Contributions
1,402 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Women’s State Pension AgeWith great respect to the hon. Lady, her question perfectly exemplifies why it is important to look at the detail of the report. She refers to the ombudsman recommending the full…25 Mar 2024HANSARD Women’s State Pension AgeMy right hon. and learned Friend is right to refer, as I have done, to the complexities around this issue. He is understandably attempting to draw me into past comments on some of…25 Mar 2024HANSARD Women’s State Pension AgeWe will look closely at the report and we will, no doubt, draw many conclusions as a result of that process of careful examination of the findings and the points made within the…25 Mar 2024HANSARD Women’s State Pension AgeAs I have said, there should be no undue delay, but my hon. Friend is absolutely right that clarity is what is required. That is why I am stressing the point that clarity comes…25 Mar 2024HANSARD Women’s State Pension AgeI welcome my right hon. Friend’s question. Let me reassure her, as I have just reassured the House, that there will be no undue delay in our approach to this matter. We engaged…25 Mar 2024HANSARD Women’s State Pension AgeWhat I am not really clear about is why the hon. Gentleman is urging me and the Government to draw a premature conclusion on the basis of— [ Interruption. ] No, it would be…25 Mar 2024HANSARD Women’s State Pension AgeI can give a very short answer to that: absolutely not.25 Mar 2024HANSARD Women’s State Pension AgeAs my hon. Friend points out, the timing is important. I have made the commitment that we will proceed without undue delay.25 Mar 2024HANSARD Women’s State Pension AgeOn the Pensions Act 2011, as the hon. Lady will know from the report, the window that has been particularly examined and on which these considerations turn is 2005 to 2007—a time…25 Mar 2024HANSARD Women’s State Pension AgeThe hon. Gentleman suggests that we are hiding behind the court cases. I have explained the relevance of those cases and the conclusions to which both the High Court and the Court…25 Mar 2024HANSARD Women’s State Pension AgeThe important point is that we must carefully consider the report in its entirety—not just one aspect of it, but all aspects. I have undertaken to the House to do that without…25 Mar 2024HANSARD Women’s State Pension AgeGiven that the report was published as recently as last Thursday, it is a bit of a stretch to suggest that I should have come to this Dispatch Box with a fully formed set of…25 Mar 2024HANSARD Women’s State Pension AgeI can assure my hon. Friend that we will continue to engage closely with Parliament, as we have done to date and with the ombudsman. She quite reasonably raises gender pension…25 Mar 2024HANSARD Women’s State Pension AgeAs the hon. Gentleman will know, that is a question that in various forms has now been asked a dozen or more times. The answer will always be consistent: there is no desire to…25 Mar 2024HANSARD Women’s State Pension AgeThe hon. Gentleman refers to my mention of there having been no direct loss; that was a conclusion drawn by the ombudsman in his report. As to how quickly we can proceed, I simply…25 Mar 2024HANSARD Women’s State Pension AgeThe hon. Gentleman has been here long enough to know that he should not ask me questions at the Dispatch Box about when debates may or may not occur; those matters are typically…25 Mar 2024HANSARD Women’s State Pension AgeOn the question of time, I have made the position extremely clear. On the question of the report having had to gestate for five years, there was a delay of around two years…25 Mar 2024HANSARD Women’s State Pension AgeI can reassure the hon. Lady that we have taken this entire situation extremely seriously. The House will have heard the remarks by the ombudsman’s CEO about the quality of my…25 Mar 2024HANSARD Women’s State Pension AgeThe hon. and learned Lady will know about legal matters. I do not think that I can accept that the litigation, particularly in the High Court and the Court of Appeal, is just not…25 Mar 2024HANSARD Women’s State Pension AgeThat is once again a question about the timing, and I have given a clear response on that. I have given an assurance to the House that there will be no undue delay in our approach…25 Mar 2024