The demand for STEM skills is growing and industry recognises that there is a gender imbalance, particularly in sectors such as engineering, construction and manufacturing. In order to improve gender representation, we have taken focussed action to engage with businesses, representative bodies and learned societies to understand what the barriers are to participation, retention and progression. This includes a series of engagements to understand what more we can do to work collaboratively and improve representation of women in the STEM sector.

The Department will support and publicise a number of events being held across government to mark the centenary of women getting the right to vote in 1918. In addition, the Suffragette Flag will be raised on Tuesday, 6 February at 1 Victoria Street to mark the occasion and show support for this important anniversary.

The Department, in collaboration with Parliament, will also host this year’s cross-Whitehall International Women’s Day celebrations on the 8^th March. We will celebrate the impact of women in public service over the last 100 years; consider how women in public service can take action to increase their impact today; and challenge attendees to dream big and increase impact over the next decade.

All women born in the 1950s from 6 April 1950 onwards are affected by changes to State Pension age under the Pensions Acts of 1995 and 2011. The estimated number of women in Great Britain born in the 1950s affected by the changes to State Pension age is 3.48 million.

The latest figures on pension wealth, from the Wealth and Assets Survey, show that, in the period July 2012 to June 2014, 66 per cent of women aged 55-64 in Great Britain had pensions wealth. This would include those still paying into an occupational or personal pension and those accessing their pensions.

Further information on private pension wealth can be found in chapter 6 of the Wealth and Assets Survey, at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/personalandhouseholdfinances/incomeandwealth/compendium/wealthingreatbritainwave4/2012to2014/chapter6privatepensionwealthwealthingreatbritain2012to2014

The latest figures from the Annual Population Survey, from July 2015 to June 2016, show that, of the 3.73 million women in the United Kingdom aged 56 to 65 inclusive at that time (the closest age grouping matching the women in question from the data available), 1,919,000 (51%) were in employment, 55,000 (1%) were unemployed, 955,000 (26%) were retired, and the remaining 806,000 (22%) were economically inactive for other reasons.

The latest figures on Jobseeker’s Allowance are for March 2017, when there were around 34,000 women in Great Britain aged 55 and over in receipt of Jobseeker’s Allowance. These data can be found at: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk.

A small additional number of women in this age group will instead have been in receipt of Universal Credit, which replaces Jobseeker’s Allowance and five other benefits and tax credits.

All women born in the 1950s from 6 April 1950 onwards are affected by changes to State Pension age under the Pensions Acts of 1995 and 2011. The estimated number of women in Great Britain born in the 1950s affected by the changes to State Pension age is 3.48 million.

The latest figures on pension wealth, from the Wealth and Assets Survey, show that, in the period July 2012 to June 2014, 66 per cent of women aged 55-64 in Great Britain had pensions wealth. This would include those still paying into an occupational or personal pension and those accessing their pensions.

Further information on private pension wealth can be found in chapter 6 of the Wealth and Assets Survey, at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/personalandhouseholdfinances/incomeandwealth/compendium/wealthingreatbritainwave4/2012to2014/chapter6privatepensionwealthwealthingreatbritain2012to2014

The latest figures from the Annual Population Survey, from July 2015 to June 2016, show that, of the 3.73 million women in the United Kingdom aged 56 to 65 inclusive at that time (the closest age grouping matching the women in question from the data available), 1,919,000 (51%) were in employment, 55,000 (1%) were unemployed, 955,000 (26%) were retired, and the remaining 806,000 (22%) were economically inactive for other reasons.

The latest figures on Jobseeker’s Allowance are for March 2017, when there were around 34,000 women in Great Britain aged 55 and over in receipt of Jobseeker’s Allowance. These data can be found at: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk.

A small additional number of women in this age group will instead have been in receipt of Universal Credit, which replaces Jobseeker’s Allowance and five other benefits and tax credits.

The Government will not be revisiting the State Pension age arrangements for women affected by the Pensions Act 1995 and Pensions Act 2011. These women will receive their State Pension either at the same age as men or earlier as we remove the current inequality. A concession was made prior to the passing of the 2011 Act which reduced the delay that anyone would experience in claiming their State Pension, relative to the previous timetable, to 18 months. This concession benefited almost a quarter of a million women, who would otherwise have experienced delays of up to two years. A similar number of men also benefited from a reduced increase, and the concession was worth £1.1 billion in total.

The Department has made no estimate of the cost of permitting a defined group of women to take early retirement on an actuarially neutral basis, nor has it estimated possible take-up levels of any such scheme.

The Government Actuary submitted evidence to the Work and Pensions Select Committee on early access to State Pension in April last year, including indicative estimates of potential costs should such a scheme be in operation. The evidence submitted by the Government Actuary can be found at the Work and Pensions Select Committee website at:

http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/work-and-pensions-committee/inquiries/parliament-2015/early-drawing-pension-15-16/

Automatic enrolment was designed specifically to help those underrepresented in pension saving - including women.

And encouragingly, in 2015 for the first time the proportion of eligible women (70%) participating in private sector workplace pensions was greater than the proportion of eligible men (69%).

Women reaching State Pension age in 2016/17 are estimated to receive more State Pension on average over their lifetime than women ever have before.

By 2030, over 3 million women stand to gain an average of £550 per year through the introduction of the new State Pension.

What recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on improving pension transition arrangements for women born in the 1950s.

It is not good enough for the Minister to say, as he did earlier, that that is it for the WASPI women and that everything has been done that is going to be done. Has he given any consideration to the recommendation from the Work and Pensions Committee talking about allowing the WASPI women the chance to claim their pensions early at a reduced rate, which I believe is cost-neutral and fits with other areas where the Government have allowed pensioners to take their pensions earlier at a reduced rate?

What was the minimum notice received by those facing the maximum increase in age?

Last week, the John Cridland report indicated that there may well be an increase in the pension age. As life expectancy rises, it is right and proper for any Government to consider increasing the state pension age. However, will my hon. Friend reassure the House that if there are any indeed changes to the state pension age, they will be communicated in a timely and appropriate manner, so that those affected know about them?

The Minister said in terms that the Government cannot afford to fund transitional arrangements or any of the proposals in the report referred to by my hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull North (Diana Johnson). May I suggest that he look again, with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, at spending over £30 billion on tax relief for pension contributions, for which there is no evidence that it encourages pension savings?

Labour will oppose the earlier increase in the state pension age and the end of the triple lock, recommended in last week’s Cridland report, but we welcome the statement from John Cridland that at least 10 years’ notice should be given of any age increase, so there is yet another chance for the Minister. Do the Government agree with Cridland? If they do, will the Minister now admit that they got it badly wrong with the WASPI women and at least back Labour’s proposals to extend pension tax credit?

The Fawcett Society found last year that 25% of women over 30 are saving nothing for retirement, compared with 15% of men. What does the Secretary of State think is responsible for that, and what is he doing to change it?

In response to the Minister’s answer, I ask him whether he will respond to the comments of his Government’s former Pensions Minister Baroness Altmann, who said she regretted the Government’s failure to properly communicate state pension age equalisation, an approach she described as

“a massive failure of public policy”,

and the comments of Steve Webb, another of their former Pensions Ministers, who said that the last Government made a bad decision on changing the state pension age? Will the Minister look at rectifying that?

I give the same answer I gave to the hon. Member for Ross, Skye and Lochaber (Ian Blackford): the Government have been clear that the introduction of further transitional arrangements cannot be justified, given the imperative to focus public resources

on helping those who are most in need. There are no plans to go beyond the £1.1 billion concession introduced when Parliament considered the changes.

The Pensions Act 2011 accelerated the equalisation of State Pension age, affecting women born between 6 April 1953 and 5 December 1953, and brought forward the increase in State Pension age from 65 to 66 which affected women and men born between 6 December 1953 and 5 April 1960.

The Pensions Act 2011 Impact Assessment, published in November 2011, included estimates of the number of people affected, based on the latest population projections from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) at the time (the 2010-based principal projections), and stated that 2.6 million women and 2.3 million men in Great Britain would be affected. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/181462/pensions-bill-2011-ia-annexa.pdf

The most recent estimates of the number of people affected are calculated from the 2014-based principal population projections from ONS, which were published in October 2015. Using this data, the latest estimate of the number of women affected by the Pensions Act 2011 is 2.5 million. This figure is for Great Britain and is based on DWP calculations using ONS statistics.

Note that this figure includes approximately 0.1 million women affected by the Pensions Act 2011 who were born between 1 January 1960 and 5 April 1960.