CashNews.co
Fears are mounting that a decision on compensation payments to millions of Waspi women has been ‘kicked into the long grass’. There were hopes that the Chancellor would make an announcement about the money on offer in the Budget on Wednesday, however the government was silent on the issue.
The government has announced two compensation schemes, totalling more than £11 billion, for the thousands of victims of the infected blood scandal and the Post Office sub-postmasters wrongly accused of theft.
At the same time, Rachel Reeves took a swipe at the last Conservative government for announcing compensation schemes without actually providing any funding to support the pay-outs.
However, there was nothing said at all about payments to the Waspi women, while a senior government minister has only promised that a decision will be announced at some unspecified time in the future, which could be next April or potentially 12 months’ time.
Around 3.8m women were affected by government decisions to raise the pension age from 60 to 65 in 1995 and later to 66 in 2012
The change, which the Parliament and Health Service Ombudsman has ruled was not properly communicated to the women involved, has left many without the retirement income they had originally anticipated.
As a result, many were required to carry on working, often despite being in ill health, while others have had a real struggle to cover essential bills or raid the savings they had set aside to cover their retirement.
While some women lost tens of thousands of pounds due to the change in the pension age, the level of compensation on offer is likely to be extremely limited after the official ombudsman recommended a figure of just £1,000-£2,950.
The PHSO’s report found that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) did not adequately investigate and respond to complaints about the rise in the state pension age for women.
Subsequently, the government and the DWP said they would consider the report and respond in due course, however it appears a decision on pay-outs has been pushed back once again.
Labour’s chief secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones, said the issue would be revisited after it failed to feature in Rachel Reeves’s Budget.
In a BBC Breakfast interview, Mr Jones said that the Ombudsman report did not finalise the structure, cost or eligibility for compensation.
He added: “That has still not been concluded. I appreciate it’s been a couple of months since we’ve been in government, but DWP is having to work with stakeholders, look at the Ombudsman report and consider that, and so we’ll have to come back to that at future fiscal events.”
The Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) campaign said there were questions to answer over why those affected were still waiting for justice.
Angela Madden, chair of Waspi, welcomed the update but said questions should be asked about the time it was taking to resolve the issue.
She said: “The Government was right to announce compensation for victims of the infected blood and Post Office scandals in the Budget. However, Waspi women are also right to question why they are still awaiting justice after nine long years of campaigning.
“We can see that ministers are taking this report seriously and look forward to seeing what proposals they bring before MPs as quickly as possible.”
In July, the campaign warned new MPs in July that their pre-election promises of support would not be forgotten.
Christine Smith, Waspi’s Wear and Tees campaign coordinator, said that 65,000 North East women were affected and the current Government was not acting quickly enough.
She said: “A lot of women had already retired to care for their elderly parents or grandchildren. It’s devastating for the whole family. It affects men as well, they’re having to work longer. When women leave, it’s harder to get back into the workplace.
“Up here it’s been particularly devastating. Women have lost their homes, got themselves into debt, can’t get a job. The first pension act was in 1995. If the Government had told us then, we could have planned ahead. We have never said we disagree with equalisation.
“It makes me pretty angry on account that [Labour] already had a [compensation] plan in place from 2019. I can’t understand why this administration is dithering about. The Labour party promised Waspi women they would see justice. Get on with it.”