Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report Debate

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Department: Department for Work and Pensions

Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report

Lewis Atkinson Excerpts
Tuesday 17th December 2024

(1 day, 10 hours ago)

Commons Chamber
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Liz Kendall Portrait Liz Kendall
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My party opposed the Conservatives’ decision to accelerate increases in the state pension age, but that is not what the report is about. It is about how those changes were communicated and, at the risk of repeating myself, that is why we have taken this decision.

Lewis Atkinson Portrait Lewis Atkinson (Sunderland Central) (Lab)
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It is no small thing for a Secretary of State to stand up with the sincerity that my right hon. Friend has and to offer an apology on behalf of the Government and accept maladministration, and I know she takes that responsibility seriously. I understand her position regarding the 90% of women who knew the pension age was going to change, but among the 10% who did not realise, people made individual decisions about their financial circumstances. Will she say more about why she did not feel that it was possible to put an individualised compensation scheme in place for that 10%?