Pension triple lock and pensioner poverty

That this House acknowledges the 5.5 per cent rise in inflation which saw the cost-of-living soar to a 30-year high in January, with energy, fuel and food prices all being impacted; recognises that more than two million older people are already living in poverty in the UK, up 31per cent since 2013-14 according to Age UK; is concerned that the removal of the triple lock, the link between earnings and pensions, is already set to see many pensioners approximately £520 worse off over the next 12 months; is concerned that many older people will not be able to afford to keep their homes adequately heated this winter as they struggle with the cost-of-living crisis; is dismayed by the Government’s abandonment of a key manifest pledge to protect the pension's triple lock, which has seen pensioners’ incomes detrimentally impacted in recent years; notes that inflation may rise above 7 per cent with the price cap on energy prices set to rise again in the coming months; opposes this latest attack on pensioners who have already seen free TV licences removed for the over 75s, suffered cuts to Pension Credit, women born in the 1950s hit by pension changes for which they were unable to financially prepare; and urges the Government to urgently review the State Pension increase for 2022 with a view to restoring the triple lock forthwith.