Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between David Amess and Shailesh Vara(8 years, 10 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mr Vara
The issue to which the hon. Gentleman refers is isolated and he should regard it as such. The matter has been corrected. It is about time that he took on board all the other arguments that have been raging about this particular issue, rather than a solitary, individual mistake on a website, which has been corrected.
Sir David Amess
I fully accept that we are talking about huge sums of money. I was here in 1995 when we first announced the changes, but will my hon. Friend consider whether the Government have taken appropriate action in communicating to women these significant changes so that they can prepare for their retirement? Have the changes been clearly advertised on the Government websites?
Mr Vara
The initial changes were made in 1995. Until 2010, when the coalition Government came to office, there had been at least 10 Labour Pensions Ministers, one of whom held the position twice, and they made absolutely no effort in terms of communication. I want to put it on the record that, as far as the Pensions Act 2011 is concerned, more than 5 million people were written to, including the women affected, using the addresses we had from HMRC. For those who want more information, it is available on the Government website.