Peter Hoskin

Your questions for Chris Grayling

It’s been a week since we asked CoffeeHousers to put forward their questions for Chris Grayling.  We’ve since picked out the best five, which have now been put to the shadow work and pensions secretary.  He’ll get back to us at the start of next week.

The CoffeeHousers whose questions were chosen can e-mail me on phoskin @ spectator.co.uk to claim their t-shirt and 180th Anniversary issue of the magazine.

Anyway, here are the questions:

Marcus Cotswell

“What are your plans for reducing the incidence of means-testing in the benefit system, with particular reference to the impact on incentives to save?”

Diana

“Is there a place for Frank Field in your ministerial team, come a Tory government?”

forlornehope

“What are you going to do about the fact that those of us in the private sector have to pay more for public sector pensions than we do for our own?”

AndyS

“Chris. Do you think it likely that the public sector Unions, in their current muscle flexing mood, would allow the wholesale transfer of benefit claimants to private companies tasked with managing their transition back in to work? Ideological anathema to an unreconstructed socialist I’d have thought. Which begs the question why is Purnell proposing this or similar? Is this an application to join the rather lonely “Frank Field” wing of the Labour party? It seems an odd platform from which to launch a bid for the leadership. What do you think he is up to?”

Philip Wright

“Over the course of a first term Tory administration, say 4 years, what would you project are the potential costs, savings and numbers of people moved off the Invalidity Benefit roll likely to be? If there is a net saving will this be applied to further welfare schemes / projects or sunk in the general Treasury pot?”

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