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Saving Gateway Accounts Bill

We all share the Bill's laudable aims. Through that incentive, it will create a savings culture and encourage people to save regularly, giving them the confidence to plan their expenditure and protecting them from uncertainty. One of the challenges is to make sure that that happens, so we must consider what needs to be in place to ensure that it does. The Minister presented a rosy view of the pilots, but the outcome was not as clear-cut as she suggested, and I shall come on to that in a second. Yes, we want a strong savings culture to emerge from the measure, and for many people the bonus may be enough in itself to encourage them to save, but they must accept that they are likely to obtain a low return once the account matures.