To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what testing of her Department's pensions uprating system was undertaken prior to its introduction on 26 March 2010; and what assessment she has made of the results.

The computer system that pays state pension is updated annually to reflect the new rates payable from the following tax year. This year the rates were entered in December 2009 ahead of notifications being issued to customers from the beginning of this year. The rates are checked by the Pension, Disability and Carers Service and DWP Corporate IT before being uploaded on the system and a sample of the notifications were checked prior to distribution to customers. The new rates will be payable from 12 April 2010.