‘We won’t go away’: Waspi women tell Government stop ‘hiding’ over compensation

Women affected by major changes to the state pension age have accused the Government of going into “hiding” over the issue of compensation.

Waspi (Women Against State Pension Inequality) campaigners told MPs on Wednesday that the Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride is refusing to meet them to discuss the compensation scheme recommended in a report by a parliamentary ombudsman.

During the Work and Pensions Select Committee hearing, the interim chief of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) also said the Government had still not offered any response to its damning report – more than six weeks after it was published.

In a stern rebuke, Rebecca Hilsenrath told the cross-party group of MPs that ministers “need to act” on the PHSO’s compensation call.

The watchdog recommended up to £2,950 for so-called Waspi women, who were born in the 1950s and affected by the Department for Work and Pension’s (DWP) failure to adequately inform them that their state pension age was rising.

An estimated 3.6 million women expected to start getting their state pension at 60, but had to wait another five or six years due to the changes.

Campaigners told MPs they fear that the Government will delay any commitment to compensation in the run-up to the general election.

Angela Madden, chair of the Waspi group, said: “The DWP have shown they will hide behind anything not to accept that they got something wrong. Perhaps now is the time to stop that game playing.”

Jane Cowley, a fellow Waspi campaigner, said requests for a meeting with Mr Stride had been ignored. “It does seem to us that they are playing for time, and hoping to kick it into the long grass.”

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The PHSO found that the DWP was guilty of “maladministration” by failing to properly inform women of the state pension age changes.

There is growing frustration that neither the Conservatives nor Labour have committed to compensation of any kind, though the Liberal Democrats and SNP have come out strongly in favour of payments.

Ms Cowley pointed out that the affected 3.6 million women would form a powerful voting group at the general election if neither the Conservatives nor Labour committed to payments.

And she warned of possible legal action by the Waspi campaign group if the Government continued to refuse to set up a compensation scheme.

“We will not go away,” Ms Cowley told MPs. “We cannot go away when we’ve got one [Waspi] woman dying every 13 minutes without justice. We won’t just sit back and passively accept that injustice.

“We know that we have many supportive MPs in the House of Commons, and indeed when it comes to an election, [we have] the ballot box. And, if necessary, the legal system.”

Ms Hilsenrath said the DWP’s mishandling of changes to the state pension age for women had “impacted on many hundreds of thousands” and “undermined” their retirement plans.

Angela Madden, chair of Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) Photo: Victoria Jones/PA Wire

The PHSO’s interim chief said the organisation had been forced to call on Parliament to pick up the mantle of compensation because the DWP had indicated that it would refuse to accept the findings of maladministration.

However, asked by MPs if Parliament could bring in a compensation scheme without Government backing, Ms Hilsenrath said: “No. It’s for Parliament to hold the Government to account in order for there to be compensation paid to the individuals.”

She added: “My hope is that given the strength of public feeling… given how much that comes to bear in an election year, given the number of people impacted, given the amount of time that is being lost to those who are at the heart of this, that conversations can be had with the government that enable it to understand they need to act.”

Ms Madden told i that she was disappointed that Mr Stride was refusing to respond to requests for meetings. “They [the DWP] seem to be frightened of the consequences of admitting failure.”

She said she feared there was no mechanism for MPs to come up with a compensation scheme if the Government kept refusing to engage.

“It’s something we will push and push and push on until [the Government] feels they must do it. We will keep the pressure on. The DWP cannot just keep ignoring us.”

The ombudsman’s report, after investigating a group of test claimants, recommended compensation of between £1,000 and £2,950 for Waspi women. But Waspi campaigners are still pushing for payments of up to £10,000.

The campaigners told MPs they would like a “two-pronged” scheme – one that would give a certain amount to all 1950s-born women, with higher sums given to those who suffered the greatest direct financial losses.

A DWP spokesperson said Mr Stride was “considering the ombudsman’s report and will respond in due course”.

They added: “We have cooperated fully throughout this investigation and provided thousands of pages of evidence for the review. The Government has always been committed to supporting all pensioners in a sustainable way that gives them a dignified retirement, while also being fair to them and taxpayers.”