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Business of the House

The hon. Gentleman rightly raises an important issue in so far as it affects the elderly in our communities. Perhaps he did not do his view justice when he failed to compare the tension, stress and anxiety to which he referred with that caused by poverty, being unable to afford proper fuel through the winter and having insufficient income to provide for oneself. The Government have made a difference to each matter, whereas those who spoke for the hon. Gentleman on the Conservative Front Bench in the past opposed each change. It is therefore important, when we discuss help for the elderly, that he acknowledges the significant improvements that the Government have made in our time in office.