Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress his Department has made on behalf of DEC, Compaq and Hewlett Packard pensioners with pre-1997 pension contributions in resolving their case.

I have met senior representatives from the company to present the pensioners’ arguments and make clear my interest in the matter.

However, the company is meeting its legal obligations.

Any increases to pensions in payment are likely to mean significant additional expenditure for any scheme and its sponsoring employer. Therefore, the Government has no plans to require all schemes to pay increases on pre-1997 pensions.