Pensions Triple Lock

Debate between Josh Fenton-Glynn and Pat McFadden

Tuesday 13th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Pat McFadden]

I can certainly assure the pensioners of West Dunbartonshire that the state pension will continue to rise in each and every year. That is true for his constituents and true throughout Scotland. I can also assure his constituents that funds released from this package will flow to the Scottish Government to spend on social care, if they so wish, because we believe that the social care system throughout the UK is in need of improvement. Through this new settlement, that can happen.

[Josh Fenton-Glynn (Calder Valley) (Lab)]

The need for a functioning care system has been clear for decades. The Dilnot report was published in 2011. The Care Act 2014 said that we would get such a system by 2016. That plan was then postponed till 2020, before being quietly scrapped entirely. Then, Boris Johnson rode to the rescue: he said that we would get it by 2021, then postponed it to 2023, and then said, “We’ll do it in 2025,” but had no funding.

What has that led to? It has led to more people in hospitals who do not need to be there. It has led to care workers earning only 39p an hour more than the minimum wage. Care work is skilled work; it should be treated that way. Will the Minister promise that we will not hide behind the triple lock, that we will not fumble the ball like the Conservative party did, and that, when Baroness Casey releases her report, we will actually implement it and make a change?

[Pat McFadden]

My hon. Friend is right to say that there have been many reports and reviews over the years. There are differences this time. The first is that, in making the changes and putting forward this new settlement, we have identified a source of funding that will grow over the years and will help to fund the social care system. The second is political will. The Prime Minister has put this issue front and centre of his ambitions as Prime Minister, and front and centre of his speech to party conference a couple of weeks ago. He is putting his shoulder behind getting it resolved once and for all.

Youth Unemployment

Debate between Josh Fenton-Glynn and Pat McFadden

Tuesday 17th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Pat McFadden]

We do not propose restricting the hiring bonus by sector, though my hon. Friend will have heard me list in my statement the areas covered by the new apprenticeship units—areas such as artificial intelligence, electric vehicle charging, infrastructure, solar panel installation, welding and so on. As regards the new short apprenticeship units, there are some specific areas that we are putting forward first.

[Josh Fenton-Glynn (Calder Valley) (Lab)]

I welcome this announcement. It will make young people’s lives and futures better. Calder Valley is famous for its world-class specialist manufacturing, but in the UK, one third of manufacturers are over 60. Can my right hon. Friend please confirm that this policy announcement will help us bring in the new generation of skills that we need for our economy?

[Pat McFadden]

This package can make a big contribution towards that. As I have said, there are 50,000 vacancies in manufacturing in the UK today. That is partly because of the difficulty that people have in finding skilled workers. With today’s extra help for apprenticeships for young people, we can begin to change that. That is why it is such an important part of this package.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Josh Fenton-Glynn and Pat McFadden

Thursday 6th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Pat McFadden]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to point not just to specific resilience measures but the most fundamental thing for national resilience: the underlying strength of the country and its services. Nowhere is that more true that in the national health service. We are investing in the national health service and are already seeing the early results of that, with the first fall in NHS waiting lists for years. It is a good start; it is not enough, and we want to build on that progress to treat patients more quickly and, indeed, build our resilience in the process.

[Josh Fenton-Glynn (Calder Valley) (Lab)]

18. What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Government advertising through social media.

Plan for Change: Milestones for Mission-led Government

Debate between Josh Fenton-Glynn and Pat McFadden

Thursday 5th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Pat McFadden]

If the hon. Member looks at the document, she will find that an expansion of nursery places is in it, because we know it is good for children and for working parents. That is part of the plan we set out today, and part of our plan to ensure that children in early years have the best possible start in life. I cannot announce anything further to the Budget on national insurance, but she knows the background to why we had to take those decisions.

[Josh Fenton-Glynn (Calder Valley) (Lab)]

Listening to Conservative Members, one would think we were left a golden legacy. Despite that halcyon legacy, it is no wonder the Conservatives were resoundingly beaten in the last election—my constituents want an NHS that can be relied on, yet Lord Darzi’s report was clear that we have not sorted out the health service or social care. Indeed, 13% of NHS beds are taken up by people who could be in social care. Will the Minister outline what he will do to ensure that we finally get to grips with that crucial issue?

[Pat McFadden]

The legacy of the Conservative Government was not just economic or in policy, but a loss of faith in government’s ability to do things. That is part of the backdrop to the plan that we are publishing today. I commend Lord Darzi’s report to anyone who has not read it. It fully sets out the legacy in health. We have put getting waiting lists down at the heart of the plan that we are publishing today because that drives the whole system; if we get them down, we will have a healthier population, more people ready to work, more people to contribute to the country and more people to contribute to our productivity. That is why it is at the heart of the plan.