into the savings habit to make their lives a bit more comfortable in the future. I do not believe that any Government other than a Labour Government would ever have contemplated introducing such a Bill. It might have taken slightly longer to get here than we envisaged, given that we first put it in the 2001 manifesto, but the fact that it has reached this stage is most welcome. Not only have we had an enjoyable time bringing the Bill to this point, we have even won an important and welcome concession from the Government on ensuring that carers of working age will be included in the ambit of the Bill, as the result of an amendment that my hon. Friend the Economic Secretary has said he will introduce in the Lords. It is not often that Members win a concession from the Government, and I am sure that the Whips will be keen to point out that it was won through argument and persuasion, without the need for blood to be spilled on the floor of the Lobby. I am grateful to my hon. Friend for the open way in which he listened to arguments and accepted them, and for saying that he will act to address the matter. The one thing that we need to think a little more about is the fact that we are all being a little bit po-faced about the objectives of the Bill. The whole purpose of it is to get people into the savings habit, but we seem to be assuming that that will be a positive thing only if they carry on saving everything and keep all their money in the bank. I believe that if we manage to encourage people on low incomes to do some saving, one of the best ways to encourage them to keep saving in future will be if they spend some of the money that they gain on something fun. I would not want us to create an environment in which people think that they have to put every penny of the benefit that they gain from a saving gateway account into another savings account immediately and lock it away there for their retirement. I hope that some of my constituents use it to buy themselves a new pair of fancy shoes or a weekend break with the family. As long as they get the savings habit and carry on saving, the Bill will have been well worth while. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Economic Secretary on his work in bringing it this far.