“State-level injustice is state-level injustice, it can not be ignored, an apology alone is not sufficient. We must see a remedy forthcoming to address the clear and apparent injustice these women have faced.”
Rebecca Long-Bailey MP called for justice for WASPI women during a Parliamentary debate on state age pension inequality this week, following the Government’s decision not to compensate women who were victims of the maladministration over their pensions.
As the Co-Chair of the APPG for State Pension Inequality for Women It was the APPG’s view during the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PSHO)’s investigation that not only had Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) maladministration impacted on 1950s-born women financially, but it had also caused extraordinary emotional, physical and psychological distress, profound, devastating or irreversible impacts and that these impacts have been widespread and have forced many 1950s-born women to endure a reduced quality of life for a considerable period.
So when the PSHO finally confirmed last year that the DWP was guilty of maladministration that these women had suffered injustice and that they were entitled to compensation, whilst many affected women felt that the PSHO’s report had not gone far enough we had a firm expectancy that the previous Government and later this one would act on the PSHO’s report, as would be the usual course of action, and at least come forward with some proposed mechanism for redress.
But when the Government finally issued its response it was frankly met with shock.
Shock that despite the clear findings of state level injustice these women were to be denied justice.
Shock that the PSHO’s findings that that too many people did not understand their own situations and how the new State Pension affected them personally have been completely ignored.
And shock that whilst on the one hand accepting maladministration, the recommendations of the PSHO were rejected in full without alternative proposals being set out nor an opportunity to vote or debate the matter as was intimated by the PSHO
There are also fears that a precedent may be set by this case where the Government completely rejects the independent Ombudsman’s central recommendations, particularly in an instance where state-level injustice has been acknowledged and an apology given. This is virtually unheard of and Indeed fears have been raised regarding the perceived efficacy of the Ombudsman overall as a tangible vehicle in holding future Governments to account if its recommendations can be so easily dismissed without further consideration.
And lets remember that PSHO also made the extremely rare decision to lay this report before Parliament, with the request that Parliament identify a mechanism for appropriate remedy rather than with the DWP directly. This was based on what the DWP had said during the investigation leading the PSHO to be of the view that the DWP would not be forthcoming with any such remedy, and that Parliamentary intervention was now the only viable option in seeking implementation of the report’s recommendations.
I wholeheartedly welcome the Government’s apology to impacted women and we recognise the difficult financial landscape the Government finds itself in. But let me be clear: state-level injustice is state-level injustice, it can not be ignored, an apology alone is not sufficient. We must see a remedy forthcoming to address the clear and apparent injustice these women have faced.
- Rebecca Long-Bailey is the MP for Salford and a regular contributor for Labour Outlook. You can follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X and Bluesky.
- This article is an edited version of the speech Rebecca Long-Bailey MP gave during the Parliamentary debate on WASPI women on 15 January, 2025.
