The Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign said the Government had ‘backed down’ ahead of a court showdown as they demand payouts over DWP failings
WASPI campaigners say their compensation demand has taken a step forward after claiming the Government settled a court showdown.
Chief Angela Madden said the Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ) had “backed down”. But she said ministers should be in no doubt that the group is ready to mount a fresh legal challenge if its call is ignored.
But the DWP has accused the Women Against State Pension Inequality ( WASPI ) campaign of a “mischaracterisation”. A special hearing had been due to take place on Wednesday which would decide whether a judicial review trial slated for December 9 and 10 should proceed.
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It is the latest twist in a long-running legal battle over the DWP’s failure to properly notify 1950s-born women that the state pension age was rising. Last year the Government said it would not be setting up a blanket compensation scheme, despite the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) saying it should do so.
Mrs Madden said: “Yet again, WASPI has held its nerve and yet again, virtually at the steps of the court, the Government has backed down, this time accepting last year’s decision denying the huge injustice suffered by WASPI women simply does not withstand scrutiny.
“Today’s agreement on speedy and thorough reconsideration is welcome. But the Government should be in no doubt that WASPI stands ready to return to court if it yet again fails to do the right thing.
“Ministers have to front this up now and accept the reality of injustice meted out to 1950s-born women. Further delays and denials just will not do.”
And she added: “The road to victory is long but we are determined as ever to win this fight.” The legal action was launched after the Goverment ruled that payouts of £1,000 to £2,950 to more than three million women was not a good use of taxpayers’ money.
However the rediscovery of a DWP evaluation from 2007 – which led to officials stopping sending automatic pension forecast letters – has forced the Government to take another look. WASPI campaigners say women were unable to to properly plan their retirement, leaving the worst affected in severe hardship.
Responding to the WASPI campaign’s comments, a DWP spokeswoman said: “This is a mischaracterisation, the WASPI campaigners have agreed to withdraw their Judicial Review following our commitment last month to retake the decision. We will retake the decision as soon as possible.”
Ministers have committed to make “best endeavours” to reconsider potential compensation within 12 weeks, or by February 24, and to pay more than half of Waspi’s legal costs, the group said.
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