Hunt Re-Commits Tories to Triple Lock After Election

Asked
if
the
policy
would
be
retained,
he
told
the
BBC’s Sunday
With
Laura
Kuenssberg:

“Absolutely.
We
made
that
commitment
to
pensioners
and
we
think
it’s
a
very
important
one,”
he
said.

However,
Hunt
declined
to
promise
compensation
for
women
hit
by
changes
to
state
pension
eligibility,
amid
accusations
the
government
failed
to
adequately
inform
those
born
in
the
1950s
about
an
increases
to
the
age
at
which
older
people
become
entitled
to
one.

Speaking
to
broadcasters,
the
chancellor
denied
pushing
a
decision
to
one
side,
saying
the
issue
highlighted
by
the
Women
Against
State
Pension
Inequality
(WASPI)
campaign
was
“genuinely
more
complicated”
than
others
in
which
compensation
has
been
promised,
including
the
infected
blood
disaster
and
the
Post
Office
Horizon
scandal.

It
comes
after
a
long-awaited
report
by
the
Parliamentary
&
Health
Service
Ombudsman
(PHSO)
that
found
the
changes
to
the
state
pension
age
were
not
communicated
adequately
and
that
those
affected
should
receive
an
apology
and
compensation.

Asked
whether
it
was
responsible
for
the
government
to
leave
“huge
unpaid
bills”
to
the
next
parliament,
he
said:

“We
had
the
ombudsman’s
report
on
Thursday,
but
we’ve
also
had
a
report
from
the
High
Court
and
Court
of
Appeal
in
2020
that
says
the
Department
for
Work
and
Pensions
behaved
completely
within
the
law
and
didn’t
discriminate,”
he
said.

“So
it
appears
to
say
something
different
and
we
do
need
to
get
to
the
bottom
of
that
apparent
difference
between
the
two.”

He
added:
“we
want
to
resolve
it
as
quickly
as
we
can,
but
there’s
no
secret
vault
of
money.
The
money
we
would
pay
in
compensation
has
to
come
from
other
taxpayers,
so
we
do
have
to
take
time
to
get
this
fair.”

Campaigners
have
demanded
action
over
the
report,
warning
Prime
Minister
Rishi
Sunak
will
be
on
a
“sticky
wicket”
when
he
goes
to
the
country
later
this
year
if
he
fails
to
heed
the
ombudsman’s
findings.

But
amid
straitened
public
finances,
politicians
on
both
sides
have
shied
away
from
commitments
to
payouts,
with
neither
Labour
nor
the
Tories
issuing
a
formal
response
to
Thursday’s
report.

The
PHSO
suggested
compensation
could
cost
between
£3.5
billion
and
£10.5
billion,
although
campaigners
are
pushing
for
a
higher
figure.

By
Nina
Lloyd

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