More than 15,000 WASPI campaigners have called on the Government to grant a Commons vote on providing compensation for women affected by the issue.
A report this past week from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman ruled there should be compensation, recommending a level of payments between £1,000 and £2,950.
The WASPI (Women Against State Pension Inequality) campaign group have now written to Commons leader, Penny Mordaunt, calling for an urgent debate and vote on the issue, with 15,000 women signing the letter. The group is calling for compensation of at least £10,000 each.
WASPI chair, Angela Madden, said: “Now that the Ombudsman has made such a clear ruling on maladministration, it is up to Parliament to determine the compensation package.
“But MPs can only do that if the Government makes time for the necessary debates and votes in the Commons.
“The vow of silence taken on this by Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) ministers last week must come to an end today with a clear statement in the Commons about what will happen next.
“It is just not good enough for the Government to slope away for a long Easter break in the hope that WASPI women will go away. We won’t.”
The Ombudsman’s report itself called for Parliament to take up the issue, with the Government not obliged to make any compensation payments despite the recommendations in the document.
A DWP spokesperson told Express.co.uk: “We will consider the Ombudsman’s report and respond in due course, having cooperated fully throughout this investigation.
“The Government has always been committed to supporting all pensioners in a sustainable way that gives them a dignified retirement whilst also being fair to them and taxpayers.
“The state pension is the foundation of income in retirement and will remain so as we deliver a further 8.5 percent rise in April which will increase the state pension for 12 million pensioners by £900.”
Conservative MP and co-chair of the State Pension Inequality for Women All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), Peter Aldous, said: “These millions of women worked, cared for families, and supported communities all their lives.
“They deserve the dignity of fast compensation. The State Pension Inequality for Women APPG submitted a report to the PHSO in 2022, calling on them to recommend a category six injustice.
“While it is disappointing the PHSO did not agree with this, it is important these findings are taken into account as Parliament consider how best to deliver fair compensation. The campaign for justice for 1950s women goes on until Parliament reaches the right conclusion.”
Level six cases of compensation are the most serious cases, with payouts of £10,000 or more.
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