Oral Answers to Questions

Kate Hollern Excerpts

Monday 9th May 2016 Commons Chamber

[Julie Elliott (Sunderland Central) (Lab)]

12. If his Department will introduce transitional protection for women adversely affected by changes in the state pension age.

[Kate Hollern (Blackburn) (Lab)]

19. If his Department will introduce transitional protection for women adversely affected by changes in the state pension age.

[Barbara Keeley (Worsley and Eccles South) (Lab)]

21. If his Department will introduce transitional protection for women adversely affected by changes in the state pension age.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Vara]

During the debates in 2011, the then Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and the then Pensions Minister said on Second Reading of the Pensions Bill that they would go away, consider and reflect, and they did precisely that: on Report, they made a concession worth £1.1 billion and reduced the timeframe from two years to 18 months. Transitional arrangements were put in place, and at a substantial and significant cost, notwithstanding the very tough economic climate at the time.

[Kate Hollern]

Recently, the Minister for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise talked about how

“people have been working…for up to 30 years and paying into a pension fund in the expectation that…they will have a certain amount of money on which to live”.

She went on to say that

“there is an increasingly good case to be made for the right thing to be done by people”.—[Official Report, 25 April 2016; Vol. 608, c. 1183.]

Given the sudden change in the retirement age for women, how can the Government justify this rank hypocrisy from one Minister to another? Will the Secretary of State bring fairness for those women? In his new role, he has an opportunity to show that he will consider things fairly and support the Minister for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise.

[Mr Speaker]

From the context of her question, I think that the hon. Lady was levelling the charge of inconsistency as between one Minister and another. I know she would not accuse a Minister of behaving hypocritically to another.