Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the answer of 10 June 2026 to Question 3569, what the estimated cost is of providing retrospective pre-1997 indexation only, excluding arrears, at a CPI cap of 2.5% to Financial Assistance Scheme members whose former schemes provided for mandatory indexation.

The estimated cost of providing retrospective pre‑1997 indexation only, applying CPI capped at 2.5%, and excluding the payment of arrears, for Financial Assistance Scheme members whose former schemes provided for mandatory indexation, is approximately £0.4–£0.8 billion. This estimate is based on data as at 31 March 2025.

This in addition to the estimated cost of providing prospective pre‑1997 indexation only, which was set out at the Budget as approximately £0.3–£0.6 billion for the Financial Assistance Scheme.