Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential disparity in treatment between members of private sector defined benefit pension schemes and members of the Pension Protection Fund and Financial Assistance Scheme following the introduction of indexation for pre-1997 service.

The Government has brought forward legislation to introduce increases on compensation payments from the Pension Protection Fund and Financial Assistance Scheme that relate to pensions built up before 6 April 1997. These will be CPI-linked (capped at 2.5%) and apply prospectively (i.e. to payments going forward). This will only apply for members whose former schemes provided for these increases and will therefore create greater equality between private sector defined benefit pension schemes who provide pre-97 indexation and members of the Pension Protection Fund and Financial Assistance Scheme who had this feature in their original pension.