Member

I shall conclude—to a sigh of relief from my left—by pointing out that, to an extent, the fact that the PPF is in such a healthy position now is in large part due to these caps on the benefits, and that will have to be taken into account in any move towards paying increases. I accept that increases would have to be paid in a period of time reflecting the continued strength of the fund: you could not blow the whole £13 million reserve we have at the moment on making good the past, but it could be phased in over time, with the levy being adjusted appropriately as experience is gained with implementing increases in practice. I will finish there. The question for the Minister is: when and where will the Bill come? I ask for further confirmation that it will deal with the regulatory points. Will the Government take forward issues of the PPF being a consolidator, or is that something they have dismissed? Primarily, what is the Government’s position on moving forward with the PPF making discretionary increases post-1997, or even a change in the law to give the PPF the option, where it is considered appropriate, to make increases to pre-1997 benefits? I beg to move.