Part of 1. 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government – in the Senedd at 1:36 pm on 29 June 2016.
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.