Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of regional variations in life expectancy when reviewing the state pension age.

The Government will present its first Review of the State Pension age to Parliament in May 2017. It will consider the reports produced by the Government Actuary and the independent reviewer John Cridland CBE. The Review will be forward looking and will not recommend State Pension age changes to be made before 2028. Any proposed changes would be brought for Parliamentary consideration and would require primary legislation.

The Office of National Statistics published figures on life expectancy at birth and at age 65 by local areas for the UK last November, as part of their publication on health state life expectancies. The publication and accompanying data can be found here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/healthandlifeexpectancies/bulletins/healthstatelifeexpectanciesuk/2013to2015