State Pension Age: Women Born on or after 6 April 1950

14. If he will take steps to compensate women born on or after 6 April 1950 affected by changes to the state pension age.

State pension age equalisation and subsequent increases have been the policy of successive Governments. The phasing in of state pension age increases was agreed to by the hon. Lady’s party in 2011 and 2014.

Last July the pensions ombudsman concluded that the Government had been too slow to inform many women that they would be affected by the rising state pension age. Along with the cost of living crisis, this means that many of the WASPI women—Women Against State Pension Inequality—are struggling to get by, and it is one of the concerns most frequently raised in my weekly surgeries. I wonder whether the Secretary of State will commit himself to an interim payment for the women affected by the change in pension age while they wait for the release of the ombudsman’s final report.

As the hon. Lady knows, the investigation is ongoing, so it would not be appropriate to take any further steps at this stage.