My view is pensioners don't have the one option that people of working age have. They can't really increase their income, because they are no longer able to work.

What happened I think on Sept. 11 was we were given graphic and clear evidence that things had changed.

The financial costs of family breakdown are incredibly high.

We have to challenge the whole idea that it's acceptable for a society like Britain to have such a significant number of people who do not work one day of the week and don't have any possibility of improving the quality of their lives.

After years of piecemeal reform the current welfare system is complex and unfair.

I think that the status that you have in life should be reflected in official documents. If you are married, fine, if you are living with someone, fine, if you are single, fine. We don't want to tell people how to live their lives.

For families across the UK who are income-poor, but more than that, whose lives are blighted by worklessness, educational failure, family breakdown, problem debt and poor health, as well as other problems, giving them an extra pound - say through increased benefits - will not address the reason they find themselves in difficulty in the first place.