Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect of her policy on pensions uprating on people eligible for a state pension who reside in a Commonwealth country.

The policy on the up-rating of UK State Pensions paid to recipients living in a Commonwealth country is clear and is a long-standing policy of successive post-war Governments that has been in place for over 70 years. The annual index-linked increases are paid to UK State Pension recipients where there is a legal requirement to do so. For example, where UK State Pension recipients are living in countries where there is a reciprocal agreement that provides for the uprating of the UK State Pension. The Government has no plans to change this policy.