Harriett Baldwin welcomes pensions auto-enrolment as it will mean that for the first time millions of low-paid workers in the private sector can begin to look forward to the same kind of retirement income offered to public sector employees. Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con): What steps he is taking to ensure that individuals are able to build up pension pots under automatic enrolment. [82829] The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Steve Webb): I am pleased to confirm that we will go ahead with the introduction of auto-enrolment next year as planned, and I can confirm further that all businesses remain in scope. We have, however, decided to extend the reform’s current five-year implementation, so that small businesses will not have to start enrolling their workers until the start of the next Parliament. The revised plans will, nevertheless, still result in more than half of all workers being enrolled before the end of this Parliament. This is a positive programme, and there will be no exemptions. Harriett Baldwin: Does the Minister agree that auto-enrolment will bring into pension savings for the first time millions of low-paid workers in the private sector, both men and women, and that they can begin to look forward to the same kind of retirement income that we rightly offer our public sector employees? Steve Webb: As my hon. Friend points out, at the moment not only do literally millions of people in the private sector not have a moderate pension; they have no pension at all. Auto-enrolment remains key to our policy goals, and as I just observed, more than half the work force will have been auto-enrolled by the next election. | Hansard