The consultation document, “A State Pension for the 21st Century” (Cm 8053) was published on April 4, 2011 and invited organisations and members of the public to respond to proposals for reforming the state pension system and managing future changes to state pension age.

The consultation ran from April 4 to June 24 2011 and during that period, I met with a number of organisations to explore our proposals for reform.

I will be publishing a summary of the comments received from the many different organisations and individuals who responded to our proposals by the end of July.

This document will not constitute a Government response to the consultation. The Government will consider in further detail all the responses received before taking any decisions about reforming the state pension system.

A copy of the summary of responses will be available on the Department for Work and Pensions’ website at: www.dwp.gov.uk/state-pension-21st-century.

Copies will also be available in the Vote Office and the Printed Paper Office.

I am grateful to all those who responded to the consultation.