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Ministerial statement on Wednesday, 2 November 2011, in the House of Commons, led by Danny Alexander.

Public Service Pensions

Statement on public sector pensions.

Secondary information

Type
Parliamentary proceeding
Reference
534 c927-46 
Session
2010-12
Department
Treasury
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
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Proceeding contributions
Danny Alexander | 534 c938 (Link to this contribution) That is a very good question. We are, of course, listening carefully to representations. As I have s...
Sarah Newton | 534 c938 (Link to this contribution) I welcome the statement, because I think it demonstrates that the Government are listening to the co...
Show all contributions (103)
Danny Alexander | 534 c939 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and she is also right to warn people against some of the mislead...
Derek Twigg | 534 c939 (Link to this contribution) The Chief Secretary said earlier that the general taxpayer rather than public service workers had be...
Danny Alexander | 534 c933 (Link to this contribution) I think the hon. Lady may have been trying to welcome the protection of accrued rights, in which cas...
Helen Goodman | 534 c933 (Link to this contribution) The Chief Secretary made much of preserving accrued rights. However, to return to the CPI and RPI, w...
Phillip Lee | 534 c933 (Link to this contribution) I welcome the Chief Secretary's statement. On many occasions in Bracknell and Finchampstead, I have ...
Danny Alexander | 534 c932 (Link to this contribution) If agreement is reached, they will. The arrangements that the hon. Lady describes are an important p...
Danny Alexander | 534 c932 (Link to this contribution) The full-time equivalent basis for pension reform is being approached in exactly the same way that t...
Heather Wheeler | 534 c934 (Link to this contribution) May I welcome today's statement and pass on the comments made to me by teachers in South Derbyshire ...
Danny Alexander | 534 c934 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful for those comments. It is important that teachers, health workers and civil servants s...
Lord Cryer | 534 c934 (Link to this contribution) Will the Chief Secretary clarify one comment he made in his statement, when he said that the offer i...
Danny Alexander | 534 c934-5 (Link to this contribution) No, this is not conditional on industrial action. Some unions are saying that they are planning stri...
Stephen Williams | 534 c933 (Link to this contribution) Both the Liberal Democrat manifesto, which my right hon. Friend authored, and the coalition agreemen...
Danny Alexander | 534 c934 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is absolutely right to celebrate Lord Hutton's independence in this matter. It is a m...
John McDonnell | 534 c934 (Link to this contribution) Is it not true that the vast majority of public servants will still be paying more and working longe...
Danny Alexander | 534 c934 (Link to this contribution) I know that the hon. Gentleman has taken a long interest in these matters, but he is wrong in his ch...
Anne Main | 534 c935-6 (Link to this contribution) I share the disappointment at the rather lukewarm response on the Labour Benches. May I ask my right...
Speaker | 534 c936 (Link to this contribution) Order. The trouble with Members crafting their questions word for word is that they tend to be rathe...
Tony Lloyd | 534 c936 (Link to this contribution) Neither the Chancellor yesterday nor the Chief Secretary today answered the question about part-time...
Danny Alexander | 534 c936 (Link to this contribution) As I said in answer to the shadow Chief Secretary, the proposals are on a full-time equivalent basis...
Danny Alexander | 534 c936-7 (Link to this contribution) The right hon. Gentleman asks who will be worse off, which is a fair question. One flaw with the cur...
Lord Dodds of Duncairn | 534 c936 (Link to this contribution) I welcome the flexibility that the Government are showing today in moving this whole issue forward. ...
Jenny Willott | 534 c937 (Link to this contribution) There has been much concern over the last few years about a race to the bottom with pensions, partic...
Danny Alexander | 534 c937 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is right to remind us of the context in which 13 million workers in the private secto...
Nicholas Dakin | 534 c937 (Link to this contribution) I very much welcome the tone of the Chief Secretary's statement. In line with the principle of trans...
Danny Alexander | 534 c937 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman's welcome of the tone we have taken. I hope that, in due course...
Danny Alexander | 534 c937 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful for those comments. The transitional protection is a very important part of this new o...
Gordon Banks | 534 c938 (Link to this contribution) Can the Chief Secretary confirm that every penny paid in increased pension contributions will find i...
Peter Bone | 534 c945 (Link to this contribution) The whole House will welcome the statement from one of the most capable Ministers in the coalition G...
Stephen Mosley | 534 c945 (Link to this contribution) I congratulate the Chief Secretary on his statement. May I also ask him to continue to negotiate and...
Danny Alexander | 534 c945 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman's comments, and I hope that Mrs Bone shares his views. He is ri...
Philip Hollobone | 534 c946 (Link to this contribution) In the private sector, where most people work, getting an annual pension of £10,000 typically requir...
Speaker | 534 c946 (Link to this contribution) I thank the Chief Secretary and colleagues, whose succinctness enabled 47 Back-Bench Members to ques...
Danny Alexander | 534 c944 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to my hon. Friend for reminding me of that important point. Public service pensions mu...
Danny Alexander | 534 c944 (Link to this contribution) I do not believe that that is a correct use of the term ““accrued rights””. Of course we will protec...
Clive Betts | 534 c944 (Link to this contribution) The Chief Secretary has once again said that all accrued rights will be protected. Will he confirm, ...
Danny Alexander | 534 c944 (Link to this contribution) I am yet to receive a constructive suggestion from the Labour party, but I live in hope.
Stephen Lloyd | 534 c945 (Link to this contribution) I welcome the statement. As the Chief Secretary knows, I broadly support the direction of travel tha...
Danny Alexander | 534 c939-40 (Link to this contribution) It is true that I gave the figure of 1% of the pay bill. That is an assumption that was audited by t...
Danny Alexander | 534 c941 (Link to this contribution) I do indeed hope that the trade unions will examine the proposals carefully. I was encouraged when t...
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown | 534 c940-1 (Link to this contribution) Does my right hon. Friend agree that the public sector should examine very carefully the generous re...
Danny Alexander | 534 c943-4 (Link to this contribution) I am very grateful indeed for the first welcome for my statement from an Opposition Member. The hon....
Baroness Elliott of Whitburn Bay | 534 c943 (Link to this contribution) Although I welcome the Chief Secretary's statement, I am disappointed that it has taken eight months...
Baroness Clark of Kilwinning | 534 c942-3 (Link to this contribution) The Chief Secretary will be aware that one of the concerns about increasing contributions is that th...
Martin Horwood | 534 c942 (Link to this contribution) I strongly welcome the improved flexibility, and ask that we be as generous as that allows. This is ...
Mark Durkan | 534 c942 (Link to this contribution) Has the Chief Secretary taken into account the particular responsibilities of devolved Administratio...
Diana Johnson | 534 c941 (Link to this contribution) Does the Chief Secretary regret the way negotiations have been conducted so far, with him practising...
Gavin Williamson | 534 c941 (Link to this contribution) Will my right hon. Friend outline how he thinks the unions should respond to the proposals he has se...
Danny Alexander | 534 c927-9 (Link to this contribution) Statement I wish to update the House on progress in the reform of public service pensions and to set...
Danny Alexander | 534 c933 (Link to this contribution) Those two things do remain in place. I understood from a previous debate that the Opposition support...
Speaker | 534 c932 (Link to this contribution) Order. There was quite a lot of chuntering earlier when the shadow Chief Secretary was speaking, and...
Danny Alexander | 534 c946 (Link to this contribution) I think that it would be in the national interest to have a proper cross-party consensus on today's ...
Danny Alexander | 534 c941 (Link to this contribution) I think what the hon. Lady has said is total nonsense; that is not an appropriate characterisation o...
Danny Alexander | 534 c931-2 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her response, although she left a few questions unanswered hersel...
Charlie Elphicke | 534 c946 (Link to this contribution) Does the Chief Secretary agree that, as longevity is still increasing by about two years a decade an...
Rachel Reeves | 534 c930-1 (Link to this contribution) I thank the Chief Secretary for his statement and for advance notice of it. I welcome today's signal...
Danny Alexander | 534 c938-9 (Link to this contribution) It is true that in the private sector an enormous volume of contributions would be necessary to buil...
Guto Bebb | 534 c938 (Link to this contribution) I too welcome the statement, but given that economic growth, economic development and job creation i...
Danny Alexander | 534 c942 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend makes the point that public sector workers have traditionally considered the level of...
Danny Alexander | 534 c942 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman makes a very important point. These matters have been discussed regularly at the ...
Dominic Raab | 534 c942 (Link to this contribution) My question has just been answered.
Speaker | 534 c942 (Link to this contribution) Well, that is a first—not the fact that the question has been answered, but the fact that a Member h...
Pat Glass | 534 c938 (Link to this contribution) Most of the examples given by the Chief Secretary have involved well-paid public sector workers who ...
Jo Swinson | 534 c939 (Link to this contribution) I welcome my right hon. Friend's improved offer on public sector pensions, which shows that the Gove...
Danny Alexander | 534 c939 (Link to this contribution) As I said earlier, that depends on a variety of circumstances, but today we are publishing a documen...
Danny Alexander | 534 c938 (Link to this contribution) I cannot give a specific example, because I do not have the necessary figures to hand, but I can say...
Danny Alexander | 534 c933 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right: I can confirm that that would be the case. In some cases the...
Anne Begg | 534 c932-3 (Link to this contribution) I look forward to studying the proposals, because with pensions the devil is always in the detail. I...
Harriett Baldwin | 534 c932 (Link to this contribution) I welcome the extensive work that has gone into these proposals and would like to ask a question spe...
Bernard Jenkin | 534 c935 (Link to this contribution) May I commend my right hon. Friend for his statement and for the tone in which he has delivered it—a...
Danny Alexander | 534 c935 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his welcome and I agree wholeheartedly with his comments. It is ...
Geraint Davies | 534 c935 (Link to this contribution) Does the Minister agree that the statement consisted of sacrificing long-term pension rights to pay ...
Danny Alexander | 534 c936 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is right that the poorest in society end up paying the price for the loss of fina...
Danny Alexander | 534 c936 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her comments. I sensed from our earlier discussions that the trad...
Speaker | 534 c935 (Link to this contribution) Order. It would be more seemly if the hon. Gentleman were not standing with his hand in his pocket, ...
Danny Alexander | 534 c935 (Link to this contribution) The Education Secretary's noisy expostulations have been thoroughly in support of what the Governmen...
George Freeman | 534 c936 (Link to this contribution) I welcome the statement and congratulate the Front-Bench team on the work they have done to go as fa...
Margot James | 534 c937 (Link to this contribution) I very much welcome the transitional arrangements outlined by my right hon. Friend for people 10 yea...
Danny Alexander | 534 c938 (Link to this contribution) As the hon. Gentleman should know, in unfunded schemes there is no such thing as a pension pot. The ...
Danny Alexander | 534 c945-6 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman can certainly ask that and I certainly will do so. The Government are setting out...
Speaker | 534 c945 (Link to this contribution) That answer will doubtless wing its way to Mrs Bone in a matter of minutes.
Danny Alexander | 534 c946 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is right about that, and he makes an important point. Part of the reason for sett...
Jane Ellison | 534 c944 (Link to this contribution) I welcome today's statement. Many of the measures will meet the concerns of people such as the firef...
Danny Alexander | 534 c944 (Link to this contribution) Those proposals will be brought forward later. Police pensions are being considered by Tom Winsor in...
Christopher Pincher | 534 c944 (Link to this contribution) I congratulate the Chief Secretary on listening so carefully and responding so generously to the rep...
Andrew Bridgen | 534 c944 (Link to this contribution) Has the Chief Secretary received any constructive representations from the Labour party regarding th...
Danny Alexander | 534 c945 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful for my hon. Friend's welcome. Today's announcement will increase the cost ceiling for ...
Danny Alexander | 534 c940 (Link to this contribution) Yes, and John Hutton said in his report that he thought it appropriate to retain a lower retirement ...
Andrew Love | 534 c940 (Link to this contribution) Like many other Members, I received a delegation of teachers last week, and they told me that their ...
Andrew Percy | 534 c940 (Link to this contribution) While it is true that all taxpayers pay for the pensions that we are discussing, it is low-paid priv...
Lilian Greenwood | 534 c941 (Link to this contribution) The Chief Secretary said he believed that pension changes should be sustainable and fair. Will he co...
Danny Alexander | 534 c940 (Link to this contribution) Of course I recognise that we must win that battle for hearts and minds. That is why I am providing ...
Fiona Mactaggart | 534 c939 (Link to this contribution) I was grateful to the Chief Secretary yesterday for answering my question about public sector worker...
Danny Alexander | 534 c943 (Link to this contribution) I agree. My hon. Friend is right to draw attention to the important role played by the Minister for ...
Danny Alexander | 534 c943 (Link to this contribution) We have taken that on board through the proposals for a tiered increase in contributions. The hon. L...
Richard Graham | 534 c943 (Link to this contribution) Some months ago, when the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General told the House that ...
Lord Brennan of Canton | 534 c942 (Link to this contribution) What is the cost to the public purse of the changes the right hon. Gentleman has announced today?
Danny Alexander | 534 c942 (Link to this contribution) The cost ceiling under these changes will be 8% higher than the previous cost ceiling we set out.
Danny Alexander | 534 c942 (Link to this contribution) It is for the unions to reflect and decide on their response. I am not standing here at the Dispatch...
David Rutley | 534 c941 (Link to this contribution) According to reports in today's press, only 40% of private sector workers receive pension contributi...
Danny Alexander | 534 c941 (Link to this contribution) I wholeheartedly agree that it is time to address these differences, but not by trying to get public...
Subjects
Contributions Workplace pensions Public sector Reform Trade unions Strike ballots Strikes
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