Speeches by Egan.

“Louise, I am going to keep you and the panel focused on that 2030, 2050 vision. We know that young people generally—not least those who are not in employment, education or training—are particularly vulnerable to labour market changes. With that crystal ball, we know there is massive change in the world of work and what…”

“I just wanted to follow up on the point about the Government’s skills and training offers that are available to people over 19. Are there particular examples that have proven to be beneficial?”

“On the co-production model, Secretary of State, you are quite right to assert that it is the Government that make the final decisions. I do not necessarily need a comment from you on this, but I want to flag that there are so many good examples from local government of disabled people’s commissions that were genuinely …”

“Q8. Immigration is the No. 1 issue on the doorsteps of Bristol North East: most people will ask me about it. They want a firm but also fair approach, but they have been let down over many years. Controlling our borders and knowing who comes here is essential, not least to integration. What can the Prime Minister say to…”

“This is a sensitive area, so I will be careful, but one of the things I was struck by on visits to my local jobcentre and from feedback is the increasing number of people using translation services. It is still a minority, but there is a real challenge that has been raised with us. The lack of availability of English l…”

“Exactly, and I think people feel disrespected. I want to know more about your thoughts on that and on timescales, because obviously this will take time.”

“Secretary of State, you have spoken, I felt passionately, about some of the challenges facing the welfare state and talked about how Governments have had to address and change things to meet the challenges of the current time. One of the principles that you have spoken about is an element of contribution-based benefits…”

“We will draw on those points, but first, what are the main barriers to employment for disabled people and those with long-term health conditions who want to and who are capable of work?”

“Could someone from the panel highlight the variance in the regional inequalities that exist in the employment gap? Also, what other characteristics, beyond geography, are particularly associated with ill health-related economic inactivity?”

“It is a very important point, because also that world, as Michelle highlighted, is changing so quickly when it comes to employment and needs.”

“We have touched on some of these already. I was going to ask how you would describe the respective roles of employers and trustees in the decision making, just to make that clear for the panel, and how that has changed over time. I was also going to ask about the impact, but that is clear from the chart that you have p…”

“Interesting. Do you feel that, as policymakers, we have all the information that we need to understand these trends?”

“We have heard some evidence from the first panel. I would like to get your views on how you would describe the trends in decision making on discretionary payments and what has been driving them. We have seen, despite higher inflation in recent years, improved scheme funding levels. We have heard that against the eviden…”

“Q I would like to move us on to the aspects of the Bill that place a duty on schemes to offer members default retirement products. We touched on it a bit this morning. What do you think they could look like? Sophia Singleton: I might start on this because I think that the Bill should not set out what the product looks …”

“So do I.”

“Q Christopher, a number of us are on the Work and Pensions Committee and we know that one of many big issues is people coming up to retirement and being prepared—even knowing how much they have got to take into retirement. How do you see this Bill—you have talked through some of the challenges—helping people to prepare…”

“That is fantastic to hear. Will the Secretary of State set out the practical impact of the west of England youth guarantee trailblazer so far? Assuming that it is positive, will she confirm plans to back it up with more investment, in order to support our young people in the Bristol area?”

“13. What steps is she taking to support young people into employment, education or training in Bristol North East constituency.”

“We asked the last panel about discretionary housing payments and the household support fund. What are your thoughts about those funds being brought together? How important are those funds for the local authorities that you see? Also, they are spent and used differently in different places as they have a discretionary a…”

“I want to ask about the increasing numbers of HMOs in some areas, and how that could be linked to the freezing of LHA. We are seeing it in Bristol, but I remember from my time in Lewisham where you would get landlords converting a house into one-bed flats in a cheaper part of London but were able to charge one-bed LHA …”