Member

I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Leigh of Hurley, for identifying so clearly in his Amendment 3 the adverse effects on those with a student loan, but this Bill perpetuates other forms of intergenerational unfairness. It is already harder for employers to pay good pensions to youngsters on defined contribution schemes when they are shovelling cash into addressing the deficits on defined benefits schemes for older employees, those schemes being closed to new entrants. It risks removing salary sacrifice as a thing for many employers, which will damage the opportunities for them to get the best staff, because it just becomes too complicated, for reasons that we will dwell on in the next group. It is important that this slim Bill is challenged, because it makes it harder for youngsters to get on. The tail needs to be pinned on the donkey. The Government are not on the side of the youngsters—we need to be saying that—and this Bill proves it.