Chris Elmore – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chris Elmore on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will meet representatives of the Women Against State Pension Inequality campaign.

Richard Harrington

I am responding on behalf of the Secretary of State (SoS), as Minister for Pensions with overall responsibility on this issue.

The previous Minister Baroness Altmann and Minister Shailesh Vara (the previous Under-Secretary of State for DWP) met with representatives of the WASPI group on 29th June 2016 to listen to their concerns. Although WASPI’s ask was unclear, at the time, Ministers indicated that the DWP did not have the available funds to deliver further concessions.

One other outcome from that meeting was that WASPI agreed to explore options with the relevant All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG). A meeting between APPG representatives, the SoS and myself is being taken forward, and consequently there is nothing further to be gained from meeting WASPI representatives directly.

I should add that I have been quite clear that the Government will make no further changes to the pension age or pay financial redress in lieu of a pension.