Members of parliament have tabled a bill aimed at forcing the government to compensate women who were victims of maladministration related to the rise in the state pension age.
The Scottish National Party’s Stephen Flynn, MP for Aberdeen South, gave a speech this week (28 January) under parliament’s Ten Minute Rule to introduce a bill “to require the Secretary of State to publish proposals for a compensation scheme for women born between 6 April 1950 and 5 April 1960 inclusive who have been affected by increases in the state pension age”.
The bill received 105 votes for and none against, despite the government having previously said it would not pay for compensation.
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman issued a report in March last year criticising the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for “maladministration” as it had failed to ensure that women affected by the state pension age increase were aware of the changes.
The Women Against the State Pension Increase (WASPI) campaign has been arguing for compensation for years, but in December Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, said the government would not make any payments.
This is despite the ombudsman recommending compensation options totalling between £3.5bn and £10.5bn.
Speaking this week in parliament, Stephen Flynn highlighted how several senior politicians had declared support for the WASPI campaign, including prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and chancellor Rachel Reeves.
“For those of us who have stood alongside the WASPI women for many years, for those of us who have pledged to support the WASPI women for many years, for those of us who promised to take action if we were ever to gain government office, it is important that that trust is repaid, and my bill seeks to do that,” Flynn said. “It seeks to do the right thing by those to whom we made a promise.”
He accused the government of turning its back on women affected by the change, and challenged the administration’s argument that there was no money available to pay any compensation.
Flynn described the WASPI campaign as “a defining issue”, and drew parallels with other long-running campaigns such as the Post Office Horizon scandal, blood contamination, the Hillsborough disaster and the Equitable Life scandal.
He concluded: “Defining issues of the last parliament can still be defining issues of this parliament, but only if the government acts to provide the compensation and redress that these women so badly deserve.”
The bill was tabled by a group of 12 MPs, including four from the Scottish National Party and representatives of Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats, the Greens, Plaid Cymru, DUP and SDLP, as well as former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, now an independent.
The bill’s second reading is scheduled for 7 March.
