Press Release: WASPI PHSO Report

Alan Brown MP has welcomed the recent report from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) which has found the WASPI women were mistreated by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).

The report published last week (Tuesday 20th July) found failings in the way DWP communicated changes to women’s State Pension age.

In 1995 John Major’s Conservative Government passed the State Pensions Act which set to increase the retirement age for women. However, the way in which the changes were brought affected almost four million women in the UK born in the 1950s.

Women were given, in some cases, as little as one year’s notice of up to a six-year increase to their State Pension Age, compared to men who received six years’ notice of a one year rise to their State Pension Age.

Mr Brown has worked closely with the official WASPi campaign since his election in 2015 and continues to update members of the local Cunninghame WASPI group on parliamentary progress.

Commenting on the recent report, the MP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun said:

“I welcome the report from the PHSO Ombudsman which confirms what we knew all along - the DWP mistreated the WASPI women.

“The report is a step in the right direction in addressing this grave injustice which has affected more than 6,500 in my constituency and 3.8 million across the UK. However, I hope proper action is taken and the UK government is held to account for this, as well as compensation to be paid to the individuals.

“Under the current devolved settlement, pensions policy is a reserved matter for the UK Government. The SNP has been clear and consistent in our support for women born in the 1950s who have been short-changed by the Tory Government due to the accelerated timetable for increases in the women’s State Pension Age.  

“Now more than ever it is crucial that the UK Government remedy the injustices suffered by 1950s born women across the UK.

“I look forward to continuing to work alongside the WASPI campaign in trying to deliver justice for these women.”