MSPs back calls for full compensation for WASPI women impacted by changes to the State Pension age
02.05.2024 - 11:35
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
MSPs have backed the Scottish Government’s call for “compensation in full” to be paid to women impacted by changes to their State Pension age. In a Holyrood debate on Wednesday, the Scottish Parliament voted by 75 votes to zero, with 52 abstentions, which included Scottish Labour.
The party pushed for an amendment, stating that there “must be clarity on how any compensation scheme would operate”, however, the motion was subsequently defeated by 21 votes to 95, with 11 abstentions. A Conservative amendment, which called on the UK Government to “respond in full” to a report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) and to “pay compensation to those affected”, was rejected by 31 votes to 74, with 21 abstentions.
The Scottish Government’s motion echoes the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign’s calls for “a higher level of compensation to properly reflect the financial harm” that has been suffered. Similar redress campaigns and petitions are also urging the UK Government to provide justice for all women born in the 1950s affected by changes to the official age of retirement.
More than 6,700 people have signed a new online petition calling for a public inquiry to be held into changes made to the State Pension age for women. Petition creator Kay Clarke argues that increases to the State Pension age have left many women in “financial and mental despair” and believes that an inquiry “is necessary to expose the truth”.
The founding member of the WOW (1950s Women of Wales and beyond group has posted the ‘Hold a Public Inquiry into state pension age changes for women’ petition on the petitions-parliament website.
It states: “We request a Public Inquiry into their State Pension age changes for
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