§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what actions are being taken by her Department to promote pensions foruMs in each local authority area. [17368]
§ Mr. DenhamThis Department has no plans to set up pensions foruMs in each local authority area, but we want everyone with an interest in pensions to participate in the Pensions Review announced by my hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 17 July 1997,Official Report, columns 239–41. We particularly welcome contributions from today's pensioners. That is why we were extremely pleased that Jack Jones and the National Pensioners' Convention (NPC) agreed to take on a central and specific role within the Review so that pensioners' voices can be heard at the heart of the Review process. It is open to the NPC to make representations on the further involvement of pensioners in local and central Government. The NPC is an organisation with a large number of affiliated local pensioners' organisations and over 1.5 million members across the country. To date we have received and are considering over 1,800 replies to the public consultation exercise which ended on 31 October many of which are from local pensioners' organisations.