Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with Hewlett Packard on uplifts for the pre-1997 Digital Section of its Defined Benefit pension scheme; and what progress has been made as a result of those discussions.

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.