It is a pleasure to speak in the debate with Dr Rupa Huq in the Chair. The Minister thanked John Lamont for opening the debate and highlighted the fall in pensioner poverty while noting it was no grounds for complacency about future years. Over 100,000 people have signed a petition supporting the issue discussed. The Government's priorities are to raise the state pension and rescue the NHS, with the full new state pension projected to rise by £2,100 over this Parliament. The Minister acknowledged the importance of the triple lock but also noted the impact of policies introduced in the 1980s that decoupled pensions from earnings uprating, contributing to increased pensioner poverty. The basic and new state pensions increased by 4.8% in April, boosting incomes by £575 a year for the poorest pensioners. There was also an increase in the pension credit minimum guarantee by 4.8%. One in five people over 75 were on NHS waiting lists, but this number has fallen by over 400,000 since the Government took office. The Minister emphasised that doubling the personal allowance for pensioners would come at a substantial fiscal cost of several billion pounds annually and was inconsistent with their priorities. Over 80% of pensioners were already paying income tax under the previous government. Despite extending the personal allowance freeze, the UK has one of the most generous personal tax allowances in the OECD and G7. The tax system recognises pensioners through measures like no national insurance payments over state pension age and multiple tax allowances. The Minister promised to ease administrative burdens for pensioners so they do not have to pay small amounts of tax via simple assessment from 2027-28.