Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill

My Lords, I have put my name to this amendment and will briefly signify my support. There is not ...

My Lords, there is no one in this Chamber who would not like to see support for those on low inco...

To pensioners.

Yes, the noble Baroness, Lady Hollis, makes the point that a large percentage went to pensioners,...

My Lords, I hesitate to give the noble Lord a lesson in economics, but the problem that the Gover...

I do not think that was a lesson in economics but a lesson in magic. If that is the case, why do ...

Exactly.

The noble Lord seems to think that the reason why the economy is not growing is that the state is...

My Lords, I agree with a particular point that my noble friend has made and would like to add tha...

My Lords, I have lent my name in support of this amendment, and I am happy to speak in support of...

My Lords, I do not think that anyone could claim that I was other than at the wet end of the Cons...

My Lords, in his speech moving the amendment, the noble Lord, Lord McKenzie, made it perfectly cl...

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord German, referred to the Opposition’s support for the cap on salary...

My Lords, there have been some very powerful speeches in this debate. I am very grateful to all m...

My Lords, I start by thanking the noble Lord, Lord Low, for his support for the amendments in thi...

Will the noble Lord confirm that no benefits in this country have been cut in cash terms, as they...

Housing benefit is one such benefit. Council tax benefit has been dumped on local authorities wit...

The Government’s ability even to pay this level of benefit will partly depend on our ability to b...

My Lords, of course we are aware of what is going on in Europe, and I shall come on to issues of ...

I am following the noble Lord’s argument very carefully. If he is saying that we can get growth a...

My Lords, I make the commitment that we should review on the usual basis at each uprating period....

Moved by

The Lord Bishop of Ripon and Leeds

2: Clause 1, page 1, line 4, at end inser...

My Lords, I will also speak to the other amendments in this group. Amendments 2 and 8 are paving ...

My Lords, I thank the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Ripon and Leeds for introducing this a...

My Lords, this amendment is simply a variation on the previous amendment. In the previous debate,...

He did, actually.

I am happy to give way to him if he wants to explain where the money would come from, but I suspe...

The noble Lord keeps going on about debt. Is it not right that, because of the failures of the no...

I am utterly amazed by the noble Lord. He is now criticising us for spending £200 billion more th...

My Lords, I have taken no part in this debate so far. Has the noble Lord not suggested somewhere ...

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Griffiths of Burry Port. I did not think that he ...

My Lords, I support what my noble friend Lord Forsyth said. When the right reverend Prelate comes...

My Lords, the whole House can agree on one thing. We all want to support families with children a...

My Lords, I am grateful to all those who have taken part in this debate and, indeed, to the Minis...

I am most grateful to the right reverend Prelate. My criticism was that he did not say which of t...

My Lords, I would have thought that the right reverend Prelate’s point was that we are facing pol...

I thank the noble Lord and the noble Baroness for the answers they have given each other on this....

I wonder whether the right reverend Prelate will understand this point. He is making specific rem...

My Lords, I have made a number of specific suggestions as to ways in which this money could be pr...

Moved by

Lord Low of Dalston

3: Clause 1, page 1, line 5, at end insert—

“(1A) ...

My Lords, Amendment 3 would remove from the 1% uprating cap all aspects of the employment and sup...

My Lords, my noble friend Lord Deben is not in the Chamber although I had a word with him outside...

My Lords, we have added our names to this amendment moved so comprehensively by the noble Lord, L...

As the noble Lord understands some of the complexities of this matter which many others may find ...

The total cost is certainly less than that proposed for the totality of the arrangements in the B...

The noble Lord is a signatory to this amendment. He is speaking for the Official Opposition and i...

It depends on what the alternative proposition would be. I have tried to stress that this amendme...

My Lords, all of us want to protect those who are furthest from the labour market or who have add...

I am grateful to all those who have spoken and to the Minister for her full reply. A fair amount ...

Moved by

Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope

4: Clause 1, page 2, line 2, at end insert—

...

My Lords, my Amendments 4 and 9 in this group take us into much lighter territory. I hope that th...

I have looked carefully at my noble friend’s amendment and listened to his speech with care, but ...

The remedy would simply be that if 3% was breached, then the clauses in the Bill fall and there w...

My Lords, I am not an economist. I declare an interest as chief executive of a cancer research ch...

I should have asked my noble Lord friend Lord Kirkwood, this; he is an expert on uprating. The no...

That is correct. As normal, the House would receive an annual uprating SI, there would be a debat...

My Lords, I have my name to Amendment 12. I support what my noble friend Lady Morgan of Drefelin ...

My Lords—

Oh!

The noble Lord, Lord Foulkes, normally cheers when I get up to speak, but not on this occasion, p...

Since the noble Lord asked, let me tell him. I am looking him straight in the eye. I have voted f...

The noble Lord and I both have our crosses to bear in the coalition. I am grateful for his confir...

Can the noble Lord help me? Is he arguing that the best way to protect people against inflation i...

Yes, got it in one. The one thing that we learnt in the 1970s was that indexation, like other pal...

If the noble Lord follows that argument through, is he therefore saying that, should inflation ha...

I have the highest regard and respect for the noble Baroness, Lady Hollis. She knows more about s...

I support the noble Lord, Lord Forsyth, but I want to go one step further. He has dealt incredibl...

My Lords, let me make it clear that we support each of these amendments. The request in the amend...

Would the noble Lord apply the same principle to pay in the public sector?

We are talking about specific provisions in the Bill about the uprating of benefits. The noble Lo...

I was asking the noble Lord a straightforward question. He is enunciating the principle that if i...

My Lords, we are debating a different Bill. If the noble Lord wants to debate a proposition about...

My Lords, the first amendment in this group in the name of my noble friend Lord Kirkwood would me...

In that case, why do the Government have any problem in accepting this amendment?

I am coming on to that. In fact, I will deal with it now. It is relevant to the point that was ma...

Can the noble Lord tell me how the markets have moved in response to the Government borrowing £20...

The reason why they have not moved is that the Government have not changed our underlying policy....

I think it is me, in fact, but let that pass. I am grateful to my noble friend. He and I had a go...

Is not the key point here that the Government have to be able to convey credibility to those arou...

I thought that we had lost our rating. I have now lost my drift.

This is very simple. This ...