Laura Trott
MP for Sevenoaks · Conservative · United Kingdom
“Well, that is a load of rubbish. The Secretary of State says that she is proud of the action that the Government are taking on pay. May I suggest that one of the reasons teachers are angry is that they still do not know their pay?”
“The resignation of the Prime Minister this morning was a damning indictment of the record of this Government over the last two years. Part of the Prime Minister’s legacy will be teacher morale at an all-time low.”
“We have moved so far, and things have only changed because of the unity of those on the Opposition Benches, because of Lord Nash’s brilliant campaign and because of the coalition behind Raise the Age.”
“On Friday, after Labour MPs had repeatedly blocked a social media ban for under-16s, we had a new proposal from the Government. It was not a serious response to the issue we are facing. It gave the Government three years to take unspecified action on social media, which was nowhere near good enough. Today, that has changed.”
“My right hon. Friend is always correct to be worried, but he will know that in Lord Nash’s amendment a 12-month delay was written in. I think it is reasonable to give the Government some time to bring the measure forward.”
“I welcome the Government’s constructive engagement on this issue, and we see a new proposal today that has a much more acceptable timeframe, albeit not as short as I would like. Every month of delay just leaves children more exposed to the harms of social media online.”
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“We have also gained insight from those in the pensions industry and consumer groups through two public consultations and other fora. The delivery of pensions dashboards needs to be both timely and operationally manageable for both the pensions dashboards programme and the pensions industry. The regulations set out a phased approach, known as staging, to connect different categories of scheme to MaPS. By prioritising schemes in order of type and membership size, we can maximise the member coverage on pensions dashboards in the shortest possible timeframe. Schemes will connect to the MaPS digital architecture, which is the technology that underpins dashboards. The architecture, and all parties and technical services that connect to it, form the dashboard ecosystem. All Members are eager to see dashboards made available to the public.”
“The Pensions Policy Institute estimated in its most recent paper on lost pots that the total value could be up to £26.6 billion. Instead of relying on a box of paper under the stairs, pensions dashboards will help individuals to find their lost and forgotten pensions quickly and easily, and all in one place. We are setting up a brand-new digital service that will connect thousands of individual pensions schemes covering millions of memberships. As Members may expect, a huge amount of work and thought has gone into developing these regulations. We have worked throughout with our delivery partners, the pensions dashboards programme as part of the Money and Pensions Service, the Pensions Regulator, and the FCA. I thank them all for their expert input into this cross-cutting project.”
“I will briefly revisit why we need pensions dashboards and their potential to change people’s relationships with their pensions. We know about the huge success that automatic enrolment had in getting people saving into a pension, with millions of people now saving. However, research has found that almost three quarters of UK adults have multiple pensions, as people move around the labour market throughout their working life. Some people may not know either who their pension is with, what their pensions are worth or how many pensions they have. Pensions dashboards have the power to change all that. We have conservatively estimated that reuniting people with lost pensions could be worth £541 million to individuals over 10 years, and it could be much more.”
“I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. The standards will be consulted on by MaPS and the FCA, but it is absolutely intended that they will be as user friendly as possible. A lot of testing will take place to ensure that that is the case. The regulations, in combination with a planned order to amend the Pensions Act 2004, will enable MaPS and the Pensions Regulator to disclose information to each other in connection with dashboard functions only. That will support MaPS and the Pensions Regulator in their pensions dashboards programme and compliance roles respectively, and support the secure delivery of the ecosystem and pensions dashboard services. The Data Protection Act 2018 and General Data Protection Regulation duties continue to apply to the sharing of information about an individual.”
“It is important that we press ahead with this ambitious project so that savers can realise the benefits. I therefore commend the regulations to the Committee. Question put and agreed to.”
“As for MaPS and the dashboard launch, we strongly believe that it is important to have a Government-backed dashboard, and the Government have committed to launching the Money and Pensions Service dashboard from the “Dashboards Available Point”. It will also be the point at which authorised qualifying pensions dashboard services may begin to provide a pensions dashboard service as well, but they are highly regulated, and that again is something we can pick up further through the process. I know that colleagues across the House care passionately about the success of pensions dashboards, and I thank all members of the Committee for their contributions today. Pensions dashboards will reunite individuals with their lost or forgotten pots and engage potentially millions of savers.”
“The lack of pensions literacy is a big problem. It is, ironically, one of the things that has led to automatic enrolment being a success, but we need to tread the tightrope between making sure that people are as informed as possible and making sure that they are building up their pension pot. I would absolutely like to work with him on advice, guidance and ensuring that people are making the best use of their pension pot. I should probably have a further conversation offline with the hon. Gentleman about amending the age for automatic enrolment. Automatic enrolment is a success, and we would like to see that expanded, and I would like to have further conversations.”
“They are also writing to all pension schemes at least 12 months ahead of the connection deadline with a call to action to ensure that the data they use is accurate and complete. They will contact schemes several times in the run-up to their duties to help them remain on track. I had a meeting with the Pensions Regulator yesterday to discuss exactly such issues, and I will continue to have such meetings to ensure that it is providing all the support it can to schemes. On testing, there will be a lot of user testing—it is built into the approach. The hon. Gentleman is completely right in his caution about IT schemes. I am sure that he and I will correspond regularly on that, and we need to build testing into the programme. The hon. Member for Glasgow East asked several questions, and I thank him for his support.”
“The regulator’s guidance on dashboards is also clear that trustees and managers need to ensure that values provided are accurate and urges them to work with administrators to improve data if required. I absolutely take the hon. Gentleman’s point about changes, including to addresses. They are an issue throughout the pensions system. It is something that we need to do a lot more work on, but I will write back to him on that specific point. As for testing and the preparedness of the pensions schemes, schemes and administrators must act now, if they have not already, to prepare their data and engage with administrators and other suppliers on how they will meet their legal duties. The Pensions Regulator has already published guidance on practical steps that trustees and schemes managers should be taking now.”
“I am grateful for both Opposition parties’ support for these important regulations. I will write to the hon. Member for Reading East on some of the specifics, but will just cover some of his points. On the steps being taken to ensure data accuracy on dashboards, it is obviously crucial that the data in front of an individual is accurate. Trustees and managers have existing legal obligations relating to data quality, and all the data is obviously being pulled from existing pension providers. The Pensions Regulator has set out expectations on data quality in its record-keeping guidance. This includes that data are measured at least once a year.”
“I thank all hon. Members for their valuable contributions to the debate. Since 2010, pensioner incomes have gone up, absolute pensioner poverty has gone down and we have corrected the historic inequalities towards women in the state pension. That is a record that we on the Government Benches can be proud of. The decision on how to uprate state pension for this year is taken by the Secretary of State at the same time as the uprating decision on all benefits for those of working age and over state pension age.”
“Average weekly pensioner incomes have increased by 12% in real terms and as a result absolute pensioner poverty has fallen by 400,000 since 2010. We are forecast to spend over £134 billion on benefits for pensioners in 2022-23. That amounts to 5.4% of GDP.”
“We absolutely recognise that this is a very difficult time for pensioners. That is why we put a substantial package of support in place, which I will come on to later. The Secretary of State set out, when opening the debate, that the results of his uprating review will be announced alongside the autumn statement on 17 November. To nobody’s surprise, I will not be pre-empting the outcome of that review today. However, reflecting the debate this afternoon, it is important to highlight how pensioners have been supported since 2010. The yearly amount of the basic state pension has risen by over £2,300 in cash terms, rightly highlighted during the debate by my hon. Friends the Members for South Cambridgeshire (Anthony Browne), for Torbay (Kevin Foster) and for Heywood and Middleton (Chris Clarkson).”
“We have been absolutely clear about our record since 2010. I have been clear that I cannot pre-empt the decisions of the Secretary of State. The point is that we on the Government Benches have put plans in place to help pensioners this winter. We are not waiting until next April.”
“My hon. Friend, on this as with so many other things, is absolutely right. I will make some progress now on my speech. At the heart of the 2016 reforms we made to the state pension was a correction of some of the historic unfairness in the previous system, particularly for women, the self-employed and lower-paid workers.”
“I am just going to make some progress, I am sorry. That means women no longer need to rely on the pension contributions of their husbands, and it is more generous to those who spend time looking after their children, as my hon. Friends the Members for Guildford (Angela Richardson) and for Broadland (Jerome Mayhew) pointed out. As a result, more than 3 million women stand to receive an average of £550 more a year by 2030.”
“Over 10.7 million people have been automatically enrolled into a pension by more than 2 million employers in every sector of the economy, seeing an additional £33 billion saved into workplace pensions each year compared with 2012. Automatic enrolment has helped many previously under-represented groups to begin pension savings, such as low earners, young people and women.”
“I am sorry, but as I said, I will make some progress. Under the state pension, outcomes are projected to equalise for men and women by the early 2040s, more than a decade earlier than they would have done under the old system. The other important pillar of the 2016 state pension reforms was automatic enrolment. That was raised by my hon. Friends the Members for South West Hertfordshire (Mr Mohindra), for Rother Valley (Alexander Stafford), for Broadland and for Heywood and Middleton. Automatic enrolment into workplace pensions has had a transformative effect on pension-saving participation. As my hon. Friend the Member for Broadland pointed out, private savings for pensions went down under Labour.”
“But it was not implemented under the Labour Government. In 2012, 40% of eligible women working in the private sector participated in a workplace pension. As of 2021, that had increased to 87%—higher than for eligible men.”
“We have a plan that includes the £650 cost of living payment for those on pension credit to help with the rising cost of living. There is a £400 reduction on energy bills for all domestic electricity customers over the coming months and the £150 council tax rebate received by 85% of all UK households. Those on state pension will also receive an increased £500 winter fuel payment if they are under 80 or a £600 winter fuel payment if they are 80 or over. In total, that will mean that all pensioners receiving the state pension could receive up to £850 of additional support in the coming months and that pensioners on the lowest income who are claiming means-tested benefits will receive up to £1,500.”
“I will make a bit of progress; I have been quite generous on interventions. We know that the coming months will be tough for everyone, but especially for pensioners. I thank all hon. Members who have raised cases on behalf of their constituents. The Government fully understand the difficulties that pensioners will face this winter and will stand by those in the most need. That is why the Government have made substantial support available for pensioners struggling with the cost of living this winter. As my hon. Friends the Members for Wantage (David Johnston) and for Gloucester (Richard Graham) pointed out, we have not heard much from the Labour Front-Bench team today about what their plan would be for this winter.”
“The crucial date is 18 December. If someone claims pension credit by then and is eligible for the maximum three-month backdating, they will receive £324 of support to which they are entitled. It is therefore essential that all of us here urge our constituents to visit the pension credit page of gov.uk or to call the number listed to check eligibility of claim. On automatic enrolment, the right hon. Member for East Ham and my hon. Friend the Member for Torbay raised an interesting idea. From the information that I have, the Government do not have the data to be able to do it, but I will definitely explore further the point about local government and what more we can do with data.”
“We know, however, that only seven out of 10 people who are eligible to claim it do so. That means that £3,300 of additional support is not being claimed by around 850,000 households. Clearly, it would make a significant difference if even some of that money—totalling £1.7 billion—made its way into the pockets of the poorest pensioners. The benefit of pension credit is that, as many Members have mentioned, it passports to an array of additional support, even when a person’s entitlement is very small. A pension credit recipient will receive a TV licence if they are over the age of 75 and get access to housing benefit and council tax support. The second half of the Government’s cost of living support—worth £324—will also be paid to all pension credit recipients. However, time is running out for those who have not yet claimed pension credit.”
“I will make a bit of progress and then come back to the hon. Gentleman. Pension credit was raised by a number of Members, including the hon. Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Alan Brown), my hon. Friend the Member for Torbay, the right hon. Member for East Ham (Sir Stephen Timms), the hon. Member for Birmingham, Erdington (Mrs Hamilton), my hon. Friend the Member for Rother Valley and the hon. Members for Arfon (Hywel Williams) and for Wirral West (Margaret Greenwood). My predecessor—the Minister for Employment, my hon. Friend the Member for Hexham (Guy Opperman)—put in a huge amount of work to increase awareness of pension credit. We have seen a significant increase in the number of claims, peaking at a 275% increase year on year during pension credit awareness week in June.”
“That does not include the energy price guarantee. As the Secretary of State set out to the House and as I said at the start of my speech, we cannot pre-empt the fiscal statement, but it is the Conservatives who have increased the state pension, it was the Conservatives who introduced automatic enrolment and it is the Conservatives who have reduced absolute pensioner poverty. This Government have always protected and will always protect the most vulnerable: that has been our track record since 2010, and that is what we will continue to do. Question put.”
“I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his question and understand where he is coming from, but there is an ongoing investigation so it would be inappropriate for me to meet people at this stage.”
“The hon. Gentleman makes a good point but it is difficult to enrol people automatically on pension credit given the data the Government hold. I am, however, keen to see how increased data sharing could be used to produce a larger number of claims.”
“This winter more than 8 million pensioner households will receive an increased winter fuel payment; in addition, those eligible for pension credit will receive an extra £650. This Government will always support the most vulnerable.”
“I applaud the hon. Gentleman for the work he is doing in his constituency. This is an incredibly important matter; seven out of 10 people who are entitled to pension credit claim it and we want to drive that rate up. My hon. Friend the Member for Hexham (Guy Opperman) has done a huge amount of work on this and I intend to continue that in the Department.”
“I point the hon. Gentleman to our record: absolute pensioner poverty has gone down; real incomes have gone up. This Government are on the side of pensioners.”
“I completely understand my right hon. Friend’s question. However, that is a matter for the autumn statement, and I would not want to pre-empt that.”
“I do understand the uncertainty, but we must wait for 17 November. However, the average state pension is £185 a week, which is about double what it was in 2010 when we took over.”
“I am happy to meet the hon. Lady. I point out, however, that the state pension system corrects some of the historical inequalities of the previous system, producing considerably higher outcomes for women.”
“The independent Pensions Regulator has robust powers in place to investigate compliance and issue fines; I urge my hon. Friend’s constituent to report his concerns to it in confidence. I am happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss the matter further.”
“I completely understand those concerns, but that is why we have provided a package of support—now—which is worth more than £850 for everyone receiving a state pension and £1,500 for those receiving pension credit.”
“T8. The Chancellor has provided families across Sevenoaks and Swanley with vital support for their energy bills. However, in the past year the price of heating oil has more than doubled for my more rural constituents who are off the mains gas grid. The £100 support is welcome, but will the Chancellor and the Business Secretary review the support in the light of those severe price rises?”
“I welcome the statement today. The majority of GPs—75%—now work part time. That is an understandable choice for them, but we need to be honest about the impact it is having on the availability of appointments and the cost of training. Will my right hon. Friend look at what she can do to address the barriers to more GPs working full time?”
“The photo symbolises not only victory against tyranny but the vital role the royal family played in his wartime leadership and the strength of the relationship between Parliament and the Crown, a relationship that has never been more evident than in the past few days. On behalf of everyone in Sevenoaks and Swanley, I say, “Thank you, ma’am, for everything. We owe you so much.” May she rest in peace. God save the King.”
“One photo stood out on my most recent trip there and it has been on my mind since Thursday evening, when we heard the statement from Buckingham Palace that we all dreaded. In Churchill’s bedroom, among many pictures of horses, is a framed photograph of Sir Winston on Buckingham Palace’s balcony on VE Day. He is standing next to the then King and Queen, and Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret. The photograph is signed by all four members of the royal family and celebrates one of the most important moments of Churchill’s life and career, as well as in the history of Britain. For Churchill to hang this picture on his bedroom wall, in his inner sanctum, shows just how important it was to him.”
“It is a privilege to hear the incredible tributes we have heard today. Her Majesty touched the lives and hearts of everyone in Sevenoaks and Swanley. When I went to sign the book of condolence yesterday, it was full of incredible stories and tributes, but I thought I would reflect today on Her Majesty’s relationship with one of my more famous former constituents, and her first Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill. Describing Her Majesty on the day of her coronation, Sir Winston said she was “a Lady whom we respect because she is our Queen and whom we love because she is herself.” I think that sentiment is shared across the House today. Chartwell, Churchill’s country home for more than 40 years, is filled with his most cherished possessions.”
“Ofgem has shown that one in seven households on a prepayment meter disconnected in 2019, so we should look at this seriously. We cannot have that number of disconnections, and the number is likely only to go up, when there is something we can do to send a very clear message that energy consumers will be safe this winter, so they do not need to worry, if it really comes to it, that their energy supply will be cut off. There would still be the mechanism by which costs can be recouped, but there would be a safety net for everybody. I think that would go a huge way towards reassuring people. I welcome today’s announcement, as it will really help my constituents. I hope to see further effort and work on ensuring the energy supply to households.”
“The prices have gone up extensively this year and have tripled in some cases, such as for the Bourchier Court heat network, so it would be helpful to have clarification on whether that price will be frozen or whether it will be allowed to go up, with compensation provided later. I have previously spoken in this House about how it is illegal to cut off a household’s water supply. A water company can recoup its costs through the courts, but it cannot cut off a household’s water supply for reasons of non-payment. We should consider extending that to energy supply. There are some protections in place, and energy companies are not allowed to cut off a customer’s supply during the winter months if they live on their own, if they are of state pension age or if there is a child in the house. However, there is not enough protection.”
“My thoughts and prayers, and the thoughts and prayers of everyone in Sevenoaks and Swanley, are with Her Majesty the Queen and the royal family at this time. I warmly welcome today’s announcement. It will relieve a huge amount of anxiety for my constituents, for businesses such as Donnington Manor that are worried about being crippled by prices, and for schools such as Dunton Green Primary School whose energy bills are going up by 500%. I am glad that heating oil and heat networks are included in the announcement, although I question whether those prices will be frozen.”
“To use Dawn’s own words, “There is no escaping death. And as things are in the UK at the moment; there is no escaping pain, lack of dignity and total deterioration in life.” We have heard many moving stories today. I encourage the Minister to take forward some of this work, because there may be some areas that all of us can agree on. We need an informed conclusion on this issue. We need to debate it. It is time.”
“Sadly, in November last year, that day arrived. As with other cases we have heard about, that day was earlier than would have been the case otherwise because Dawn knew that she needed to have full competence in order to travel. Having saved the money, she travelled to lifecircle clinic with friends and fellow campaigners. She spent her final moments listening to her favourite music and enjoying a glass of champagne. Her bed had been positioned in front of the window so she could look out at the trees. Let us be clear: Dawn had that choice because she had money. Other people do not. I am immensely proud that the UK is a fair and compassionate society, but we must now uphold those values. As overseas evidence continues to grow, our own reasons not to legislate in some form are becoming less and less convincing.”
“After several years of anti-inflammatory medication, she was left suffering with internal damage as well as battling with balance problems. Over the years, Dawn’s quality of life steadily declined. She told me of the increasing pain that she was under and the challenges she faced with reduced mobility. She was losing the feeling in, and the use of, her left arm. Due to increased brain haemorrhaging, she was finding it increasingly difficult to find the words when writing and speaking. She lost her autonomy and she was worried about her ability to manage areas of her life. She worried about what the future held: loss of independence, more pain, less mobility, and worsening health. Due to that outlook, Dawn decided that when the time was right, she wanted to end her life with dignity at a centre in Switzerland.”
“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr McCabe. I thank the hon. Member for Gower (Tonia Antoniazzi) for introducing today’s debate on this most difficult of topics. Both sides of the debate have been informed, compassionate and courageous. With the permission of her friends and fellow campaigners, I want to share the story of my constituent, Dawn Voice-Cooper, who died in November last year after travelling to Switzerland. She came to see me in a surgery before she died, and it was one of those surgeries, which all Members in this room will have had, that will stay with me forever. Dawn suffered from a long-term, degenerative and incurable medical condition. By her mid-30s it was affecting all her joints, including her neck and spine.”
“The Met police has been strip-searching teenage girls and telling women worried about being attacked by police officers to flag down a bus. All the while, sexual violence and rape numbers have been going up. The Met police is failing women, so can the Minister please ensure that within the action plan is a plan to tackle systemic sexism? When we look at the new commissioner, we should make sure that tackling violence against women and girls is a priority.”
“That will make a significant change to our local communities. We need to set one simple test for ourselves: if it is green belt, it will be protected, and if a planning application is put on the green belt the answer will be “No.””
“Recently, Courtyard Antiques, a much-loved shop that has been trading for a number of years, has been taken over and turned into houses because of the demand. We must look at this; it is too easy for change of use to be put in place and it is depriving our towns of thriving local high streets. I cannot finish without talking about housing numbers and calculations. That is not part of the Bill, but obviously changes to the NPPF will be needed as a result of it. Many Members have said that we need greater protections for our green belt. It is absurd that in Sevenoaks, which is 93% green belt, the current proposal is to build 12,000 houses on 10 square miles. That is insanity. We must have changes that give some control back to local authorities on establishing need and that take into account green belt where it exists.”