BUSINESS in the House of Commons on Monday included oral questions on work and pensions. Such questions are about the economy of the country, the wellbeing of the country. So it was alarming to hear MP after MP raise the issue of late payment of state pensions to first-time applicants, some waiting in excess of three months. This is an outrage and has largely slipped under the radar.
But this is not the only crisis at the DWP, as highlighted in the House. The Waspi (Women Against State Pension Inequality) women born in the early 1950s still await justice regarding notice of rises in their state pension age, and are not going away. Another crisis for our pensioners is the removal of the triple lock, abandoned by the Conservatives despite being a manifesto commitment, effectively robbing pensioners of approx £500 this year. The fifth-richest country in the world currently has in excess of two million pensioners living in poverty.
The Conservatives took from the vulnerable and needy when they removed the £20/week temporary uplift to Universal Credit. Now it is the turn of the pensioners to take the hit.
Catriona C Clark
Falkirk
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