Pension Schemes Bill

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that question. The number is substantially higher. I had to a...

May I be very clear that both the Select Committee and the Opposition welcome auto-enrolment and ...

The hon. Lady will be aware that there was a decade between the first stirrings of the Turner rep...

The Minister talks about poor value for money, but essentially is the problem not the private pen...

I always enjoy it when the hon. Gentleman intervenes to make that point. In a sense, he has been ...

I would like the opportunity to answer every point made by the Minister, but let me ask him one s...

But the idea that if the economy does very badly tax-funded pensions are secure is implausible. I...

I represent a significant number of providers in my constituency, including Legal and General, Pa...

Order. The hon. Gentleman might be better off making his point in two interventions, because othe...

Let me make a start, and I will then be happy to give way again. To be clear, the £20 million is ...

I will take advantage of your invitation, Mr Deputy Speaker. I am not suggesting anything other t...

Will my hon. Friend give way? [Laughter.]

I do not think that my hon. Friend can intervene on an intervention, but I will give way to him i...

On behalf of my constituents in Northumberland, I wholeheartedly welcome this reform, which has b...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that important point about the potential market and d...

The Minister has just mentioned the regulatory regime. Has he given any thought to how we will re...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. That is an issue that the Work and Pensions Committee, of which ...

It was striking to hear the Minister refer to a “revolution” and a “war”—not terms one usually as...

The shadow Minister’s point would be stronger if in the past when people purchased annuities that...

The hon. Gentleman is a doughty fighter for better pensions and I respect that, but I ask him to ...

rose—

I will give way to the hon. Gentleman in a moment. Let me make the point again in case it has bee...

rose—

I will give way to the hon. Member for Hexham (Guy Opperman) and then to the Secretary of State.<...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for allowing me to intervene before the Secretary of State, b...

I will come back to the hon. Gentleman’s point after letting the Secretary of State come in.

I have become a little confused about the Opposition’s position, so perhaps the hon. Gentleman co...

Given that Labour in opposition led the way in calling for reform of the annuities market, we wel...

rose—

I will make a little more progress and then let in hon. Members from all parts of the Government ...

Will the hon. Gentleman clarify the evolution of the Opposition’s thinking? In government, six mo...

I would like to take all the credit, of course— having not been in the previous Parliament—but in...

I understand the hon. Gentleman’s point, but is there not a reverse problem when someone wants to...

I am rarely accused of making pensions less complex, so I shall take the hon. Gentleman’s comment...

I paraphrase the Minister when I say that it is probably fair to say that like holy matrimony pen...

Is it not fundamental that, given the failures of annuities, the Government provide extra flexibi...

I confess that I wholeheartedly support the Treasury’s belief in the principle of freedom to whic...

Does the hon. Gentleman share my concern that the move to individualism will potentially shoot aw...

I do share some of those concerns. I agreed to a certain extent with the Opposition spokesman’s p...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Cities of London and Westminster (Mark Field). A n...

It is a pleasure to speak in this debate and welcome the many positive measures in the Bill, whic...

My hon. Friend raises some excellent points. He does not specifically mention governance, which c...

Yes. I have not been totally clear. I was alluding to the fact that these schemes will be even ha...

I did not respond properly to the hon. Gentleman when he intervened on me on this matter. Broadly...

That is a helpful clarification, but we have still had the bizarre situation in which the Pension...

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that often when there is too much choice people are paralysed and e...

Yes. Some data suggest that the optimum number of choices is four. If there are 20 choices in a m...

In noting the interesting points that the hon. Member for Amber Valley (Nigel Mills) raised, I pa...

I am listening with interest, as I always do, to the experienced right hon. Gentleman. I understa...

I have great respect for the hon. Gentleman despite our big political differences. I anticipated ...

I start with an apology to the House because I had to attend two Committees earlier so could not ...

I apologise to my right hon. Friend the Minister for missing some of his speech and to the hon. M...

I am enjoying my hon. Friend’s characteristically well informed speech. To reassure him on indust...

I am not sure that tulips and the Netherlands are necessarily an appropriate model. One of the ea...

The one asset my hon. Friend did not mention is the house a person owns, which I suspect people w...

My hon. Friend makes an important point and he is right to pick up on that omission. When we thin...

It is a pleasure to wind up this relatively short but interesting and important debate. Despite p...

Will the hon. Lady make her position clear? Is she saying that what should be offered to every pe...

No, we have not called for regulated advice, but I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will agree tha...

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for giving way, as she is being very generous. If she does not wan...

To the extent that we have this debate about advice and guidance, I am sure that the hon. Gentlem...

It is a great pleasure to respond to this Second Reading debate. As we have heard, it has perhaps...

Many of the large number of people in the middle, as the Minister puts it, will be looking forwar...

That is why we are bringing in the guidance guarantee. That is why we want to ensure that people ...