Speeches by Darling.

“I think home education is a massive issue, because it has virtually doubled. Do you see part of that as a failing in the SEND system? Were you alluding to that, or was I misreading that? There seems to be a bit of a cultural thing in society that, if your kids are having a hard time at school, sometimes the easiest thi…”

“I was interested to hear you talk about mission-based government. Part of that is about driving a culture change. How do we get—I am sure that this will be a short answer—the whole of the orchestra of government and society to work together to drive that culture change, so that we see the change we need to achieve that…”

“Do you have any reflections from other countries that you care to share?”

“Thank you for coming today; it really is appreciated. First, I want to unpick sickness and disability, and how that plays out in the life of a NEET young person. Secondly, we touched earlier on how other countries are able to get in there. Do you have any reflections on that? Thirdly, you have already touched on the do…”

“I would like to raise with the Minister the fact that we are looking at around 1,000 redundancies across the NHS in Devon, which is a significant employer. That is cutting the legs off employment in communities such as mine in Torbay.”

“It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Walsall and Bloxwich (Valerie Vaz). One would normally imagine that the King’s Speech was an opportunity to press the reset button, but I fear that Labour Members are searching for another reset button at this time. We Liberal Democrats fear that the King’s Speech is…”

“The Liberal Democrats have opposed mandation from day one, and we have continued to oppose it throughout the passage of this Bill. The challenge is that once we cross the Rubicon, we change the dynamics of pensions significantly. Crucially, people need to have confidence that contributing to pensions is a good way of s…”

“The hon. Gentleman makes a powerful point; I am sure that the Minister will reflect on it when winding up. The Liberal Democrats continue to oppose mandation, and we plan to vote against the motion tonight.”

“The Liberal Democrats have opposed mandation from day one, and we have continued to oppose it throughout the passage of this Bill. The challenge is that once we cross the Rubicon, we change the dynamics of pensions significantly. Crucially, people need to have confidence that contributing to pensions is a good way of s…”

“The hon. Gentleman makes a powerful point; I am sure that the Minister will reflect on it when winding up. The Liberal Democrats continue to oppose mandation, and we plan to vote against the motion tonight.”

“The Department for Work and Pensions is currently reviewing over 200,000 cases of overpayments for carers, some of whom have accrued up to £20,000 through a situation not of their own making. In the light of this, will the Secretary of State stop applying carers penalties until the Department has completed this review?”

“Last week, I described mandation as a Trojan horse that had been sneaked into this Bill. Ministers have been sawing three legs off that Trojan horse, but it is still attempting to hop over the finish line at this late stage, and it still has something within it that is not welcomed by our pension industry. The pension …”

“A recent Guardian report highlighted how young people from more deprived communities are facing discrimination through the apprenticeship system. As my hon. Friend the Member for South Devon (Caroline Voaden) alluded to, there is a penalty if someone’s family also receives child benefit. How can the Minister intervene …”

“We need a Government who act as a facilitator of investment, but do not dictate investment. That way, we can ensure that we have a pipeline of opportunities that feed the Mansion House accord. The Government should be making the right weather for investment in the United Kingdom and creating opportunities for investmen…”

“As the shadow Secretary of State has said, there is a lot to be welcomed in the Bill. In considering the Bill, we have looked to Australia and Canada, and at best practice throughout the world, and there is much we have drawn from. For the Liberal Democrats, the pensions world that we are looking to enter with this Bil…”

“That would be really helpful. Would you recommend that the Government’s pivot towards the lower end is a short-term move for two to three years, to try to tackle the NEETs challenge at the moment, which can then be recalibrated in the longer term back towards level 7, so that there is the opportunity to develop people …”

“This is the main question I want to explore with you. Clearly, as John as alluded to, you do not have a dedicated element focusing on youth and getting young people into work, so you need to ensure that it goes through your organisation like Torquay through a stick of rock. How do we achieve that? There is another elem…”

“Is there anything we could learn from similar economies in Europe, Canada or Australia in terms of boosting funding appropriately?”

“Is the evidence that you have shared publicly available, or can you point us towards it?”

“You have said warm words about it. How do you evidence that? Is it set within people’s targets in your organisation and their personal priorities? Is it set in the priorities of your personal performance management? What is in your personal performance management plan over the next 12 months to do with young people?”