The Labour Government has once again rejected a proposed state pension compensation package for millions of Britons in a blow to the Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) campaign.
A petition launched by Kay Ann Clarke, calling for a comprehensive apology addressing the hardship faced by women born in the 1950s due to state pension age changes, has gathered close to 61,000 signatures.
The petition demands that ministers “deliver a fair, timely, fully transparent apology that reflects all evidence based on what we think constitutes maladministration and discrimination; and addresses the financial, emotional and personal hardship experienced by 1950s women caused by pension changes.”
To trigger a debate in Parliament, the petition requires 100,000 signatures, but only around 61,000 individuals have added their name to the petition.
The Labour Government has rejected another petition for Waspi compensation
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In 20024, an investigation by the Parliament Health Service Ombusdman (PHSO) determined that departmental communications met acceptable standards from 1995 to 2004.
However, the ombudsman identified a 28-month delay in dispatching personalised letters between 2005 and 2007, which constituted “maladministration” from the DWP.
The ombudsman’s inquiry did not examine the wider suffering experienced by 1950s women that forms the core of Ms Clarke’s petition.
These concerns relate to Parliament’s 1995 decision to equalise pension ages between men and women, as well as the Conservative and Liberal Democrat Coalition’s 2011 move to accelerate increases.
Waspi protestors holding placards | GETTY
The Government emphasised that alterations to the State Pension age, including equalisation to 65 and subsequent rises to 66, 67 and 68, received Parliamentary approval and have withstood legal challenges in the courts.
A DWP spokesperson acknowledged there are “legitimate and sincerely held views about whether it was wise to increase the state pension age.”
On January 29, the Secretary of State announced the Government’s position on the Ombudsman’s investigation, accepting that individual letters could have been sent earlier and apologising for this failing in the Commons.
In response to the PHSO’s findings, the department is now developing an Action Plan for future communications.
Ministers pointed to their wider support for pensioners, including the triple lock commitment throughout this Parliament, which will see state pensions increase by up to £575 this year.
Under the triple lock, state pension payment rates rise annually by either the rate of consumer price index (CPI) rate of inflation, average wage growth or 2.5 per cent; whichever is highest.
Overall state pension expenditure is projected to exceed £30billion more annually by the end of this Parliament compared to 2024-25, based on Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) figures.
Furthermroe he Government also highlighted its largest ever Pension Credit take-up campaign, which provides thousands of pounds worth of freebie benefits to pensioners, and record NHS investment.
WASPI chair Angela Madden is hitting back at Labour over their “betrayal” of the Waspi women | GB News
Angela Madden, Waspi’s chair, said: “The findings of the Parliamentary Ombudsman are clear. The DWP did not properly inform women of increases to their State Pension age, and those affected by these failures are due compensation.
“The DWP has made clear under successive administrations that it will not be paying any financial remedy. That is why the Parliamentary Ombudsman has asked MPs to intervene to ensure justice is delivered.
“Parliament has a duty to act. Every MP must now decide whether they stand with 1950s-born women, or with an incompetent Government department that fails to own up to its own mistakes.
“MPs must take control of the order paper to see justice delivered. There must be a binding vote on compensation in Government time so all our elected representatives can have their say.”