Yesterday, although the main debates were on the government overall spending ( technically Day 2 of the Estimates debates) there was an urgent question on the review of the state pension age. An urgent question from the Opposition no doubt inspired by the sensational headlines splashed across the tabloids yesterday that people would have to work until their seventies or in one case their eighties before being able to claim their state pension. I asked the Secretary of State to confirm that workers in Bury North approaching retirement age should not be alarmed by these headlines as the review has only just been instigated. There are no findings, no conclusions and Consequently no agreement by the House of Commons.
I think the present solution agreed in the last Parliament that the state pension should be linked to life expectancy is entirely logical and sensible. In the last Parliament it was agreed there should be regular reviews and it is such a review that has now been started.
David Nuttall 