This week in the House of Commons Chamber, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, The Rt Hon Liz Kendall MP gave her Labour Government’s response to the PHSO report on communication of Women's State Pension age declaring,
‘There should be no scheme of financial compensation to 1950s born women in response to the Ombudsman’s report.’
It’s clear many of the women affected, who have written to me on this subject and who have waited for so long for this substantial process to complete, will already know the outcome and it is not one they wanted to hear. Indeed, I told the Chamber myself:
It is certainly not a cheery Christmas for the Women Against State Pension, whom Labour has betrayed.
I do understand, and many people roundly agree, there is an awful lot of disappointment and real anger at this final decision. We all appreciate the length of time this process has taken has also been deeply frustrating to the WASPI women who have campaigned so diligently and this is now the ultimate betrayal.
Incredibly, we are seeing yet more hypocrisy and true distain for the voters from Keir Starmer’ s Labour government. His party spent years saying they would deliver compensation for WASPI women – it was in their 2019 manifesto and the message that they would act continued in the Chamber; just as they made promises to pensioners about protecting the Winter Fuel payment and to our farmers about the Inheritance tax and to small businesses.
“Yet again, they said one thing to get elected and are now doing another,”
Commented my colleague Helen Whately MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions at the Dispatch Box this week.
As background, in the report from the PHSO, the Ombudsman found that the Department did provide adequate and accurate information on changes to the State Pension Age between 1995 and 2004 – including through leaflets, pensions education campaigns and on its website. He also found ‘decisions made between 2005 and 2007 led to a 28-month delay in sending out letters to women born in the 1950s’ but that these delays did not result in any direct financial loss to the women. However, he did find this constituted maladministration from which lessons need to be learnt. As a result, the Ombudsman recommended a Level 4 flat rate compensation scheme as remedy for poor communication as opposed to ‘lost pensions.’ This would provide £1,000 to £2,950 per person, at a total cost of between £3.5 and £10.5 billion.
The Labour Government clearly chose not to agree as The Rt Hon Liz Kendall MP cited additional research which showed that in 2004, 73% of women aged 45-54 were aware of the changes to the State Pension Age and from 2006, 90% of women were aware of the changes planned.
Neither have they looked at any hardship or other support grants for those in need. This is the sum total of their actions at this point after July’s election on this matter, which is not enough given their previous commitments and rhetoric.
The Rt Hon Liz Kendall, the DWP Secretary of State responsible for leading on the Labour Government response which they have taken since July to decide, was clear in her stance this evidence, along with the government’s view now that the delayed letters would not have had a significant impact on the women’s knowledge or opportunities ‘in the great majority of cases’ provided the basis for the Government’s decision.
This despite being, in her words, a ‘longstanding supporter of the WASPI campaign’. Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Helen Whately MP, in response said the following,
‘I am sure that the Government’s statement today will be a huge disappointment to WASPI women, and I recognise the strength of feeling about the issue.
Let us be clear: the decision to provide no compensation is the Government’s decision, and they need to own it.
I am not going to let them get away with saying that there is no compensation because of a fictional black hole in the public finances.
The country’s financial position now is a result of their political choices. They should not try to dodge responsibility by suggesting to WASPI women that, if times were different, they might have come to a different conclusion.
Government compensation should always be based on what is fair and just.
That brings me to some questions. Given the announcement that they will not be providing financial compensation, will the Government put forward any other non-financial form of remedy for the women affected? Will the Secretary of State be involving the WASPI campaigners in the action plan she has referred to and what is the timeline for that?’
Below is the link to the full text:
Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report - Hansard - UK Parliament
Please be assured, we will continue to press the Labour government for answers to these ongoing questions and that my Conservative colleagues and I remain committed to ensuring that older people can live with the dignity and respect they deserve.
In Government, we protected the Triple Lock, increased the basic State Pension for men and women by £3,700 since 2010, committed to the Winter Fuel Allowance and provided additional help for essential items & Cost of Living pressures through schemes like the Household Fund.
I recognise fully how tricky being a DWP Minister is. I always tried, in my time in the Department, to be understanding and people-focused which is what this Labour Government should actually be doing. I hope those they make promises to are now heard.
