The Council Motion below is from Preston Liberal Democrats and condemns the Government to accept the findings of an ombudsmen report recommending compensation for the millions of women affected by the poor communication increases in state pension age.
More about the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign can be found here.
The below motion is written with a Labour facing area in mind. However both Labour and the Conservatives failed to address this issue in their election manifesto and it can be amended to suit a Conservative facing area.
Council notes:
• The 1995 and 2011 Pension Act saw the State Pension age for women rise from 60 to 66 but the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) failed to adequately communicate these changes. Tens of thousands of women were plunged into poverty. One-in-four struggled to buy food and one third fell into debt.
• A landmark Ombudsman report in March 2024 told the Government to pay compensation and apologise to 3.6 million, women born in the 1950’s who were affected by the lack of communication in relation to their State Pension age. The report concluded ministers failed to properly notify those impacted by the changes. However, the DWP has indicated it does not accept the findings of the report. Urgent action is imperative as more than 290,000 WASPI women have tragically died since the campaign began; another dies every 13 minutes. The longer the Government prevaricates, the fewer women they will have to pay compensation to.
• Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) calls for fair and fast compensation for the financial and emotional hardship caused by DWP failures. WASPI argues for the highest level of compensation for the worst affected, i.e., women who had the shortest notice of the longest increase to their state pension. The worst affected women received just 18 months’ notice of a six year increase to their state pension age. WASPI continues to call for: All Members of Parliament (MP’s) to support the urgent delivery of fair and fast compensation to all those affected; and compensation scheme proposals should be brought before MPs to vote on as quickly as possible.
Council believes:
• All political parties in [COUNCIL NAME] should be calling for support and compensation for the 1950’s-born women affected.
• It is unacceptable for the DWP and the Government to “listen respectfully” while not compensating the WASPI women.
• [COUNCIL NAME] should condemn the lack of recognition in both the Conservative and Labour 2024 General Election manifestos. Released on 13 June, the 2024 Labour manifesto contains no reference at all to WASPI compensation or the recent Ombudsman report. The Liberal Democrats were the only nationwide party that pledged to provide compensation to the WASPI women.
The Council resolves:
• To publicly voice its disappointment and frustration with the Labour Government in its failing to back fair and fast compensation for WASPI women in their manifesto or in their first budget.