The following amendments have been selected: amendments 1 and 2 in the name of Julie James.

Item 10 on our agenda is the UKIP debate on the Women Against State Pension Inequality campaign. I call on Caroline Jones to move the motion. Caroline.

Motion NDM6697 Neil Hamilton

To propose that the National Assembly for Wales:

1. Notes and welcomes the campaign of the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) group to achieve fair transitional state pension arrangements for all women born in the 1950s affected by changes to state pension laws.

2. Calls on the Welsh Government to work with the UK Government to provide the following to all women born in the 1950s affected by changes to state pension laws:

a) a bridging pension that supplies an income until state pension age, which is not means-tested;

b) compensation for the absence of a bridging pension to those who have already reached their state pension age;

c) compensation to all those who have not started to receive a bridging pension by an appropriate date, which would be sufficient to recover lost monetary interest; and

d) compensation to the beneficiaries of the estates of those who are deceased and failed to receive a bridging pension.

Motion moved.

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I'm pleased to move this motion today, tabled in the name of my colleague Neil Hamilton. I have to declare an interest at the outset, Dirprwy Lywydd: I am a woman unfairly affected by state pension age changes, and one of the women against state pension inequality.

In 1995, the then Conservative Government introduced a new Pensions Act, which would have raised the age of retirement for women to 65—the same age as men—by 2020. This would have given women at least 15 years to change their retirement plans—15 more years of savings to help meet the shortfall in their pension funds. However, the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition Government changed these plans. The Pensions Act 2011 sped up the changes, meaning that women's state pension age would increase from 63 in 2016 to 65 in November this year, and on it goes. The Act also stated that both men and women's state pension age should increase to 66 by 2020. I, like thousands of my compatriots, was not personally notified of these changes. I received no letter; I received no explanation. No-one told me my retirement plans would have to change, but, unlike many other women in this situation, I am lucky: I am still in employment; I am not facing destitution. Sadly, many women have been badly affected by these changes, and I have heard of at least one woman who took her own life as a result of the financial black hole she found herself in. No-one should be treated this way—no-one. Nobody disagrees that men and women's retirement ages shouldn't be the same. However, these changes shouldn't have been introduced without decades of notice, years to plan and time to make additional financial arrangements.

As it stands, the changes to women's pensions were introduced too fast, too haphazardly. I only learned of the changes via an offhand remark made to me one day, and my situation is far from unique. Women are being made to suffer because of a lack of foresight and planning by successive UK Governments. Women are being made to suffer because of the Tory and Lib Dem pursuit of austerity. And women are being made to suffer because of Labour's mishandling of public finances and their failure to repeal the 1995 Act. I ask those Labour politicians who support the WASPI movement—you were in Government from 1997 until 2010—why did you not take action then? Unfortunately, we can't correct past mistakes, but we can mitigate the effects those mistakes are having on women born in the 1950s.

Our motion before you today calls for a bridging pension that supplies an income until state pension age that is not means-tested, compensation for the absence of a bridging pension to those women who have already reached their state pension age, compensation to all those who have not started to receive a bridging pension by an appropriate date that would be sufficient to recover lost monetary interest, and compensation to the beneficiaries of the estates of those who are deceased and fail to receive a bridging pension. This is not too much to ask, and I hope that Members here will support this motion today. I hope the Welsh Government will fight the WASPI women's corner, and I hope that the UK Government will see sense. 

There are things we can do here in Wales without waiting for the UK Government to acknowledge the pain and suffering the policies have created. Women born in the 1950s now find themselves having to work for another six years and the Welsh Government can assist them in both finding work and ensuring that employers take on employees close to retirement age, whilst at the same time fighting for the women of the 1950s to receive what they are owed. They were robbed. 

I have been told of numerous examples of women being denied employment because of their age. A lady contacted me and stated, 'I'm 62, I receive no pension as I was promised. I'm rendered unemployable due to my age. I'm destitute and depend on friends and family.' This should not be the case, but I doubt it's unique.

We have to encourage employers to see the benefits of employing people in the final years of their working life. These women will bring with them a lifetime of experience, a wealth of knowledge, and a work ethic forged through decades of hard graft. I urge the Welsh Government to do all they can to encourage employers to invest in WASPI women, to work with employers to ensure that there is meaningful employment for those forced to work longer, but who are also fighting to survive and want what they are owed. 

I urge Members to show their support for WASPI women by supporting this motion before you today. Show your support for WASPI women by telling the UK Government that it is unacceptable how these women are being treated. The pension changes wouldn't have had much impact on women in their 30s and maybe 40s, but have had a devastating impact on women in their 50s and 60s. The UK Government clearly don't care about the impact these policies are having, as evidenced by their blank refusal to roll back the changes. 

It is now up to each and every one of us here today to ensure the impact these changes are having are mitigated and that the people have what they're entitled to. I don't want to see any other woman forced to make a choice between living in destitution or taking their own life. These women have worked hard for decades, they shouldn't be facing poverty in retirement. They should be receiving the pension they were promised for decades of hard work.

No Government should have the right to break these promises and put these women in poverty. These women planned their retirement according to these promises, and these promises were broken. No-one has the right to take their money from these women. It's worth noting, some women, after 43 years of hard physical work, unable to work physically anymore, are now left without their pension. So, we have to act. The Welsh Government has to act. The UK Government must be forced to act. I urge you all to support the motion I've put before you today.

Thank you. I have selected the two amendments to the motion and I call on the leader of the house to move formally amendments 1 and 2, tabled in her name.

Amendment 1. Julie James

Add as new point 1 and renumber accordingly:

Regrets UK Government inaction to end the injustice suffered by women affected by the changes to state pension laws.

Amendment 2 Julie James

In point 2, delete 'work with' and replace with 'urge'.

Amendments 1 and 2 moved.

Formally.

Thank you. Vikki Howells.

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. I want to welcome the opportunity to discuss this very important issue today. Decisions made at Westminster by an out-of-touch and uncaring Government have had a terrible impact on millions of British women, including an estimated 200,000 women here in Wales. The WASPI women, those who have contributed all their lives to our country, have been effectively abandoned. For many of us, those women are our friends, acquaintances, close family and the women we see all around us in our communities on a daily basis.

With the recent news on the Windrush generation, it seems that the breaking of the social commitment that has bound our country together for decades is the sole ambition of the Tories in Westminster. However, it is precisely because it is UK Ministers who have caused this problem, and indeed in a spirit of justice and fairness, that we need to take urgent remedial action. That is why I am supporting the Government’s amendments today. The best outcome from today’s debate for WASPI women will be that we send a clear and incontrovertible message to Westminster that what UK Ministers have done is wrong. 

We should all be familiar with what has happened in this case. Legislation from 1995 set out an intention for women’s state pension age to increase to 65 by 2020. Iain Duncan-Smith, who boasts of being able to live on £53 a week whilst in reality claiming nearly £100 in expenses for a new stapler, forced through these changes. His Pensions Act 2011 accelerated the timetable, bringing the change forward to November this year and putting in place a further rise to age 66 by 2020. His promises for transitional arrangements were not kept. And who were these transitional arrangements for? They would have helped the millions of women born in the 1950s who now face the pushing back of the age at which they expected to claim their state pensions—pensions that they have paid into all their lives, worked hard for, contributed to.

What is worse, these changes were made with little or no notice, forced through without time to make alternative plans. So, now, WASPI women have to work for longer, or indeed find new employment altogether. Evidence from Age UK has shown the challenges for those in physically demanding jobs having to work for longer, the additional stress, strain and ill health. Whilst changes to state pension age may offer no personal challenge to Prime Minister Theresa May, that is not the case for most other women, especially those working in physically demanding roles such as, for example, carers, cleaners or jobs in retail. Moreover, there are challenges around workplace skills. I've been told of the barriers facing one WASPI woman from my local area. Having retired on the basis of misleading DWP information, she needs to return to the workplace now, but is having no success. As she says, 'I can’t use a computer and who wants to employ an exhausted, unskilled 62-year-old?'

A further complicating factor is that many of these women are also trapped with a double burden. Unpaid caring responsibilities for grandchildren, spouses or perhaps even their own elderly parents take up too much time and energy. In short,

'retirement plans have been shattered with devastating consequences'.

These words come from the Women Against State Pensions Inequality campaign.

The only positive to have come out of this is the way that those 1950s women have fought back so impressively, organising and campaigning to highlight the injustice that has been done to them. Many AMs will have met campaigners and been impressed by their resolve and courage, especially when this is a role that many of them never expected to have to play.

I recently spoke at an event to mark 100 years since the 1918 Representation of the People Act in Cynon Valley Museum. I was joined on the panel by the co-ordinator of the local WASPI group. She told me about the range of profile-raising activities they undertake, but also the practical, albeit less glamorous, work that they do supporting their peers by helping them to complete technical forms and limitless paperwork, and providing friendship and support. As we celebrate the centenary of women gaining the vote, it is good to see the spirit of the suffragettes still alive.

In 1918, the UK Government extended the franchise to recognise women's campaigning and practical work during the war. The duty is now on the UK Government to make changes, to put in place the transitional arrangements this current generation of women worked all their lives for, to give them back their dues, their hope and their future.

I welcome the fact that UKIP have brought this debate to the Chamber this afternoon, and I must say it's difficult to add to Caroline Jones's opening passionate and excellent contribution, which covered so many different areas and aspects, not only of how we got into this position, but also the real suffering that some women are going through in this position. Also, you quoted your own personal experience as well.

Can I start by saying that I have, like all other AMs, great sympathy for the women affected by these changes to the state pension and, as I said, what they're going through at this moment? One of my members of staff is actually in a similar position herself to that set out by Caroline Jones, so it's a sensitive issue in my office so I have it close to home. So, I'm not just speaking about this issue today from a distance, as clearly not a WASPI myself—[Inaudible.]—but from personal experience of friendships and colleagues.

I'm sure that all AMs here have been approached at some point by women in this situation, and, as Caroline Jones did today, the WASPI women make a very strong, passionate case, so it is very difficult not to be compelled by what they have to say. And as politicians, Assembly Members, that is our job. Some of the stories that Vikki Howells mentioned do touch the heart strings.

Of course, to say this is purely an issue that happened under this UK Government is not true. Certainly, some of the changes that happened in 2010-11, you're quite right to point those out, but as you said, the changes, actually, are a consequence of going back as far as the Pensions Act 1995, which set this train in motion. Back then, the changes were deliberately held back for a length of time with the intention, at least, to give the women affected time to plan for their retirement. Now, of course, we know that that process—. Well, to say it was far from perfect is an understatement; it clearly hasn't worked.

Whilst it is a Conservative Government in power at the moment, of course, this has happened under a number of Governments. It's happened under a coalition Government, going back to the 1990s it was a Conservative Government and, of course, the Labour Government in between. So, along the line, there has been a successive failure of effective communication between UK Government and the WASPI women and that is regrettable, but as you've said, Caroline, it's difficult, not always impossible, but difficult to correct past mistakes, and so what we have to do, as Vikki Howells said as well, is see how we can best support those women.

Now, this isn't a devolved issue; Julie James has had nothing, well, very little to do with the changes in legislation at UK level. I must say, though, I did find the Government amendment, which changes the call for the Welsh Government to work with the UK Government to the Welsh Government to 'urge' the UK Government a little pedantic. I'm sure there was some—. Well, you can probably explain the reason for that drafting. But, I think that the public would not mind, Julie, if the Welsh Government, even though it isn't a devolved responsibility, was actually working with the UK Government in this instance. We do have two Governments, as we know—we've got the UK Government at the other end of the M4, as Plaid are often keen to point out, and we have the Welsh Government here. So, I think there does need to be co-operation. Even though the levers of power on this are in Westminster, I think there does need to be a concerted effort here to get the UK Government—

Will you take an intervention?

I will shortly.

To get the UK Government to review the situation.

Thank you for that. Can I ask, then, in that regard, what interventions you have made, as Welsh Conservatives—and representations—to them around this matter?

Yes. As I said earlier, Rhianon, like other AMs, I've had approaches from WASPI women constituents and I've been happy to say to the UK Government, 'Look, this doesn't look like it's worked out particularly well and I think you should look again at this.' Like all of us here, I'm not in the UK Government. I am here as a Welsh Assembly Member, so as the Welsh Government don't have a direct role to play in this, I don't either, but nonetheless, we all have Members of Parliament who represent our areas, so I hope that we would all pass on our concerns.

There was a rationale back then behind the changes. It was to meet EU equality laws—probably not going to be so important for too long into the future, now, but that was the reason back then. There was a need to keep pensions on a sustainable footing with an ageing population and I think that was some of the reason behind some of the changes that were made in 2010-11. So, there were reasons there, but clearly something has gone wrong with the communication through this process. I'm more than happy, Rhianon—and I would like other Members to know—to pass on my concerns to the UK Government. I think we are where we are, but let's keep the pressure up to see that these women who are affected are given the support they need, that they are allowed to work in the ways and for the length of time they need to make sure that they don't go into their latter years, into older age, suffering, because that wasn't the original intention and that certainly shouldn't be the case.

I’d like to start by congratulating WASPI for their very powerful campaign drawing attention to this unfairness that we’re discussing today. In my area, there are a number of women who have come to Hywel Williams, the MP for Arfon, Liz Saville-Roberts, the MP for Dwyfor Meirionnydd, and me, and we’ve worked together with those women to establish local WASPI groups. By now, we have a WASPI group for Arfon and Anglesey and a Dwyfor Meirionnydd WASPI group. We’re continuing to support their efforts and highlighting the unfairness that has been created by the changes to the state pension Act. I know that there are other WASPI groups across Wales, and I do congratulate you on your work.

The changes are a concern for millions of people across the UK and there are more and more becoming aware of the impact. Not everyone still is aware of the far-reaching impact that this can have on the lives of women and their families.

It’s important to note that Plaid Cymru does support the principle of creating equality in terms of the state pension age. There is no reason why it’s expected that a woman would retire at a younger age than a man would. That’s not appropriate or relevant in an age of equality. There is no opposition to the principle, therefore, but I do object strongly to the process that has been adopted to drive this change forward. What we need is a transitional period that is fair for every woman who was born in the 1950s and who has been affected by these changes. The timetable as it stands doesn’t give time for women who are affected to plan for their retirement, for the reduction in the pension, which is unlike what they were planning for, and that is the message I hear time and again from the women that I work with in our local group in Arfon.

Could we dwell a moment on the situation of women generally? Women in Arfon and, indeed, in Wales will be struck particularly hard by these changes. People live longer in England than they do in Wales, income per capita is lower than it is in other parts of the UK, and, on top of that, women in Wales earn less, on average, than the men of Wales—nearly £5,000 less. Twenty-five thousand pounds is the average salary for men, and £20,000 for women, which is a great inequality.

So, while we do welcome the equal treatment of women in terms of the state pension age, we need to treat women equally in all areas—in the workplace, in terms of salaries, and in terms of life chances. It’s interesting to see that the Westminster Government is quite willing to drive forward the equality agenda when that suits them and when it does mean cutting the welfare budget, but what are they doing about equality generally in terms of the general deficiencies, and what are they doing in terms of developing other aspects of equality and getting rid of inequality? And, with all due respect, could I ask UKIP what kind of emphasis do they place on equality generally for women? It’s easy bringing this kind of issue before us, which suits them, but how about this issue generally?

Therefore, we agree with WASPI. We need to introduce equality in terms of the state pension age, but we need to do that over a longer time frame and give an opportunity to women to prepare properly for their future. These women deserve to be treated fairly. I will close with this: I have a case in my constituency of a women who was born 24 hours too late, and now she has to work two years and three months longer. That wasn’t her wish, but that’s what she has to do. That’s not fair, and Plaid Cymru has called consistently for transitional arrangements, and a bridging pension and compensation would go a long way to ameliorate that situation and to make a much more acceptable situation. But, remember, Plaid Cymru is also determined to ensure genuine equality for women across Wales, in every area. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Michelle Brown.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. A betrayal lies at the heart of the situation WASPI women find themselves in. Throughout their working lives, they were promised that, in return for their taxes and national insurance, they would receive a pension and that they would receive it from the age of 60. Women have built lives around the expectation that the UK Government would be as good as its word. For women who have already been working upwards of 25 years to be told at the age of 55 that, rather than work for another five years, they're going to have to work twice that long is hard enough, but, to exacerbate matters, WASPI women have not been notified in sufficient time to put alternative arrangements in place. As we've already heard today, some have not been notified at all. 

It would appear that the changes have been introduced by UK Government with scant, if any, consideration of the impact on the women concerned. The Turner commission said that the notice period should be 15 years; Saga said 10 years. It seems the UK Government ignored them as well. We're not talking about highly paid women here. We're talking about women who have suffered wage inequality throughout their working lives in the first place, women whose work is likely to have been underpaid in relation to its value to society, such as those retired WASPI nurses on whose backs the NHS was built. We're also talking about women who were unlikely to be able to afford a private pension.

I'm sure that the Welsh Government will remind us all that the powers necessary to rectify this injustice sit in Westminster and not Cardiff Bay, and of course they would be right. However, foreign military action is no more devolved than is pension provision, and, if the First Minister can let the world know that he backs bombing Syria, he can let the UK Government know in no uncertain terms what the Welsh Government thinks about the injustice being perpetrated on WASPI women in Wales. He can also work with UK Government to find a solution.

Perhaps Labour feel they can ignore this inequality because the women affected won't make as much noise as the media and sports stars seeking equality. Or maybe there aren't enough of them to make a difference to Labour's electoral calculations. Yet these are the voiceless workers Labour say they're there to serve, to fight for. But it would seem that the Welsh Government have done nothing, absolutely nothing. The Labour amendment replacing the words 'work with the UK Government' with 'urge the UK Government' is an example of their doing nothing. It's easy to urge others to take action, and by doing so they make the right noises and wave the right flag. But if you want to help the WASPI women of Wales you have to be prepared to take action yourselves.

The only thing my party can do in this place for WASPI women is to propose this motion and lobby. But the Welsh Labour Government has the machinery and the communications channels to bring pressure to bear on the UK Government to act fairly on this matter. A bridging pension and/or compensation for those already at retirement age is the only meaningful way to right this wrong, and I really, really hope that you all agree with me here. Compensation to the beneficiaries of affected estates—I'm sorry, I'm really wound up about this—is unquestionably the right thing to do. As I said at the beginning, WASPI women have been cynically betrayed by their Government.

Finally, whilst I appreciate that the Welsh Government cannot legislate itself to rectify this wrong, Welsh WASPI women are looking to the Welsh Government to go to work on the UK Government on their behalf as hard as they're working to achieve other, more international goals. Anything less is simply not enough, and I urge all Members to back this motion today. Thank you.

Thank you. Dawn Bowden.

Diolch, Dirprwy Llywydd. Like Siân Gwenllian, can I start, before making my contribution, by paying tribute to many colleagues, both inside and outside of politics, over a considerable period of time— that doesn't actually include UKIP, quite frankly—that have been so actively involved in the WASPI campaign seeking justice for these women? There are so many aspects—

Will you take an intervention? Will you take an intervention?

No. 

There are so many aspects of this sorry business that I could talk about: the financial hardship suffered, the mass of maladministration complaints, the unfair way in which the changes were introduced, the blatant discrimination and the mismanagement of changes, but, being called late into this debate, I'm going to focus my comments on the outrageous way in which women were notified, or rather, more accurately, were not notified, of changes in their state pension arrangements and the impact on one particular constituent of mine to demonstrate how wide and broad the impact has been. 

Like other Members, I know, I've met women who've told me that they were given little notice by the UK Government of this life-changing decision, and, indeed, as we know, some were never notified at all, because in March 2011 the Government stopped writing to women affected because of further changes that were in the pipeline, and they did not resume writing to women affected until January 2012. The impact of this was that many WASPI women received a letter advising them of significant increases to their state pension age when they were 59, and that was within one year of the significant increases to the state pension age and just one year from the date that they had expected to receive their pension. Be under no illusion: as we have heard several contributors say, this change is resulting in real hardship. It represents a loss of anticipated income for so many women, who, at such short notice, have had no time to prepare for these changes.

But let me now outline the story of one of my constituents, caught out by the changes not by having to work longer but because of her disability. She was born in 1954 and has significant learning disabilities. At 63 years of age, she is unable to read, write, tell the time or manage money—she relied on her parents as carers. After her father passed away 10 years ago, her primary carer was her mother, who had to deal with all her financial matters and with Government bureaucracy around benefits and so on. Understandably, as her mother was dealing with all of her affairs, most of the paperwork was in her mother's name. Sadly, her mother also passed away a couple of years ago. After losing her mother, my constituent's sister became involved in assisting with her needs. Just a few days after their mother's death, my constituent's sister came home to find her very upset, saying that somebody had rung her to say that she had to go somewhere. But, as she didn't retain information well, she was unable to relay the information about where she had to go, or even who it was who'd contacted her, and she became increasingly distressed.

To cut a very long story short, her sister eventually managed to establish that it was the Department for Work and Pensions calling my constituent for a fitness-to-work assessment. It was at this point that my constituent's sister started to realise that her own sister with disabilities was not yet on a state pension, as she had always assumed she would be. Of course, had she been on a state pension at 60 years of age, the DWP wouldn't have been calling her in for a fitness-to-work assessment. There then started a nightmare of assessments to determine fitness to work, at which my constituent was becoming more and more afraid, agitated and distressed. She didn't know what was happening to her—it was a nightmare she would never have had to endure had she received her pension at age 60. 

So, although it was eventually accepted that she was not fit for work, and her benefits changed accordingly, she is still not old enough to receive the state pension. At a time of great emotional distress, having lost her mother—her constant companion, her only friend and her primary carer—and having never lived independently, within a matter of days she was having to deal with Government bureaucracy around fitness to work, all because she was at an age when women were no longer in receipt of the state pension and no-one knew about it. Goodness knows what would have happened to her if she had not had a sister who stepped in to take over that caring and supporting role.

This is just one example of the many difficulties caused by the change in the state pension age, a change that, for my constituent, neither she nor her family knew about and therefore had no plans or provision to deal with. It came about because of a lack of care in communicating the importance of these changes and what the financial impact on many individuals would be, and all of this compounded by the UK Government not being prepared to resolve the situation by introducing fair transitional arrangements to see these women, unprepared for such financial hardship, into retirement. How can—

Are you winding up, please?

—that be right? How can that be just? How can we not support the women in this campaign? However we got here—

Are you winding up, please?

—it is the responsibility of all of us, in whatever we can do, to put this injustice right.

Thank you. Jane Hutt.

I'd like to pay tribute to women in my constituency, the Vale of Glamorgan, who are affected by pension inequality and pledge again today to continue to support them, and welcome them here today in the gallery.

I was very pleased to host a meeting in Barry last year, at the Highlight Park Community Centre, and support campaigners like Kay Ann Clarke, who brought women together to learn more about the campaign and the impact of these unfair changes—changes that are adversely affecting their lives after years of working and caring responsibility.

Now, Kay Clarke has raised a number of points with the Secretary of State for Wales regarding his message on International Women's Day, when this issue was raised locally and nationally. In her message, Kay said to the Secretary of State: 'You stated that there are now 44,000 more women in work in Wales than there were in 2010, and that the UK Government is making significant strides in delivering the changes and creating the conditions required for women from all walks of life who want their horizons broadened and aspirations lifted. Can I suggest to you that a vast number of these women are, in fact, being forced to remain in employment due to the goalposts being unjustly changed by the Government in respect of their state pension age? You also mentioned that, right across Wales, men and women alike will take part in impressive programmes of rallies, concerts, workshops, conferences and performances to send out the message that continued awareness and action is required to ensure that women's equality is gained and maintained in all aspects of life. The aforementioned rallies to which you refer were primarily organised to protest to the Government about the unfair treatment of women with regard to state pension changes. You will be aware that WASPI had arranged one of these rallies, and after finding out on social media about this rally, many organisations joined us in the city centre to inform the public about the gross injustice inflicted on the 1950s-born women. Although they had many commitments on that day, a large number of politicians came to speak at our rally.'

Will the Member give way? 

I will. 

I thank the Member for giving way. Could I draw to her attention the meeting that was held in Cardiff North that was organised by the MP Anna McMorrin, when women queued along the roads leading to the Whitchurch rugby club because the strength of feeling was so great? In fact, the meeting had to be held in two rooms and the hallway because there was such an overwhelming feeling. I'd like to draw that to the Member's attention. 

I think it's important to recognise that, at the rally that was held in Cardiff, at the Nye Bevan statue, where so many important rallies are held in our capital city, on International Women's Day, many people did come and the public joined in that rally. Julie Morgan spoke at that rally as well as myself, supporting the WASPI cause.

But I think it's important that Kay did say in her message to the Secretary of State for Wales: 'You were actually in Cardiff that morning attending to ministerial business, declining our invitation to address the women of Wales, when you were given an opportunity to explain why the Government continues to move the goalposts in respect of the debate and appropriate action to alleviate this gross miscarriage of justice to the women of Wales. I would like to ask why you did not take this opportunity to do so.'

So, I thank Kay today for those questions to the Secretary of State and for allowing me to air and share these today in this very important and serious debate, where I think we're all committed to continuing to fight this cause on behalf of the women affected. The cause, of course, is widely supported, and we have to ensure that we all make our representations to the UK Government on this crucial issue for the women of Wales. 

Thank you. Can I now call the leader of the house, Julie James? 

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. In rising in this debate, I'm delighted to do so. I'm actually very grateful to UKIP for bringing the debate forward. It's a matter of extreme importance to all of us. I too also need to make a declaration of interest as I am one of the women affected, having been born in the 1950s. Fortunately, like Caroline Jones, I'm still in work and so not so badly affected by it, but a very large number of my friends, family, constituents and colleagues are affected by it. Many of them are now enduring hardship and poverty as a result of the changes, about which they knew nothing. This cannot be right and should not be allowed to continue. Many of the women in this age group will have worked in part-time and low-paid roles, or taken time off work to look after children or elderly relatives, and been subject to gender inequality for much of their adult life, as these are the women that were most affected by those changes that were brought in by the women's movement immediately following the second world war. So, it's somewhat ironic that they're the group that are most affected by this. 

Nick Ramsay actually asked me why were changing 'work with' to 'urge', and I will tell him very simply: it's because we've found it impossible to work with the UK Government on this. I wrote to Guy Opperman, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions and Financial Inclusion, at the end of February to reiterate our concerns, and urge them to reconsider transitional arrangements, having first written to the UK Government back in 2016 to express our concerns about the way in which the transition to equal state pension aid was communicated and implemented. I've also added my voice on many platforms and rallies in my own constituency and elsewhere in Wales to those urging the UK Government to reconsider the transitional arrangements without delay, in order that the system is fair to all and does not compound gender inequality for a minority of people. His response cites increases in life expectancy, affordability and sustainability as reasons why the UK Government has no plans to revisit the policy and does not intend to make any further concessions. So, I fear that I do not see the point of working with somebody who has set his face so against a campaign for justice, and that's why I've changed the motion to 'urge', because we continue to urge strenuously that they do indeed change their mind and revisit the transitional arrangements that many Members have pointed out the need for in this Chamber today. In Plenary on 6 March, I reiterated my commitment to raise again the concerns of the Welsh Government and of this Chamber with the UK Government, and I renew that commitment again today and I will write immediately expressing our views following this debate.

I think that many Members have also pointed out that it's not the issue about transition to equality in state pension age that's the question here; it's the manner in which the changes were communicated, the speed with which they were done, and the removal of the transitional arrangements in 2011 that we have a serious problem with. The UK Government has a responsibility towards the women that they have put into this position, to right a wrong and to ensure gender equality is not compounded. Around 195,000 women in Wales are WASPI women, affected by the changes in this Act. And I think many Members have also pointed this out as well, but there is some really heartening stuff here as well, because, as Jane Hutt and Siân Gwenllian and many others have pointed out, it's amazing what the accomplishments of this group of women acting together have achieved already, from getting the message into the mainstream media, the crowdfunding campaign that raised over £100,000 in three weeks, the formation of groups all over the country, and being instrumental in the formation of the all-party parliamentary group on state pension inequality for women.

As a result of their campaign, women from across the country have submitted complaints of maladministration against the Department for Work and Pensions regarding what they see as inadequate communication of changes in the state pension age. Progress on the complaints submitted to the Independent Case Examiner has been very slow, but last November, the legal firm hired by WASPI had a breakthrough, and the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman stepped in and agreed with the Independent Case Examiner that it will directly streamline the process in future, and I just mention that in the Chamber to demonstrate the sheer strength of the campaign and the campaigning behind it.

Julie Morgan, in her intervention with Jane Hutt, mentioned the queue of women outside the meeting organised by Anna McMorrin, and we've had similar experiences as well. Very strong feelings have been aroused by this, quite rightly so, because it's an appalling injustice. There have been numerous debates in the House of Commons, unfortunately not binding on the Government, and Carolyn Harris introduced a private Member's Bill in September on behalf of the all-party parliamentary group, which is calling for a review of the situation, and in particular to undertake costings for the compensation scheme. Its Second Reading has unfortunately been postponed, but they have got an online consultation inviting groups who campaign on this issue to respond, so if anyone knows of a group that hasn't responded, please urge them to do so. I know they've had over 100 responses so far. They're going to be presenting the results of that survey on 25 April, and the point of it is to seek to identify a solution that large numbers of Members can support, that can inform the private Member's Bill, and that this Government will also be seeking to support in any way that we can.

Just because Michelle Brown said that she didn't think that we were doing anything, Deputy Presiding Officer, I will just point out that the Welsh Government recognises the important role played by social welfare advice services in helping people make informed decisions and enforcing their rights to civil justice in terms of these sorts of problems. We remain committed to supporting not-for-profit advice providers who have been very instrumental in giving advice to women as to how to submit a complaint, because we feel confident that some of the most vulnerable people in our society ought to have access to free and independent advice on debt, money management and pension issues, and be supported in this way. So, during this financial year, the Welsh Government will provide £5.97 million in grant funding to not-for-profit advice services, helping people across Wales to access free and independent advice on problems linking to accessing welfare benefits, debt advice, housing and so on.

The reason I point that out is because a number of Members linked, quite rightly, the issue of the WASPI women's injustice with the issue of poverty and women living in poverty. Figures show that the number of women aged 60 plus claiming employment support allowance in Great Britain increased by 410 per cent between August 2013 and August 2017. It's not very difficult to figure out why that should be. The increase for women aged 60 plus claiming universal credit and jobseeker's allowance was 110 per cent. Data compiled by the Institute for Fiscal Studies in its 2017 report 'Can’t wait to get my pension: 
the effect of raising the female state pension age on income, poverty and deprivation' found household incomes for women aged 60 to 62 had fallen by around £32 a week on average. The reduction is similar in cash terms for richer and poorer households, meaning that while the average drop in proportional terms is 12 per cent, the decline is significantly larger, on average, for low-income households: a 21 per cent drop, compared to higher-income households, where it's around 4 per cent. So, all the evidence suggests that it's those who are already around the poverty line who have already seen the largest income losses as a result of the impacts of welfare reform, compared to other income groups.

I spoke earlier, Deputy Presiding Officer, in the Chamber, in answer to some questions, about unintended consequences of numbers of policies coming together and having a much bigger effect than was intended, and we will be making that point again to the UK Government, because its roll-out of universal credit, the way that it's reacting to jobseekers and the way that it's reacting to the transition to personal independent payments, combined with the increase in state pension age, is having a most unfortunate cumulative effect on a large number of women in Wales, and it's right that we point that out.

Universal credit has now been rolled out to eight local authorities in Wales, with Denbighshire going live in April. The DWP have, I'm pleased to say, amended their roll-out schedule to include more time for the full Welsh language online system to be available, but it does mean that the women caught in this position are also caught in the transition, which is very unfortunate indeed. We remain deeply concerned about the fundamental flaws of the system, and we're very disappointed that the UK Government is persisting with the roll-out, despite our and others' calls on them to halt the roll-out and address the number of issues, of which this is one that should be addressed as part of the roll-out.

So, Deputy Presiding Officer, we are fully behind the WASPI women in their campaign. I will continue to urge the UK Government to change its mind and not set its face against transitional and other arrangements, and we will continue to do everything that the Welsh Government possibly can do to support the very brave, courageous and very effective campaigns run by WASPI women all over the country. Diolch.

Thank you very much. Can I call on David Rowlands to reply to the debate?

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Firstly, can I thank all those who have contributed to the debate, and in such a positive manner on most occasions? Can I take this opportunity to congratulate those behind WASPI for the work they have done, and are doing, to raise the awareness of this wholly unsatisfactory state of affairs?

Legislation passed by the UK Government has meant that some 2.6 million women in Britain had their state pension age delayed by up to six years. This change took place without those affected being adequately informed as to the consequences and without proper notice by the DWP, leaving them little time to adequately prepare for their late retirement date. Indeed, after the 1995 legislation, the DWP was still sending out correspondence quoting the retirement age for women as being 60. The original legislation saw women's state pension age rise from 60 to 65 by the year 2020, however this was amended by a further Act in 2011, bringing it forward to 2018 and raising it to 66. Both the changes to the law and the failure to communicate the consequences of the changes to those affected has led to many women across the country being left without adequate pensions after retirement. Many are now near destitute or living on meagre incomes.

Vikki Howells made the point that these women are all around us, including relatives and friends, and outlined the disinformation available to WASPI women. Nick Ramsay pointed out that this all began in 1995. He also again made reference to the misinformation, and as we would expect, said that this was made both under Tory and Labour Governments. Siân Gwenllian quite rightly congratulated the work of WASPI groups across Wales and expressed her support for those groups. Michelle Brown said that women built their lives around retiring at 60, only to find very late in the day, in many cases, that the goalposts were being moved with great disadvantage to WASPI women.

Dawn Bowden concentrated on the misinformation, or non-information. I must say—and I have great respect for Dawn—that her criticism of UKIP's so called 'non-involvement' ignored the fact that the Labour Party were not involved until WASPI came into being, and, of course, the Labour Party had 13 years to repeal the 1995 Act and did not do so. Jane Hutt also spoke of WASPI groups, and she outlined the rally in Cardiff and her desire to help to carry on fighting the cause. Julie James said that many of the WASPI women—and nobody had brought this out, actually—would have been in part-time and low-paid work, which makes their position with late pensions even more disastrous. It was good to hear that she will—and I think I can use this phrase—redouble her efforts to influence the UK Government, and she was quite comprehensive in pointing out some of the interventions that the Welsh Government are attempting to make to make life easier for WASPI women.

We in UKIP call upon this Chamber to put pressure on the UK Government to put in place resources and/or change the legislation to alleviate the suffering of these women, many of whom have worked all their lives and contributed considerably to the wealth of this country. I urge you to support this debate.

Thank you. The proposal is to agree the motion without amendment. Does any Member object? [Objection.] Therefore, we will defer voting on this item until voting time.

Voting deferred until voting time.