2. What is the Welsh Government’s assessment of the impact that the UK Government’s transitional state pension arrangements will have on women born on or after 6 April 1951? OAQ(5)0011(FLG)

I thank the Member for that question. The Welsh Government remains concerned that the impact of the pensions Acts of 1995 and 2011 will disproportionately affect a number of women who have had their state pension age raised significantly without effective or sufficient notification. We will continue to raise these concerns with UK Ministers, who remain responsible for these matters.

You’ll be aware of the campaign group, WASPI, which is the Women Against State Pension Inequality, which is a group across Wales, and many will be in our constituencies, who fought these deeply unfair consequences of the Pensions Act 2011. This legislation, as you say, has left tens of thousands of women out of pocket, born after 6 April 1951. The official figure I’ve seen is £12,000, although I met constituents Janet Davies and Julie Peach last week, and they said that it was up to £38,000 that they would personally be out of pocket. My colleague Vikki Howells had a statement of opinion, which was signed by cross-party Members, although notably not by any Conservative Members. Will you join my constituents and agree to continue to campaign—I’m pleased you did—and call directly, by writing, on the UK Government to introduce fair arrangements?

I thank the Member for drawing attention to the Women Against State Pension Inequality campaign, who have a major demonstration today and who’ve been so effective in drawing attention to this issue. Lesley Griffiths, who held equality responsibilities in the last Assembly term, wrote to Baroness Altmann, then Minister for State for Pensions, in February of this year, expressing the Welsh Government’s concerns about the impact of the two pensions Acts. The Member is quite right in saying that the call from the campaign is for fair, transitional state pension arrangements. Their objection is not to fair arrangements; it’s to the way in which changes to their pensions have twice been introduced, disadvantaging them on both occasions, without adequate notice. The House of Commons Work and Pensions Select Committee said that more could and should have been done to provide those affected with proper information. That’s absolutely the position of this Government, and it’s one we’ll continue to press on their behalf.

Minister, the gradual equalisation of the state pension age of 65 for both men and women was first set out in the Pension Act 1995. Rather than increase the state pension age overnight, successive Governments have introduced changes incrementally. Given that the employment rate for women is at a record high, does the Minister agree that the equalisation of retirement age for men and women is a major step in tackling gender inequality and puts the state pension on a sustainable footing by taking into account increasing life expectancy?

Well, those who are campaigning on this issue, Llywydd, are not objecting to gradual equalisation on an incremental basis; what they are campaigning about is the directly discriminatory way in which a group of women born between 1950 and 1953 have been adversely affected by twice having their state pension rate raised and without adequate information and notice. That campaign is about trying to find a way of mitigating that. They have put forward a very practical proposal for doing so, and it’s one that I think Members in this Chamber would wish to support.

The WASPI demonstration and lobby of Parliament today will no doubt have been drowned out by other events going on. But I think it’s very important to recognise that the Work and Pensions Committee in the House of Commons came up with a solution to this problem, to allow women to claim their pension early at a reduced rate. What is there that you can do to persuade the UK Government, particularly Stephen Crabb in his current position, that they should reconsider these transitional arrangements, which seem entirely reasonable and won’t cost the taxpayer any more money?

Well, Llywydd, my understanding is that Baroness Altmann has agreed to meet with the WASPI campaign following the demonstration today. She’s on record as saying that she had been gagged by her previous Secretary of State, Iain Duncan Smith, on this issue and I know that the women who will meet her today will be looking forward to seeing her without that impediment. In the meantime, we will continue to lobby on behalf of women in Wales for whom this is a very serious issue.