Anas Sarwar calls decision not to compensate WASPI women 'deeply disappointing'

Anas Sarwar has branded the UK Government’s decision not to compensate women affected by how changes to the state pension age were communicated as “deeply disappointing”.

His comments come after UK work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall announced on Tuesday that there would be no compensation for women born in the 50s who were unaware of changes to the state pension age.

The decision triggered a barrage of criticism from MPs, some of which came from within its own party.

Speaking to STV News, the Scottish Labour leader said: “I can completely understand, and I believe I was one of the ones that campaigned with them, had photographs with them, I was right to do that, I was right to campaign with them.

“I continue to stand with them in the face of their injustice.

“I think where there is justified frustration in the blanket no compensation position.”

Sarwar said the UK Government had engaged in “technical arguments” about the Department for Work and Pensions and the Ombudsman report, which found maladministration in its handling of the issue.

The Government accepted the Ombudsman’s findings and has apologised for a 28-month delay in writing to 1950s-born women.

But it said evidence showed only one in four people remember receiving and reading letters that they were not expecting and that the great majority of 1950s-born women did know that the state pension age was changing.

The Government said a blanket compensation scheme, which could cost taxpayers up to £10.5bn, cannot be justified.

An Ombudsman report concluded that those affected by the changes – and who were not communicated with adequately – should receive an apology and payouts of between £1,000 and £2,950, lower than the £10,000 expected.

Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) say millions have lost out due to the change and campaigned for compensation after retirement plans were harmed by the change.

Sarwar added: “Yes, they’re owed an apology, something that the UK Labour Government has recognised, but I think a blanket no compensation position is the wrong one, and I’m deeply disappointed by that.

“I think we could have found a way forward that recognised the difficult public finances, that recognised the difficult inheritance and we could have looked at incremental payments, tapered payments, targeted support to those on the lowest incomes.

“That I think would have been a fairer way forward rather than a blanket no compensation position.”

In a statement, Kendall said: “These two facts: that most women knew the state pension age was increasing and that letters aren’t as significant as the Ombudsman says, as well as other reasons, have informed our conclusion that there should be no scheme of financial compensation to 1950s-born women, in response to the Ombudsman’s report.

“The alternative put forward in the report is for a flat-rate compensation scheme at level four of the Ombudsman’s scale of injustice. This would provide £1,000 to £2,950 per person at a total cost of between £3.5bn and 10.5bn.

“Given the vast majority of women knew the state pension age was increasing, the Government does not believe paying a flat rate to all women at a cost of up to £10.5bn would be a fair or proportionate use of taxpayers’ money.”