Liz Kendall MP: speeches 2024

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Speeches

17 Dec 2024 · Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report · Hansard source
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I thank my hon. Friend for his question. It is most important, first, that in future people have proper notice of any changes to the state pension age so that they can properly plan for their retirement, which is not what happened in 2011 under the previous Government; secondly, that we ensure that people get effective, timely and personalised information about their state pension and, I would argue, about their second pensions; and thirdly, that we reach people in many different ways, not just by sending letters, precisely because we know that the great majority of people who get unsolicited letters do not remember getting them or reading some or any of them. That is why we must ensure that our communication strategy is much more personalised, timely and effective.
17 Dec 2024 · Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report · Hansard source
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I can assure my hon. Friend’s constituents in Clwyd North that we want to learn all the lessons from the maladministration that we accept took place. We have to get people timely, effective and personal communication, and not just about their state pension age but about all aspects of pensions, so that they can properly plan for their retirement. The Pensions Minister and I will go through that with a fine-toothed comb to do everything possible to make sure it does not happen again.
17 Dec 2024 · Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report · Hansard source
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I think it is the precise opposite. We accept what the ombudsman found about the maladministration, and we apologise and we will learn the lessons to put it right. However, if Parliament itself decides it wants to put the parliamentary ombudsman on a different footing, it can do so.
17 Dec 2024 · Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report · Hansard source
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We do not ignore the ombudsman; we just do not agree with the approach he takes to injustice or to remedy. We provided research that showed that only one in four people who receive an unsolicited letter remember getting it or reading it, so even if we had sent those letters out earlier—which, as we have said, we should have done—we do not believe it would have made the difference that the ombudsman claims. When 90% of women aged between 45 and 54 knew that the state pension age was increasing, we cannot justify a flat-rate compensation scheme of up to £10.5 billion. We do not believe that that is a fair or proportionate use of taxpayers’ money. The ombudsman plays a really important role, and will continue to do so. I know that, as I have sent countless constituents to the ombudsman to try to get redress in the 14 years that I have been an MP. We continue to back their work and effort.
17 Dec 2024 · Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report · Hansard source
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We did campaign against the acceleration of changes to the state pension age brought forward by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Government, but that is not what this decision is about. The decision on the state pension age has already been taken. I do value the ombudsman’s role; I refer many cases myself. We accept his findings on maladministration, but we do not accept his view on injustice. None the less, the ombudsman continues to have an important role to play for many constituency MPs, and I for one will continue to refer cases to the ombudsman, as I always have done.
17 Dec 2024 · Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report · Hansard source
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We are delivering change, with £22 billion of extra investment in the NHS and a substantial rise in the minimum wage that will deliver a pay rise for 3 million of the lowest-paid workers, as well as the biggest ever increase in the earnings threshold for carer’s allowance to help family carers and a new flat repayment rate for universal credit to give an average of £420 per year to the poorest 1.2 million households. However, we also promised that we would be responsible with taxpayers’ money and take fair and appropriate decisions. I hear what the hon. Lady says about her constituents, but the ombudsman’s report is not about the increase in the state pension age for 1950s-born women. We will learn the lessons from the maladministration, but we do not agree with the ombudsman’s report to injustice or to remedy, which is why we have taken this decision.
17 Dec 2024 · Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report · Hansard source
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My hon. Friend states the fact that the Conservatives broke the triple lock two years ago. Indeed, their shadow Chancellor says that it is unsustainable. I am sure that his constituents will hear those comments loud and clear.
17 Dec 2024 · Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report · Hansard source
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I would say that the ombudsman’s report itself says there would be a huge cost and administrative burden of going through 3.5 million women individually, but I am sure the hon. Member can read the ombudsman’s report and see that quote for himself. This is not about increases in the state pension age, which is what many of the women in the campaign have been very concerned about. It is about the communication, and for all the reasons I have set out, we have decided on this approach.
17 Dec 2024 · Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report · Hansard source
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No, I do not agree with that. It was only when we got into government that we were able to see all the information and advice provided by the Department. I did not go into it in the way that the hon. Gentleman suggests; that is not correct. This report is not about the policy decision and women against state pension age increases. That decision was taken in 1995, agreed to by subsequent Parliaments and deemed lawful by the courts in 2020. The ombudsman’s report is not about the state pension age increases; it is about how they were communicated. I take responsibility for that and will make sure that we do everything possible to put it right.
17 Dec 2024 · Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report · Hansard source
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I know that a number of women expected to be able to retire earlier than they could, but the decision to increase the state pension age has been taken. It was taken by Parliament, agreed by subsequent Parliaments, and deemed legal by the courts in 2020—that issue is settled. This is about the communication of it. As I say, we have accepted the finding of maladministration, but we do not accept the approach to injustice or compensation for all the reasons that I have set out. The Government are taking difficult decisions so that we can invest in the pension triple lock and the NHS, build homes, and get people the jobs that they need—many 1950s-born women are very concerned about those things, not just for themselves but for their families. On this specific issue, I know that many people will be disappointed and angry, but we believe that it is the right and fair decision for all the reasons that I have set out.
17 Dec 2024 · Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report · Hansard source
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I am sure the hon. Gentleman supports an increase in the minimum wage that will deliver a £1,400-a-year pay increase for someone who is working full time on the minimum wage in Leicester. I am sure he agrees with the £22 billion additional investment in the NHS this year and next, and with a boost of £420 per year on average for people on universal credit in Leicester through the fair repayment rate. Those are the changes we are delivering, but on this issue, we do not believe the ombudsman’s approach on injustice or remedy is right. When 90% of 1950s-born women knew that the state pension age was increasing, we do not believe that giving flat-rate compensation is a fair or appropriate use of taxpayers’ money.
17 Dec 2024 · Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report · Hansard source
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My hon. Friend raises an extremely important point, which is that a one-size-fits-all approach will not work—even if it ever did. We need to provide tailored information in an accessible way—in an easily understood and available format. We will work extremely closely with all the necessary groups to develop that information, and, crucially, give sufficient notice. The ombudsman’s report deals with the decisions made between 2004 and 2007, but what greatly concerned many women and led to the original WASPI campaign was the decision in 2011 to accelerate and bring forward increases in the state pension age. Therefore, that other commitment to give sufficient and timely notice so that people can properly plan for their retirement is extremely important.
17 Dec 2024 · Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report · Hansard source
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My hon. Friend asks a reasonable question. The difficulty is we estimate that going through 3.5 million women to find out which ones knew about their state pension age increasing and would have made different decisions on that basis would take 10 times the number of staff who administer the state pension for 12 million people, and many years. We do not think that is an affordable or possible programme. The ombudsman himself goes through that point, and that is why he proposes a flat rate, but I have already said why we think that is not justified when 90% of those women knew their state pension age was increasing.
17 Dec 2024 · Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report · Hansard source
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The hon. Lady raises a really important point. As we get older, many of us are working while caring for our elderly loved ones or for children—sometimes both—and those family carers need support. I have already set out the action we have taken, including the biggest ever boost to the earnings threshold for carer’s allowance and a serious, independent review of carers’ overpayments, but we can and should be doing more to support family carers. I am very happy to meet the hon. Lady to talk through her ideas that she thinks would benefit her constituents, if she would like.
17 Dec 2024 · Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report · Hansard source
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I gently say to the hon. Gentleman, who I know was not in the House at the time, that the decision to accelerate the increase in the state pension age in 2011 was taken by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition Government. It was that which angered and annoyed many women and led to the WASPI campaign. We accept that there was a 28-month delay in sending out letters and we apologise for that, but we do not agree with the ombudsman’s approach to injustice or remedy. We do not believe that the letters would have had an impact on most, as the ombudsman said, and when 90% of women knew that the state pension age was increasing, we cannot accept that that flat rate of payment of up to £10.5 billion would be a fair or appropriate use of taxpayers’ money. I know that will disappoint some women born in the 1950s, but we believe it is the right and fair decision.
17 Dec 2024 · Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report · Hansard source
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We do indeed take responsibility for the maladministration between 2004 and 2007 and a 28-month delay in sending the letters out. I want to reiterate to my hon. Friend and to the House that this is not a decision about the increase in the state pension age, which so many women were aggrieved about; it is about how that was communicated. We accept that those letters should have gone out earlier, but even if we had sent those, it would not have made a difference for most. When 90% of those 1950s-born women knew that the state pension age was increasing, we do not think that the proposed compensation scheme is fair or proportionate. That is why we have taken this extremely difficult decision.
17 Dec 2024 · Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report · Hansard source
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I hope that I have been direct, straightforward and honest about why we agree with the finding of maladministration but not with the approach in other areas. People will make their judgment, but I would just say that I believe in facing up to responsibilities, looking at the facts, going through the detail and putting forward a response that is fair and proportionate, and that is what I believe the Government have done today.
17 Dec 2024 · Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report · Hansard source
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I have been a lifelong champion of family carers, which is why I have launched an independent review of the overpayment of carers allowance, led by Liz Sayce, and why the Government have introduced the biggest ever increase in the earnings threshold for carer’s allowance. That will make a huge difference in enabling those who look after the people they love to work at the same time. I understand that many women born in the 1950s will be disappointed, but, for all the reasons I have set out, we think this is the fair and right approach. However, we will learn lessons from the maladministration—the delay and the failure to send out letters for 28 months—to ensure that it never happens again.
17 Dec 2024 · Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report · Hansard source
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I met the WASPI campaign in opposition when I was appointed shadow Work and Pensions Minister. The Minister for Pensions was the first of her kind to meet the WASPI campaign for eight years, and she is happy to meet them again. I say to the hon. Lady, who feels very deeply about the issue, that we will learn all the lessons from what went wrong with the delay in sending the letters out, but we do not agree that even if we had done that, they would have made the difference that the ombudsman claims. This is not about the matter being too complicated; we do not believe that, when 90% of women aged 45 to 54 knew the state pension age was increasing, a flat-rate compensation scheme costing up to £10.5 billion would be a fair or proportionate use of taxpayers’ money.
17 Dec 2024 · Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report · Hansard source
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I believe that this is a difficult decision, but the right and fair one. We accept that there has been maladministration. Once the Department had reached its decision, those letters should have been sent out. For the reasons that I have explained, we do not accept the ombudsman’s approach to injustice, remedy or compensation. We have to take difficult decisions in government, but this is about what I think is right and fair. I am happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss the matter in more detail if he so wishes.
17 Dec 2024 · Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report · Hansard source
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I welcome the overall tone of the hon. Lady’s comments. I am glad that she is finally considering her party’s response to the ombudsman’s report, and I am sure that the whole House looks forward to its detailed response to the findings and recommendations, which were not provided when the Conservatives were in Government. I am sorry that the hon. Lady still fails to take responsibility for the state of the public finances. We have taken full responsibility for that and have taken difficult decisions on the public finances. We have also taken this very difficult decision in response to the ombudsman’s report and have provided that to the House as quickly as we have been able, given the huge amount of information we have had to go through. The hon. Lady asks about next steps. We have three clear things that we intend to do. We will produce a detailed action plan. We want to work with the ombudsman on that so that we can ensure that the delay, the maladministration and the 28-month delay in sending out notifications never happens again, and I am perfectly happy to consider working with the women to make sure we get that right. It is extremely important that, wherever possible, we provide personalised, tailored information. Pensions are a hugely complicated area, and we want people to be empowered with that information and knowledge. We have to do it in all sorts of different formats, because it is individual to the person, and we need to get that right in future. The hon. Lady also mentioned pension credit and the winter fuel payment. I will say to her, as I did yesterday, that we have seen a 145% increase in the number of claims for pension credit since we launched our campaign. More than 42,000 more people are claiming pension credit now. We want to deal with yet another thing the Conservative Government left us with, which was 880,000 pensioners not getting the pension credit or the winter fuel payment they are entitled to. These are difficult decisions. We are a responsible Government and we face up to our responsibilities. I look forward to Members on the Conservative Benches finally doing the same.
17 Dec 2024 · Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report · Hansard source
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The hon. Lady raises a valid point about the state pension itself and the difficulties for women who have taken time out to look after children. We took that seriously when we were last in government, and we still do now, because we want to ensure that there is proper equality for those women. The report and this decision are not about the acceleration in the increase to the state pension age, which was at the heart of why so many women felt angry about what happened. We will ensure that we give proper notice so that people can plan for their retirement, we will support women through the pension triple lock and all the investment that we are putting into the NHS, and we will ensure that equality for women is at the heart of our proposals for pensions.
17 Dec 2024 · Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report · Hansard source
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The pension schemes Bill will do precisely that. One of the really important things that we want to do is to consolidate smaller pension pots, so that they deliver better value and better results for those in retirement. That is exactly what that Bill will do. We want to see the very best for pensioners and also the very best for UK plc, which is why our pensions reforms are so important. My hon. Friend the Minister responsible for pensions will be delivering on that in the months and years ahead.
17 Dec 2024 · Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report · Hansard source
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I know my hon. Friend cares passionately about this issue and many other issues related to pensioners. I repeat what I said in my statement and, indeed, what the ombudsman said, which is there was no direct financial loss for the women. This is not about the increase in the state pension age; it is about how it was communicated. The research shows that only one in four people who get an unsolicited letter remember receiving or reading it, so sending those letters out earlier would not have made the difference. We cannot justify a flat-rate compensation scheme or, indeed, an individualised compensation scheme on that basis.
17 Dec 2024 · Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report · Hansard source
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No.

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