UK government to reconsider decision to deny Waspi women compensation
SNP accuses Labour administration of performing ‘yet another U-turn’ after leaving hundreds of thousands of women waiting
Thousands of women could get compensation for the way state pension changes were communicated, after the UK government said it would reconsider its decision not to give payouts after new evidence came to light.
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said his department would review the policy, announced last year, not to compensate “Waspi” women born in the 1950s who were affected by the increase in the pension age.
Campaigners welcomed the announcement as a “major step forward” but called for the government to act quickly “because every 13 minutes a Waspi woman dies”.
The Scottish Government’s Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said Labour had been forced to perform “yet another U-turn” after “dragging its feet” while hundreds of thousands of “Waspi” women were left waiting.
The move follows court proceedings that led to the rediscovery a 2007 Department for Work and Pensions evaluation which had caused officials to stop sending automatic pension forecast letters out.
However, Mr McFadden offered campaigners no guarantees that the review would lead to compensation being awarded.
The minister said “in the interests of fairness and transparency”, the government would reconsider its decision.
He said: “This means we will retake the decision made last December, as it relates to the communications on state pension age.”
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He added: “I understand that people are impatient for this matter to be finally resolved with the ombudsman’s investigation having taken six years before reporting last year, but it is important that we give this full and proper consideration.
“Retaking this decision should not be taken as an indication that government will necessarily decide that it should award financial redress.”
In response, Angela Madden, the chair of Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi), said the decision was a “major step forward”.
She said: “For ten years we have been fighting for compensation. The Government have fought us tooth and nail every step of the way.
“Today’s announcement is a major step forward. We are now seeking legal advice as to what this means for our judicial review.
“The government now knows it got it wrong and we are pleased they are now trying to do it properly. We hope they also try to do it quickly because every 13 minutes a Waspi woman dies.
“The only correct thing to do is to immediately compensate the 3.6 million Waspi women who have already waited too long for justice.”
Campaigners have argued that the government did not properly inform women born in the 1950s that there would be delays to them receiving the state pension.
The group has argued that this led to women planning their finances based on incorrect understandings, which has left them having to work longer or facing financial hardship.
The decision to refuse compensation was made despite a recommendation by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) the women should be paid up to £2,950 each.
Then-work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall said in December last year that the potential £10.5 billion cost could not be justified.
Waspi women have since sought a judicial review to challenge the Government’s policy.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr McFadden said the DWP document was revealed during the legal proceedings.
The DWP evaluation said it believed the letters had little impact on knowledge of the state pension system.
It said that under a third of those asked could recall reading the letters.
The issue stems from the 1995 Pensions Act, which introduced a plan to bring the state pension age for women in line with men, at 65.
Further legislation introduced under the then-coalition government brought forward the timetable for the pension age to rise to 66 for both men and women.
The PHSO then looked at complaints about how well the Government had communicated changes in an eight-year investigation.
Ms Somerville said: “This is yet another U-turn from a Labour Government which has completely lost control.
“It is clear that Labour are not retaking this decision because they want to – they are doing it because they have to. Labour should not be dragging their feet – women have waited long enough, and hundreds of thousands have died whilst waiting for justice.
“The Scottish Government will seek further details on the review announced today. We reiterate our calls for the UK government to immediately, and in full, honour the recommendations of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman and deliver compensation for our WASPI women in full.”
SNP work and pensions spokesperson Kirsty Blackman MP said: “The Waspi women have been utterly betrayed by the Labour Party, which has repeatedly broken its promise to compensate them and is now lurching from one chaotic U-turn to another.”
Shadow Treasury minister Mark Garnier said the Conservatives accepted the “contents and spirit” of the statement but said the Government was not on the side of pensioners.
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