An announcement on long-awaited compensation for the WASPI women is now described as 'imminent', as campaigners intensify pressure on the Labour government to act. The issue stems from a critical report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) in March 2024, which found the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) failed to adequately inform women born in the 1950s about changes to their state pension age.
Campaigners Ramp Up Pressure on MPs
WASPI (Women Against State Pension Inequality) supporters are now flooding 'every MP' with emails, urging them to push the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Pat McFadden, to authorise payments. Campaign chair Angela Madden revealed that some MPs have already received over 100 emails, calling it a strategy to 'pile the pressure on' ahead of the government's formal response.
"We want to convert that support into those people actually emailing their MPs and saying, I want you to tell the Secretary of State to pay this compensation to these women. They deserve it," Ms Madden stated. She argued that while MPs are used to hearing from the campaign, the volume of constituent emails would carry more power.
The Ombudsman's Findings and Recommended Payouts
The core of the dispute lies in the communication failures identified by the Ombudsman. The PHSO investigation concluded that 'too many' women did not understand how the state pension age changes affected them and that their subsequent complaints were not properly investigated.
As a result, the watchdog recommended that the affected women should receive financial compensation. It specifically advised payments of between £1,000 and £2,950 per person to address the injustice caused by the DWP's maladministration.
A Political Decision Now Awaited
Labour MP Emma Lewell-Buck, who has voted in favour of compensation, confirmed the government is reconsidering the issue. "Since then, the Government has agreed to reconsider the issue and a decision is imminent," she said. The campaigners maintain that the government must finally take responsibility for the financial consequences suffered by thousands of women who were given insufficient notice of the pension age alterations.
The focus now shifts to Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden, who is expected to return to the House of Commons with the conclusions of the government's enquiry, prompting what campaigners hope will be a decisive move to deliver the recommended compensation.
