Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were affected by the changes to the Home Responsibilities Protection scheme which allow for time bringing up children to be included as a full qualifying year for the State Pension.

The state pension reforms under the Pensions Act 2007, affecting those reaching state pension age from 6 April 2010, included the introduction of a single contribution condition of 30 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions or credits for a full basic state pension and the replacement of the Home Responsibilities Protection scheme with a new system of National Insurance credits for parents and carers and earlier years of Home Responsibilities Protection were converted into qualifying years.

These measures were primarily designed to improve the basic pension entitlements of women. The effects of the relaxation of the contribution conditions and the changes to Home Responsibilities Protection are complex. It has not been practicable to disaggregate the combined effects.

However, information on the numbers of women resident in Great Britain receiving the full basic State Pension for the years 2009/10 to 2013/14 can be found in Table 1 of the Ad Hoc statistical release published to support the review of the Pensions Act 2007 which is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/398701/statistical-analysis-review-pensions-act-2007.pdf

Equivalent information in relation to men is not readily available.