My Lords, it is a great pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Meacher, and I applaud her campaign. Recent years have seen a number of key changes to the UK pensions landscape, some concerning accumulation, such as auto-enrolment and master trusts, and some decumulation, notably pension freedoms. Some concern...

My Lords, it is a great pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Meacher, and I applaud her campaign. Recent years have seen a number of key changes to the UK pensions landscape, some concerning accumulation, such as auto-enrolment and master trusts, and some decumulation, notably pension freedoms. Some concern...

My Lords, this has been an informed but brief debate and we should be grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Luce, who rightly prompted us to seek an update on the Fit for Work scheme, which has now been under way for more than a year. The particular focus of...

My Lords, this has been an informed but brief debate and we should be grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Luce, who rightly prompted us to seek an update on the Fit for Work scheme, which has now been under way for more than a year. The particular focus of...

My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend Lady McDonagh for initiating this, albeit brief, debate. I plan to use my three minutes to focus on one point. Before I do so, I will say that it is hard to look aside from the mounting problems of A&E departments,...

My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend Lady McDonagh for initiating this, albeit brief, debate. I plan to use my three minutes to focus on one point. Before I do so, I will say that it is hard to look aside from the mounting problems of A&E departments,...

My Lords, I will speak just briefly on this. It seems to me that the importance of this amendment has been heightened by the documentation we got just yesterday from the DWP, which emphasised that half a million people are going to miss out under the new system compared with...

My Lords, I will speak just briefly on this. It seems to me that the importance of this amendment has been heightened by the documentation we got just yesterday from the DWP, which emphasised that half a million people are going to miss out under the new system compared with...

My Lords, we have strong sympathy with these amendments, spoken to so effectively by the noble Baronesses, Lady Meacher and Lady Finlay. We had a bit of a canter around this issue in Committee, focusing particularly on 16 to 24 year-olds. I took from that debate, and the Minister may...

My Lords, we have strong sympathy with these amendments, spoken to so effectively by the noble Baronesses, Lady Meacher and Lady Finlay. We had a bit of a canter around this issue in Committee, focusing particularly on 16 to 24 year-olds. I took from that debate, and the Minister may...

My Lords, I simply say that some compelling and moving personal circumstances have been advanced in support of the amendment and I hope that the noble Lord will feel able to accept it, or a version of it.

My Lords, I simply say that some compelling and moving personal circumstances have been advanced in support of the amendment and I hope that the noble Lord will feel able to accept it, or a version of it.

My Lords, as the Minister said, we have an amendment in this group that I do not propose to move as I accept it has been superseded by the Government’s formulation—this listening Government that we have on this issue. It is to be welcomed that the Government have accepted the...

My Lords, as the Minister said, we have an amendment in this group that I do not propose to move as I accept it has been superseded by the Government’s formulation—this listening Government that we have on this issue. It is to be welcomed that the Government have accepted the...

My Lords, I will speak briefly in support of the amendment. The case has been very clearly made. The amendment is seeking the assurance of something written in primary legislation rather than the comfort that was given that this could be dealt with in regulations. Perhaps I may take the...

My Lords, I will speak briefly in support of the amendment. The case has been very clearly made. The amendment is seeking the assurance of something written in primary legislation rather than the comfort that was given that this could be dealt with in regulations. Perhaps I may take the...

My Lords, I, too, shall be brief because, as the noble Baroness, Lady Thomas, has said, the Minister has flagged his acceptance of the amendments in this group. The debate in Committee led by the noble Baroness, Lady Thomas, centred in particular on the importance of keeping a qualifying period...

My Lords, I, too, shall be brief because, as the noble Baroness, Lady Thomas, has said, the Minister has flagged his acceptance of the amendments in this group. The debate in Committee led by the noble Baroness, Lady Thomas, centred in particular on the importance of keeping a qualifying period...

It is clear that the Government are going to have to do some of this anyway, but in terms of an overall time period it is clearly a matter of some months rather than weeks, but not a matter of years. It depends on the determination and effort that the...

It is clear that the Government are going to have to do some of this anyway, but in terms of an overall time period it is clearly a matter of some months rather than weeks, but not a matter of years. It depends on the determination and effort that the...

My Lords, we support this amendment, moved so comprehensively by the noble Baroness, Lady Grey-Thompson, and spoken to so effectively by the noble Lord, Lord Low. I would say to the noble Lord, Lord Newton, that in doing so we are not motivated by a belief that this is all...

My Lords, we support this amendment, moved so comprehensively by the noble Baroness, Lady Grey-Thompson, and spoken to so effectively by the noble Lord, Lord Low. I would say to the noble Lord, Lord Newton, that in doing so we are not motivated by a belief that this is all...

Could the noble Lord give us a bit more detail of that estimate? The figure of £1.4 billion seems to trip off the tongue as the cost of any amendment that we pursue.

Could the noble Lord give us a bit more detail of that estimate? The figure of £1.4 billion seems to trip off the tongue as the cost of any amendment that we pursue.

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (John Denham) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement. Today I am announcing the successful proposals for England to receive a share of the Migration Impacts Fund. The fund provides £35 million across the UK for 2009-10...

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (John Denham) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement. Today I am announcing the successful proposals for England to receive a share of the Migration Impacts Fund. The fund provides £35 million across the UK for 2009-10...

Schedule 2: Abolition of income support: consequential amendments Amendment 84 84: Schedule 2, page 68, line 32, leave out paragraph 9 Amendment 84 agreed. Schedule 2, as amended, agreed. Clause 8 : Power to direct claimant to undertake specific work-related activity Amendments 85 to 93 not moved. Clause 8 agreed.

Schedule 2: Abolition of income support: consequential amendments Amendment 84 84: Schedule 2, page 68, line 32, leave out paragraph 9 Amendment 84 agreed. Schedule 2, as amended, agreed. Clause 8 : Power to direct claimant to undertake specific work-related activity Amendments 85 to 93 not moved. Clause 8 agreed.

I thank my noble friend Lady Turner for her amendment, which gives me another opportunity to provide some reassurance—I hope—on issues on which, I acknowledge from what she and other noble Lords have said, they have had a lot of correspondence. On the issue about reference and engagement of the...

I thank my noble friend Lady Turner for her amendment, which gives me another opportunity to provide some reassurance—I hope—on issues on which, I acknowledge from what she and other noble Lords have said, they have had a lot of correspondence. On the issue about reference and engagement of the...

I am certainly happy to see whether we can reconsider the drafting to address that point more specifically. I understand the issue that is being raised.

I am certainly happy to see whether we can reconsider the drafting to address that point more specifically. I understand the issue that is being raised.

I was just coming to that very point. Amendments 101 and 102 focus on this particular power. Amendment 101 removes it entirely, and Amendment 102 exempts health and social care workers from its scope. Both amendments would prevent the use I have just described. We also intend to use this...

I was just coming to that very point. Amendments 101 and 102 focus on this particular power. Amendment 101 removes it entirely, and Amendment 102 exempts health and social care workers from its scope. Both amendments would prevent the use I have just described. We also intend to use this...

It is very much to cover the circumstances that the noble Baroness identified. If somebody has come into Jobcentre Plus, been asked about drug dependency and has answered that they have none, but the flows of information from the police suggest otherwise, having that information available to Jobcentre Plus is...

It is very much to cover the circumstances that the noble Baroness identified. If somebody has come into Jobcentre Plus, been asked about drug dependency and has answered that they have none, but the flows of information from the police suggest otherwise, having that information available to Jobcentre Plus is...

I am happy to deal with that point and I promise that I shall come to it shortly. We do not intend to use the power to authorise the supply of information obtained by persons in the course of providing treatment, counselling or care to claimants. For example, the power...

I am happy to deal with that point and I promise that I shall come to it shortly. We do not intend to use the power to authorise the supply of information obtained by persons in the course of providing treatment, counselling or care to claimants. For example, the power...

I find myself in the uncomfortable position of having to resist this amendment, although the Government are not unsympathetic to the arguments put forward. The noble Lord, Lord Taylor, referred to Clause 12. I am pleased to see that we were able to make that development in the Commons. In...

I find myself in the uncomfortable position of having to resist this amendment, although the Government are not unsympathetic to the arguments put forward. The noble Lord, Lord Taylor, referred to Clause 12. I am pleased to see that we were able to make that development in the Commons. In...