1. What discussions has the Counsel General had with law officers following the loss of the appeal against the High Court ruling by women born in the 1950s affected by the state pension age being changed from 60 to 66? OQ55546

The Welsh Government has repeatedly expressed deep-seated concerns to the UK Government on behalf of women in Wales who have faced the injustice of having their state pension age raised without effective or sufficient notification. I am aware of the Court of Appeal judgment, and I will, of course, be monitoring any appeal if it's lodged to the Supreme Court.

I'm grateful to the Counsel General for his reply. He will know that I have been working very closely with campaigners across my region, particularly in Llanelli and Pembrokeshire, on this issue. The result was obviously disappointing, but it didn't come as a complete surprise.

I wonder if the Counsel General will agree with me that it now seems likely that the solution to this will come from political decisions rather than from any legal ruling. Would this be a timely moment for the Welsh Government to make representations once again to the UK Government on behalf of the women of Wales so affected?

It seems to me that, in the aftermath of the COVID crisis, this is particularly pertinent. We of course have many women who would have expected to retire who are now having to stay in work, and they might be in a position, if they were able to retire and had the pension entitlement they expected, to retire a little earlier and potentially free up some further work for younger people who will desperately need it.

Well, I share the Member's disappointment with the outcome of the appeal; as she says, perhaps more disappointing than surprising in light of progress in the matter. These women are women who faced discrimination, very often, throughout the course of their working lives. So, it will be particularly disappointing to have had that result.

As she will know, I've continued to look for opportunities to be able to, perhaps, intervene and none have, unfortunately, presented themselves. But I do think that, in her question, she's right to say that given that the litigation strategy isn't bearing the fruit that perhaps we might have hoped, there are some practical proposals that many of these groups have put forward in order to transition to a more just set of outcomes. We have corresponded consistently with the UK Government, as the Member knows. I think, unfortunately, our most recent letter hasn't even had a reply unfortunately. But, we will continue to make those representations so that the UK Government engage with these women, not in the courts, but in seeking a just resolution to what is and has been for some time, a great injustice.