‘We are committed to the triple lock’ says Education Secretary Lucy Powell

Education Secretary Lucy Powell has said that the government is committed to maintaining the triple lock on pensions.

She told GB News: “We are committed to the triple lock. It’s in our manifesto. We’re delivering that manifesto. We are committed to that, and that is really delivering for pensioners over this period.

“The state pension is set to rise by around £2,000 over the course of this Parliament. Pensioners, any pensioners listening to [and], watching your programme, can be assured that the value of their pension is being maintained and will be maintained.

“The conversation about social care, for example, is one that we will take over the long term. We’ve got a really big, important report coming from Louise Casey next summer, which will look under the bonnet of all of these issues and set out some recommendations and proposals.

“We’ll then take that report and that conversation to the country to build consensus, cross-party, ideally, and with others, and the proposals taken forward from that will be in our next manifesto at the next election.

“So, we’re talking about long-term change here for the big issues that the country faces. And let’s just be clear on social care: people are paying already. The country is already paying for social care for some, it’s acutely felt.

“Many losing their homes, working-class people losing their homes or their life savings because they’re unlucky enough to fall deeply unwell in later life. Or the NHS is paying for it with a crisis in social care, with many people who should be being looked after in the community or in care, actually arriving at and staying in hospital for a very long period of time.

“So it does need addressing, and we are already paying for it. But that cost is not being fairly shared at the moment.”

On US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s comment about a foreign actor being involved in the alleged RAF Fairford plot, she said: “We don’t and we can’t comment on live investigations, and you wouldn’t expect me to do so.

“Our security services, our police, and others have done an immense job here in dealing with what could have been otherwise a very difficult situation.

“It’s a decision for the police and the security services about bail or any conditions of bail. I trust their operational judgment in these matters, and it is their operational judgment.

“It absolutely is not a matter for ministers or politicians to decide the bail conditions or bail decisions for anybody. So it is an ongoing operation, which I can’t comment further on.”