RISHI Sunak has refused to commit to compensating the millions of women who lost out amid changes to the state pension age.
The Tory leader was challenged on the issue at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday by SNP MP Chris Law.
It comes some six weeks after the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) found that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) had failed to adequately communicate changes to women’s state pension age and those affected are owed compensation.
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The DWP has not acknowledged its failings, nor put things right for those affected, the ombudsman said as it asked Parliament to intervene and “act swiftly” to make sure a compensation scheme is established.
However, both Labour and the Conservatives have refused to commit to compensation.
According to the Waspi (Women Against State Pension Inequality) campaign around 3.6 million women born in the 1950s could be affected.
The PSHO has suggested a compensation level of between £1000 and £2950, which could cost between £3.5 billion and £10.5bn in total.
Speaking at PMQs on Wednesday, Law raised the issue with Sunak.
“It's now been over a month since the parliamentary ombudsman delivered a long awaited report on pension injustices, yet women born in the 1950s in my constituency of Dundee – and indeed every constituency in this House – are still waiting to hear if the UK Government will listen to these recommendations and deliver compensation,” Law said.
“I was proud to see the Scottish Parliament support a motion last week calling for compensation to be delivered without delay – but utterly dismayed to see members of the Conservative Party and the Labour Party abstain.
“So can the Prime Minister finally set out when Waspi women will receive the compensation they rightly deserve?”
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Responding, Sunak refused to commit to anything beyond a thorough review of the PHSO’s findings, which were published in late March.
The Prime Minister (below) said: “I understand the strong feelings across the Chamber on this topic and the desire for urgency in addressing them.
“However, following the ombudsman's five-year investigation, it is imperative that we take the time to thoroughly review the comprehensive findings that have been published.
“An update to the House will be provided once the report's findings have been fully considered.
“More broadly, we are committed to ensuring pensioners have the dignity and security in retirement that they deserve and most recently, increasing the state pension by £900 thanks to the triple-lock.”
On Tuesday, Jane Cowley, the Waspi campaign director, told Westminster’s Work and Pensions Committee that a compensation scheme should be “something that can be set up within weeks rather than years”.
Cowley said a compensation scheme needs to be sensitive to the different amounts of notice women should have had about their pension start date changes, and what they were actually given.
“Some women had one year’s notice of a three-month increase to their state pension age. Other women had 18-months’ notice of a six-year increase to their state pension age,” she said.
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