Meeting of the Parliament 21 January 2025
I think that it was wrong of Mr Balfour’s party not to engage with the PHSO report in any meaningful way in the previous UK parliamentary session and, indeed, to kick the issue into the long grass and not even offer an apology or take any learning at all from the process. I do not think that Mr Balfour can stand here and lecture us on what should or should not have been done. I will come to the point about where I think the UK Government could and should go further; I will, of course, address that wider point. However, I think that Conservative members must consider the inaction of their own Government during its long 14 years in power and, in the recent past, its inaction following receipt of the PHSO’s report.
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has tasked officials to develop a strategy for effective and timely modern communications on state pensions to ensure that nobody falls through the cracks in the future.
On the issue of an apology, it is important and worth putting on the record that the ombudsman described the apology as “very significant” and welcomed
“the Government’s recognition that mistakes were made, and the commitment from the Secretary of State to make sure this never happens again.”
The ombudsman went on to recognise the disappointment that not all the recommendations on redress have been taken forward.