Speeches by Darling.

“Are there any international comparisons? Ben was mentioning Sweden, but are there any international examples you could point to as proof of where this works particularly well?”

“I would like to focus on people towards the end of their working lives. We have already started to unpick that, but I want to go a bit deeper and think about what support should be provided for older workers towards having a better retirement and what this would look like.”

“Disability News Service has stated that both the Treasury and the DWP have refused to clarify the £1.9 billion of cuts to disability benefits set to take place over the next five years that were quietly sneaked into the Budget the other week. Will the Minister now set the record straight and advise us on how those cuts…”

“The Liberal Democrats welcome the fact that the Government have accepted the findings of the Sayce review into carer’s allowance overpayments, but what assurances can the Minister give that the Government will stop hounding carers about overpayments? Will the Government also apologise?”

“My hon. Friend makes a powerful point. I will conclude by saying that there are malevolent powers in power across the Atlantic, and many of us are shocked at what we are seeing emanating from the Oval Office. Let us not give a future Government powers that could be ill used.”

“As someone whose constituency has had reports of Russian spies infiltrating through our harbour, one might think that I would be very much in favour of digital ID. However, it will clearly do nothing about the Russian threat, the small boats crossing the water or fraud in the workplace. I thank the more than 6,000 resi…”

“It is almost as if my hon. Friend had just seen the next section of my speech. We see such investment as an opportunity to drive social rented housing, our high streets and other investment in our communities. We need to ensure that UK institutions are the first, second and third investors in opportunities in the UK so…”

“The right hon. Member makes a powerful point. I am sure that the Minister will take note and reflect on it further. I would like to reflect on the proposals to enhance pre-1997 pensions by up to 2.5%, which the Chancellor announced last week. Amendments providing for those measures have now been tabled. We know that th…”

“Thank you for the audio description! There is much to be welcomed in the Bill, and the way that we rattled through it in Committee demonstrated that there is lots of good within it. However, as a constructive Opposition and a critical friend, I will spend most of my time reflecting on where there could be improvement. …”

“I wholeheartedly agree with my hon. Friend. I am sure that the Pensions Minister is listening. Politics is all about calling out injustice, and my hon. Friend does a good job of that for his constituents.”

“Would the Minister be kind enough to share the timescale he is working to for these proposals?”

“For people who are lucky in the lottery of life, their pension can be one of their biggest assets, but, sadly, we know that 12 million people across the United Kingdom are not saving enough. That is around the population of Belgium. Talking more broadly, there is much about the legislation to be welcomed. I am sure the…”

“Perhaps the most important commodity for a Chancellor is not finance but trust. We saw how the Conservatives wrecked the country’s trust in them with partygate and the scandal of the fast track to personal protective equipment contracts for those who were in the know. I am afraid to say that what we have seen with the …”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I congratulate the hon. Member for Amber Valley (Linsey Farnsworth) on securing this debate on such an auspicious day: it gives the Minister a chance to truly unpack what the Chancellor has been able to share with us—and consequently amaze us. We are here agha…”

“David, do come in, sorry. That is me being visually impaired.”

“The other bit I wanted to talk about, which you have touched on, was about neurodiversity, but equally I am concerned that that is beginning to overshadow learning disability. Quite often the educational system is gearing up for the neurodiverse and expecting the moderately learning disabled to be taught in mainstream.…”

“Does anybody know the number of those with learning disability within this cohort, and whether it has increased or whether it is a continuing segment?”

“Any reflections from colleagues?”

“Thank you very much for giving up your time today to share your wisdom with us. I want to unpick how risk factors tend to layer around and compound those who are NEET. We have already started to unpick this. One area that I am quite concerned about, which has been strengthening since the pandemic, is home education and…”

“When you say quite a lot, what does that usually mean?”