Speaking in today’s Assembly Debate on the ‘Women Against State Pension Inequality’ (WASPI) Campaign, North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood moved an Amendment noting ‘that successive UK Governments have communicated with affected women since the changes to women’s pension ages since the Pensions Act 1995 and Pensions Act 2007 and that a public consultation exercise and extensive debates were undertaken in Parliament in relation to additional increases to the state pension age in 2011’.
Mr Isherwood outlined the reasons behind the equalisation and increase in pension age for women (equality legislation, European Court cases and life expectancy) and noted that the Work and Pensions Secretary stated last December that revising the 2011 changes would cost over £30 Billion by 2026, that returning to age 60 for women would cost £77 Billion by 2021, and that creating a new inequality between men and women would be dubious as a matter of law.
He also highlighted that the High Court subsequently granted permission for Judicial Review of the impact of these matters on women born in the 1950s and that the case is listed to be heard on June 5th and 6th.
He said:
“It is clearly inappropriate for the DWP to investigate a matter that is being considered by the High Court and they have therefore suspended action on related complaints until a final decision has been taken by the Courts.
“The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has also suspended consideration of related cases on the same basis.
“As Guy Opperman said in January “I stand here defending the actions not just of this Government but of the coalition Government, the Labour Government of 1997-2010 and the preceding Government, all of whose actions are effectively the subject matter of the judicial review”.
“As the DWP has also said, it does not comment on live litigation, a protocol that this Assembly has previously adopted, but which this motion appears to breach.”
He added:
“Life expectancy at age 65 in the UK is now projected to increase to 26.7 years for men and 28.7 years for women between 2014 and 2064.
“Speaking in Westminster last November, the Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Guy Opperman, said: “the Government have gone to significant lengths to communicate the changes to ensure that those affected were fully aware of their rights - including communication campaigns, information online, and individual letters posted to approximately 1.2 million women who were directly affected by the 1995 Act changes.
“A further 5 million letters were sent later to those affected by the 2011 Act changes between January 2012 and November 2013.
“Between April 2000 and the end of September 2018, the DWP provided more than 24 million personalised state pension statements, and we continue to encourage individuals to request a personalised state pension statement”.
