Campaigners for women affected by changes to the state pension age have secured a significant breakthrough in their long-running fight for compensation.
Government Agrees to 'Root and Branch' Review
The Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign has announced that Labour Party ministers have agreed to a "root and branch reconsideration" of the government's response to a critical report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO).
Last spring, the Ombudsman's investigation found maladministration and injustice in how the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) communicated changes to the state pension age for women born in the 1950s. The watchdog recommended payouts of around £2,950 per person as compensation.
A 12-Week Timetable for a New Decision
The government has now committed to the 12-week timetable demanded by the WASPI campaign to produce a fresh decision. During this period, ministers will examine "how that injustice should be remedied."
The campaign group stated that this development would not have been possible without the "solidarity, commitment and support" of WASPI women and their allies. They have pledged to use the coming weeks to intensify pressure on MPs.
"We will be encouraging WASPI women to contact their representatives in Parliament," the campaign said, urging them to tell MPs what is needed to ensure the government's new decision properly recognises the Ombudsman's findings and makes provision for compensation.
Legal Briefings and Political Pressure
WASPI's legal team is preparing a concise briefing for MPs and peers, outlining how the previous government's rejection of the Ombudsman's report was flawed. Campaigners argue that the current government has shown it can do the right thing, citing compensation schemes for the contaminated blood scandal and Post Office Horizon victims, as well as revisions to the Windrush scheme.
"Our MPs then need to step up and insist that the government seizes the opportunity WASPI’s judicial review has created," the campaign added, highlighting the ongoing legal challenge that helped force this reconsideration.
The next three months are set to be a crucial period in the decade-long campaign, with the hope that a new and fair decision on compensation will finally be reached.
