Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of creating a hardship fund for women affected by the change to the State Pension age.

The Government believes the best way to support people, including women who have been affected by the change to the State Pension Age is to help them to retrain, return to or progress in work. That is why the Government is reforming employment support to ensure it supports people of all ages and we will set out more details in a forthcoming White Paper.

For those women who are unable to work but who are not eligible for pensioner benefits because of their age, financial support is still available through the welfare system.