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The public will be able to trigger a parliamentary debate if a petition with 100,000 signatures is submitted to the House of Commons.
Under the plans outlined by Sir George Young in a written parliamentary answer, the petition which gains the most signatures will trigger "an opportunity for a Bill to be presented".
Sir George, the leader of the House of Commons, was responding to a question from Labour MP Lisa Nandy.
He said the government planned to bring forward new proposals "soon" to be decided upon by MPs.
"The government will bring forward new proposals for the public to engage with the House by submitting petitions which will be eligible for debate if they obtain 100,000 signatures, with the petition which attracts the most signatures triggering an opportunity for a Bill to be presented," he said.
"We will also bring forward proposals for a new public reading stage of Government Bills.
He added: "There is clear scope for these proposals to be taken forward together, and in cooperation with the House's wider work on public engagement, in order to ensure that they are implemented in a way that is consistent, coherent and cost-effective."
Article Comments
I am amazed the lengths that the UK government will go to in order to deny me a full State pension.
I currently reside in Australia & receive a non indexed 10% pension.
The Pensions Office have advised me that I would be entitled to receive a full 100% indexed pension if I returned to the UK.
However I am now informed, by local UK authorities, that my wife, who is not a UK citizen, would not be granted UK residency.
David Hancox
19th Feb 2011 at 2:16 am
My wife and I have contributed to our retirement pension for over 45 years whilst working in the UK. We have now lived in Thailand for 10 years on a FROZEN PENSION.
This freezing of pensions in certain countries and not in others is BLATANT DISCRIMINATION and must be stopped. There are laws in the UK that stop discrimination so why does the Government get away with this?
David Graham Smith
25th Dec 2010 at 3:33 am
I, like thousands of others, have paid my dues by paying my UK taxes, yet now, when I am owed the UK pension at its full indexed rate, am penalised somewhat arbitrarily purely based on which country I now live in. The UK is not playing fair.
Anne Hungerford
27th Sep 2010 at 12:20 am
Why should I be penalised because I chose to live abroad? I don't use UK health services, I don't use any UK benefits. I pay all my own medical expenses thus saving the British government a lot of money. Collectively we expats probably save the UK government millions of pounds.
This is most unfair considering foreign asylum seekers get lots of financil help at our expense.
R.Wilson
29th Jul 2010 at 5:58 am
There should not need to be any petition to secure parity of retirement pension increases to UK citizens world wide. It is a right that has been denied for far too long...and the legal arguments against the increase to 'frozen territory' residents are irrelevant, obsolete and worst of all inaccurate.
Andrew J Robertson-Fox
25th Jul 2010 at 9:30 am
What is the point of saving into any bank or building society,, we might as well buy a safe screw it to the wall and use it as we want to nobody cares anymore. I am so fed up i do not know what to do!!!! 2.7% what a joke...People savers...in this country do not seem to worry about there savings because the last comment was way back on the 24th June SO COME ON YOU NEW MPs, any MPs anybody!!!!!
mr peter s ost (sunny clacton on sea)
mr peter s ost
20th Jul 2010 at 7:50 pm
Just consider what it would cost the UK economy. If we all came back, which we have a right to do, higher pensions, heath services, aged care places, to name a few, not to mention a truck load of bus passes. You talk about fair, But you don't do fair.
ANTHONY ROWLEY
11th Jul 2010 at 6:04 am
Debates about frozen pensions in the past decades have done nothing for pensioners who live abroad after working in the UK. They paid into the National Insurance Fund, with their employers also paying into the fund in order to guarantee an indexed pension on retirement.
Drawback? If they retire in the wrong country their pension is immediately frozen. No indexing for them! Why not? Unfortunately any further debate will just leave them in the cold as usual! It should not need another debate. JUST DO IT, all you new MPs!!! It is affordable and might even encourage the old to emigrate. Then you would not only be FAIR, but also SAVE MONEY FOR THE ECONOMY! Two goals with one shot.
Dian Elvin
28th Jun 2010 at 10:21 am
It is absolutely disgraceful that this government allows parents of children, not born in this country, and who live abroad, to draw child benefit, when pensioners who have contributed to UK tax and NI system all their working lives have frozen pensions because they live abroad.
Brian Corrigan
24th Jun 2010 at 9:24 am
We vote by proxy UK. Wish the Govt. to 'at last' recognise the injustice of freezing our "State Pensions" It is sickening to learn that yet again Civil servants enjoy increases to their BONUSES??? What about our standard of living which is deteriorating weekly!!! Somebody PLEASE do something to make this new govt. see sense Regards
B & C Shrubsole
17th Jun 2010 at 7:39 am
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