Waspi, one of the organisations seeking compensation for women born in the 1950s, has finally broken its silence on the second stage of the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s investigation into maladministration at the Department of Work and Pensions.
A statement on its site reads:
“the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) has now circulated a provisional draft of its second report, on the emotional and financial impact of that maladministration, to complainants – but has done so on condition of confidentiality.
The report follows the PHSO’s findings last year that “The opportunity that additional notice would have given them [WASPI women] to adjust their retirement plans was lost… Despite having identified there was more it could do, it failed to provide the public with as full information as possible.” The Ombudsman’s office additionally encouraged DWP to be “proactive” in finding a remedy for the women affected.
WASPI is now taking legal advice on the contents of the draft second report and how best to respond to the PHSO before they finalise the report. Subject to that advice, WASPI will respond on behalf of the Campaign, and we state again the following points:
A fuller statement of our position is on our website https://www.waspi.co.uk/…/waspi-statement-to-phsos…/
It remains a political decision by government not to heed the PHSO’s advice to be ‘proactive’ in finding a remedy to this injustice. THANK YOU to everyone who has signed our open letter to the two Conservative leadership candidates on this subject. Please do sign if you haven’t already and ask family and friends to do so too. We aim to reach 20,000 signatures by the end of this week. You can find the link to the letter on the website too.
We will be sure to keep you informed of developments.”
It is good that they are taking legal advice about the report but their lawyers are going to work very hard to refute parts of the report. Issues like everyone knew about the pension change but their members didn’t understand what it meant for them or the fact that the report says maladministration was not responsible for financial losses or bad health of their members. See my blog on what the report says.
Their statement also glosses over that it is only partial maladministration for just 28 months -from 2006 to 2009 – over whole period from 1995 to 2010. Both these issues point to a much lower level of compensation – hence I suppose their campaign to end the process of seeking compensation and just get a quick one off payment. The problem with that is the government knows that the Ombudsman is backing down on seeking compensation for bad health and financial losses. Potential Tory PM’s Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss have said they are not interested.
Old canard of claims people wanted the pension age lowered to 60
I am also a bit amazed that the organisation repeats the old canard that they don’t want the pension age reduced to 60. Nobody has wanted that to my knowledge – the nearest was a suggestion of equalising pension ages of men and women to 63. What Backto60 wanted was full restitution for the money lost by the decision -not a reduction in the pension age to 60.
One really wonders what the six people who brought the maladministration complaints think about this -even if they have to keep a vow of silence -which I do not -on the findings. I gather WASPI has not bothered to consult them but gone on its own agenda and gagged them from talking about it. Basically all I can see is a huge group of women being let down by everybody in sight, the Department for Work and Pensions, the Ombudsman and now Waspi hiding behind a veil of secrecy.
In the long run this will be seen as one of the great betrayals. But in the long term there will be a reversal of these attitudes – the UN Convention of the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women will prevail. In the meantime there will be a cracking report soon from the CEDAWinLAW tribunal on this issue – a tribunal that the deputy chair of the UN Convention, came from Geneva to give evidence. The darkest hour is always before the dawn.
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I can’t imagine waspi are hiding anything from us. I waited six years working for my pension. During that time being forced to work caused my health to deteriorate rapidly, starting with high blood pressure. .i had to go to food banks to survive ,I struggled for years in physical pain, working.i worked from when I was 14 years old and want the money owed to me, I never heard a thing about my pension delay, no letter. I certainly want to hear the details of this report.it is my human RIGHT!!
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I was in the same position. Worked from 14 . I didn’t know nothing about the 6 yrs extra. Until I seen it on a billboard about Waspi. And asked someone what it meant . There was another 2 people with me . They didn’t know either. Until I told them . What I was told . This was 10 mths before my due pension start . I was self employed. Doing yearly accounts. There was nothing on there to notify me of the changes . And still haven’t been notified. I haven’t worked because of ill health. Since I was 60 . And have gone down rapidly. 1 yr to go . As for the report I read it on David Hencke. Without his intake into all this . I wouldn’t have been able to find out much . As for the hiding of the report apparently it wasn’t being released for another year . By the DWP . But has been leaked . Apparently the compensation years that the supposed to have found maladminstration it was for around 2/3 yrs . And people have got to make their own claim and won’t be any further forward until 2024 . We have waited for 6 yrs now so around 9 yrs to do if anyone gets anything. To be honest there were 3.8 million of us . Waspi back to the 60 should have all stuck together. And we should have been asked what would we like . Pension reinstated. Compensation. Or whatever. This way it would have been a bigger fight on the government. This is never going to be solved until we are all dead sadly. People blame the Tories . Labour has been involved with this as well . Because it’s been going on for years . And the likes of the tax payers that pay the government wages . Are told nothing .
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Thank you for staying on top of the dishonest actions of these creatures who have been brought up with no integrity, earning a living on the backs of those of us who have had our retirement ‘stolen’ from us. Boris discovered there is a limit to just how much lack of integrity he can display and get away with it; wouldn’t it be nice if all those involved in supporting this injustice had their pensions witheld in the same fashion – though their cronies would have their backs whilst they did nothing to protect us. Do 3.8 million of us have to write to the DWP to claim full compensation for their maladministration – perhaps you could set up a standard letter and Therese Coffey might actually have to look to managing her own department? This country is going to the dogs!
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The Lord God Almighty sees all,and there will be accountability on Judgement day…God hates in justice…
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Hi David.
Can you do a enquiries on the Pensioners living abroad? Especially the proof of life certificate that the DWP seems so keen on asking for.
Let me explain. I live in Ontario, Canada
A couple of months before I was 66 ( 2021 )I emailed the DWP and was told I could apply 30 days before, which is what I did. My birthday came and went in August last year. Heard nothing. After 2 months, October, I E-mailed them and asked what the hold up was. They came straight back and said “ no hold up, just processing time” OK
Christmas came and went.
In February I get a text on my phone that was sent at 8 am your time, 3am my time, that said “ we have been trying to contact you, but got no reply”. Which to me means they called on the telephone? And the telephone never rang! So I call them at my expense, and they wanted to confirm the international bank sorting code. When I filled the initial form in, I did not know what they meant so I took it to my bank and they filled that part in and put a “ inked” stamp on it. This happened 2x. Same thing, I called them back and same details were needed.
End of February I finally got a back dated deposit.
Heard nothing, no mail, no E-mail, no texts untill I got a letter dated 19th July saying I had to fill out a form CF(N)698. Proof of life. That was sent to me on March 27 2022. So off I go to the local Cop shop, get it witnessed, and send it by registered mail to the address given. $25 dollars which is about 12 GBP. I had the “ tracking” put on the envelope as well. I sent it Aug 9 and my tracking is saying it’s reached the foreign country, but that’s as far as it’s got. So “job done “ I thought. Yes I’m on Face Book and I am a member of the “British state pensioners world wide” group. I knew I would not get my annual increase as Canada does not have a agreement with the UK. While I was looking through the posts I came across something that was posted ( written by the Daily Express) about a lady in Canada who was distressed because she had to provide a proof of life cert( same as me), and her letter was dated same as mine, and her letter said she was sent a letter on March 27 2022 ( same as mine) . Maybe I have a “ too suspicious “ mind, but what the heck is going on?
There are too many similarities between the article and my experience. Is this some kind of delaying tactic that the DVP have taken on to avoid paying us?
How many other folk is this happening to? The article did say that Canada post is to blame, which I cannot believe. I have sent you the link under another e-mail.
Thanks for reading this long winded Rant
Love your Westminster updates. Makes me feel at home!
Sent from my iPad Heather B Holden
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Why is Hencke even publishing this ? He was part of BackTO60 and look where that got us ? The court case wasn’t what we were told all along it was about , I contributed and was part of the group and felt badly let down by what we later found out had been stated in court ! As WASPI supporters we have all been asked if you get a letter from the PHSO to keep it under your hat ! Thanks for nothing SIR
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To be honest there are 3.8 million people. Who have been badly let down. If it wasn’t for David Henke . Then half of us wouldn’t know what’s going on . And I have put my opinion on waspi and back to the 60 . As they were all working to try and help the disgusting way we have been treated., a lot of the posts you can’t read the comments. Or answer them . So why put them on if you can’t comment. And as for we should all keep quiet if we get a letter . Why . This is not supposed to be a big secret
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Why should it be kept under your hat . What is there to hide . We are all in this together. If you make a comment that’s not what they like you are blocked by Waspi . Everyone of the 3.8 million has got a opinion. Not just a handful. I see another blog from David Hencke saying people that had to send their own claim in . And it was put forward by ice . The government told them there was no claim . So they got rid of all the claims . This is why we need someone like David Hencke so we can actually find out . What’s happening not hush hush .
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I was a truck driver and from about 1975 I was an avid radio 4 listener 6 am and world at one…and all the other news , miner strikes, along with all the others I CAN NEVER RECALL HEARING ANYTHING ABOUT WOMENS PENSIONS and we never got ANYTHING through the door ……the mps of all the parties are cheats.If anything had been discussed I would have heard at least a bit of it .
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