The Work and Pensions Committee chair Debbie Abrahams has written to the Work and Pensions Secretary asking for more information about the government’s decision not to compensate women who were affected by the rise in the state pension age.
In a letter dated 5 March to Liz Kendall, Abrahams requested details of all the compensation schemes the government has previously considered and why these options were “not felt to be feasible or appropriate”.
Kendall told parliament in December that the government would not pay any compensation, despite a Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman ruling that the affected women were victims of “maladminstration” by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
She said the government felt that paying compensation would not be “a fair or proportionate use of taxpayers’ money”, and blamed the previous administration for not budgeting for any payments.
Writing this week, Abrahams cited evidence given by other government officials about the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s ruling.
Karl Banister, the deputy ombudsman, told the committee in January that the organisation was not aware of any alternatives considered by the DWP as the department did not engage with the ombudsman before Kendall’s statement.
In a separate hearing before the committee, Sir Peter Schofield, permanent secretary at the DWP, said officials had given the relevant ministers “full advice” on compensation options.
The ombudsman’s report recommended that the DWP issue a formal apology to those affected, as well as pay compensation to reflect the severity of the impact to different groups of women. The bill for this could range from £3.5bn to £10.5bn depending on how it is formulated, the report said.
Politicians from several parties - including Labour - have criticised the government’s decision not to make any payments, with former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn calling the outcome “beyond disappointing”.
