MSPs unanimously back call for UK Government to compensate Waspi women

The Scottish Parliament has urged the UK Government to change course and compensate the millions of women born in the 1950s impacted by changes to the state pension age.

MSPs unanimously backed a Scottish Government motion on Tuesday which called on Westminster to make payments to Waspi women.

The Scottish Government’s motion was passed following a debate in the Holyrood chamber.

It is estimated that more than 331,000 women in Scotland were impacted by the changes, with around 3.6 million across the UK.

First set out in the 1990s, the Government announced plans to bring women’s retirement age in line with men.

This was later accelerated under the Tory-Liberal Democrat coalition government more than a decade ago.

However, there was a 28-month delay in writing to inform them of the changes.

Campaigners, led by the Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) group, have claimed women suffered financial hardship and had to rethink retirement plans.

A report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) last year recommended the Government pay compensation to women as a result of the delay in them being informed of the changes.

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall has rejected that recommendation, saying the Government cannot afford the £10.5 billion it would cost to fund it.

Scotland’s Social Justice Secretary, who brought forward Tuesday’s motion, criticised Ms Kendall and urged her to reverse her decision.

Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “I hope that here today we can come together and show solidarity with their campaign to send a clear message to the UK Government that their handling of this issue has been unacceptable and that compensation should be paid at the earliest opportunity to all women affected.”

She accused Labour of going back on its word, saying the party had backed compensating Waspi women before the General Election.

She said: “It would be helpful to know what exactly has changed since the election of a UK Labour Government because the (ombudsman’s) report in question clearly identified maladministration by the DWP through their failure to act promptly by writing to all of the women impacted by the changes in the state pension age.

“The Scottish Government is absolutely clear that it is vital that the UK Government takes responsibility for those failings, and importantly, that that includes delivering a full compensation package, as recommended by the ombudsman.”

The Social Justice Secretary urged the Labour Government to U-turn, adding: “It’s time to stop letting women down.”

Labour MSP Paul O’Kane recognised the “disappointment” that his party at Westminster had not taken on the recommendations of the ombudsman.

He told MSPs: “I have been clear that I do believe that while steps have been taken to recognise maladministration, the Government could go further.

“I think, however, it would be remiss not to recognise that the UK Government has finally acknowledged that maladministration occurred, something that the previous UK Government refused to do, and has offered an apology on behalf of the state for that maladministration.”

“In addition our commitment to taking clear actions to ensure that maladministration of this kind cannot happen again.”

Former Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross said an apology was not enough.

He described the UK Government’s decision not to compensate Waspi women as “indefensible”.

Mr Ross told the chamber: “In the first six months of the Labour administration, they dealt the Waspi campaigners a very bitter blow.

“To say: ‘Well, we do think you have suffered maladministration, we will say sorry, but we won’t pay you for that’ – I think that is indefensible.”

Scottish Greens MSP Maggie Chapman said millions of Waspi women face ongoing “injustice”.

“All of these women have been impacted in different ways,” she said, “with different impacts and challenges depending on their individual circumstances.

“But all of them have two things in common: their gender and their age.

“These two factors have made successive governments relaxed and comfortable with decisions and failures to make decisions that have caused immense hardship, heartache and loss.”

She added that there was “more than a hint of misogyny” in the UK Government’s response to Waspi women.