Women across Salford and the North West affected by changes to the state pension age have reacted with fury after ministers again rejected their claim for compensation.
Campaigners say 5,000 women in Salford and Eccles born in the 1950s did not receive proper communication of the rise in state pension age to bring them into line with men.
Labour’s previous policy not to offer redress was reviewed after the rediscovery of a 2007 Department for Work and Pensions evaluation, which at the time led to officials stopping sending automatic pension forecast letters out.
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden told the Commons a targeted compensation programme would “not be practical”, with a wider flat-rate scheme costing up to £10.3 billion on Thursday.
Mr McFadden said “evidence shows that the vast majority of 1950s-born women already knew the state pension age was increasing thanks to a wide range of public information” and argued it is infeasible to create a scheme that could reliably verify compensation claims for an estimated 3.6 million women.
But Judith Robertson, Co-ordinator of the Salford & Eccles Women Against State Pension Injustice (WASPI) campaign, slammed Mr McFadden’s “insulting” statement.
Ms Robertson felt the Work and Pensions Secretary’s comments were condescending and said that the decision “raises an uncomfortable question about how injustice is treated in public life.”
She said: “I am feeling very angry with Pat McFadden.
“Apparently, I can’t open letters, can’t read, and if I could read I wouldn’t be able to remember what it said! We all knew anyway or if we didn’t know it wouldn’t have made any difference to our financial planning. Apparently, it’s ok to kick 3.8 million women under a passing bus.
“Mr McFadden forgets completely that, at the time the letters mentioned were supposed to have been sent, this would have been the main method of communication- no Facebook, WhatsApp, emails… of course we would have opened an official letter and dealt with it.”
A report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman has previously suggested compensation ranging between £1,000 and £2,950 could be appropriate for each of those affected by the way state pension changes had been communicated.
Ms Robertson has been a long-time advocate for Salford’s Waspi women. She questioned how the Ombudsman’s recommendation could be overlooked by the government.
She added: “The WASPI decision raises an uncomfortable question about how injustice is treated in public life. If maladministration can be proven, acknowledged, and apologised for — yet still result in no compensation — what does that say about accountability?
“In fact it is totally undemocratic. What is the purpose of the Ombudsman and on all the time and money spent on their complex investigations if they can be ignored when it suits. It is very rare, almost unheard of, for this to happen.
“For my fellow members who have campaigned for years, this is not just about pensions. It is about being believed, respected, and treated fairly by the state. The fight may not be over, but this moment has left a bitter truth: recognition without redress is not justice.”
Salford MP Labour MP Rebecca Long-Bailey, who chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on State Pension Inequality for Women, condemned the government’s decision.
Echoing the sentiment expressed by Ms Robertson, MP Long-Bailey suggested the move “undermines the authority of the Ombudsman.”
She said: “It is frankly wrong that the Government has once again chosen to reject compensation for the 1950s women affected by state pension age changes.
“The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman stated maladministration and injustice had occurred and they recommended compensation.
“The advice to Government was clear, and blatantly ignoring those recommendations not only undermines the authority of the Ombudsman, it sends a damaging message about how the state responds when it gets things wrong.
“Put simply, it will not right historical wrongs even when its own independent advisers tell it to.”
