Speeches by Bedford.

“Specifically, what governance arrangements should the Pensions Regulator prioritise to ensure that members feel that they are better represented?”

“In the first evidence session there was a bit of frustration about ensuring that members’ interests are properly heard. What are your views about ensuring that there is better engagement with members on things like surplus extraction, discretionary payments, etc.?”

“The pensions Bill, the changes that are coming in around the trustees and release of surpluses have been mentioned. How confident are you that the changes will meet the members’ expectations? We have touched on the 50:50 assumption.”

“Yes, but in that situation, if the scheme is going to go into a deficit, there would still be pressure on the employer to then plug that gap, wouldn’t there? In a roundabout way, it would still—”

“Business confidence is shaky at the moment. I think there was a report last week that said that it has declined for five consecutive quarters. I want to get your view on how that is potentially impacting the making of discretionary payments by employers.”

“But what is your solution to that—introduce that fixed percentage?”

“I am trying to bring all this together. What would you like to see Government doing or not doing in the Bill to enhance the benefits to your members?”

“Yes.”

“This is going a little off-topic, but it is connected to increasing the power of the trustees in this space. In the Bill—and this is not part of this session—we have the mandation point, about mandating investments, which is essentially the powers of the Secretary of State that could be used. That arguably dilutes the …”

“I think you have just touched on my first question. You argue for changes in legislation to strengthen the rights of members to share the surplus, which I totally understand. A number of us on this Committee also served on the Pension Schemes Bill Committee, so we have seen lots of arguments around this. However, the G…”

“For a number of years, a lot of these schemes obviously were in huge deficit and then they swung into surpluses when interest rates fluctuated. In my understanding, there is quite a significant backlog in buy-outs at the minute in terms of the insurance industry’s ability to basically take those forward. The next set o…”

“My constituent Kelly Hatfield sadly lost her father Ken Purnell as a result of the covid-19 vaccination. The family received a vaccine damage payment, yet the sum, which has not increased since 2007, falls short of the loss, trauma and long-term financial impact on these families. Will the Minister explain why that one…”

“1. What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the vaccine damage payment scheme.”

“Too many young people are being saddled with huge debts from universities with little to show by way of career prospects. There is a clear case for the Government to slash poor-value degrees and redirect the savings to the apprenticeship budget, doubling it to, say, £6 billion a year. Will the Secretary of State explai…”

“Many of these agreements were established 50, 60 or 70 years ago, in a completely different world. They are completely outdated and are not applicable to modern Britain. With regard to the hon. and learned Member’s comment about the returns agreement, which has been mentioned by other hon. Members, when an agreement wa…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I thank the hundreds of Mid Leicestershire residents who took the time to sign the two petitions. I want to speak directly to each and every one of them: you are absolutely right to sign, and you should not feel ashamed, belittled or even embarrassed for d…”

“Q3. Business confidence has fallen for five consecutive quarters, and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has said that there are significant concerns in the housing market. The Prime Minister could inject some confidence back into the economy, he could help working families to get on to the housing ladder, an…”

“The Climate Change Act forces Ministers to meet rigid, legally binding emissions targets, regardless of the economic consequences. Does the Secretary of State accept that this law has directly contributed to higher energy bills, the loss of British industry and declining competitiveness, and that the only sensible cour…”

“Before I begin, I thank the hon. Member for Aberdeen North (Kirsty Blackman) for introducing the ten-minute rule Bill today. While we may not agree on the Bill, I believe that this House is at its best when Members argue for what they believe in, and I am glad we have the opportunity to do so today. My Conservative col…”

“I trust the pensions industry to make those judgments because they are the experts in this area, not Government Ministers, who often have short-term views. On Second Reading, one of my hon. Friends raised the example of HS2 and how Government priorities and policies can change over time. Would the hon. Member be happy …”