Work and Pensions Committee Chair, Frank Field, has asked for further information from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) regarding complaints by women affected by changes to the state pension age.

In a letter to Pensions Minister Guy Opperman, dated 12 December 2018, Field requested answers on the complaints after the case was closed by the Independent Case Examiner due to the upcoming judicial review.

The letter requested confirmation on “the number of cases that have been closed as a result of the decision to permit a judicial review”.

He also asked for information on “the number of additional cases you still expect to close, the rationale for closing these cases and what legal advice the department took before closing these cases”.

Field requested a response from the DWP on or before 18 December 2018.
Opperman issued a reply on 18 December, although in his response letter he said that he was “unable to provide a full response by this time”.

He added, however, “I write to confirm that I will follow up with a full response as soon as possible”.

Campaign groups, such as the Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi), have been campaigning over alleged insufficiently communicated changes to the state pension age, originally outlined in 1995.

Frank Field has previously said that he believed women affected by the changes have been “put in a grotesquely disadvantaged position by the government”.

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