Millions of women born in the 1950s have been waiting since March 21 for successive UK Governments to respond to the findings and recommendations made by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) in its final report.
The Ombudsman found that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) had been guilty of ‘maladministration’ by failing to let women know that their State Pension age was due to increase from 60 to 65, then 66.Pensions Minister, Emma Reynolds met with representatives of the WASPI campaign (Women Against State Pension Inequality) in September, but since then there has been no update on when a response to the report will be issued, or, if and when a compensation proposal will be put forward.
And following responses to new queries raised by MPs this week, it now looks like it could be early next year before any progress is made.The PHSO report stated that “Parliament must urgently identify a mechanism for providing that appropriate remedy” and recommended compensation equivalent to Level four on its banding scale, which is worth between £1,000 and £2,950.Based on current Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures, an estimated 3.5 million women have been affected by increases to the official age of retirement.During this week's Business of the House session in Parliament on Thursday, Labour MP Jonathan Hinder made a passionate plea to his own party urging the Government to give “clarity on compensation” recommended by the PHSO in its report and called for MPs to be “given the opportunity to debate its findings and the next steps”.The Pendle and Clitheroe MP told the Commons: “Women affected by the changes to the State Pension age continue to wait for clarity on the compensation recommended by the
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