Women’s State Pension Age: Ombudsman Report

John McNally Excerpts

Thursday 16th May 2024 Commons Chamber

[John Mc Nally (Falkirk) (SNP)]

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Patricia Gibson) for securing the debate and the Backbench Business Committee for granting it.

It is my privilege to speak on behalf of WASPI women, particularly those in the Falkirk WASPI women group, who have been with me for a long time. I held a public meeting way back in 2015 for the approximately 7,000 women in my constituency who are affected by the state pension age change. I discovered that the overwhelming majority of those who attended had not received any notification of the changes.

The majority of women were only one year away from the original retirement age of 60 years, and faced a further six years of working life without any warning. Many had already started to make plans to retire because of ill health or their caring duties for grandchildren and/or elderly parents. It was not just the women who were badly affected by these changes; family members also had to make changes or other arrangements in their lives.

A cohort of the Falkirk women got together and formed the Falkirk group in 2016. They made arrangements to join the very first demo down here in London in June 2016. Since then, they have participated in other demos—both here and in Scotland—and in 2019, they published a calendar, from which all proceeds went to Breast Cancer Care. Local co-ordinator Anne Campbell and I have had many discussions and meetings about this issue, along with other stalwarts of the group—namely, May Rookes, Mags Burns, Lorna Binnie, Sheila Harkness, Elizabeth Lumsden, Maureen Mcleod, Valerie Sutter, Ruth McIntosh, Helen Reeder, May Farrell, Elspeth Slater and many other women campaigning on this total injustice. I pay tribute to them all.

The Falkirk Women are positive and strong in their endeavour to right the wrong that was foisted upon them in the cruellest and most calculating way. I praise them and the rest of the WASPI women for their organisational skills. They would like an apology and compensation for the turmoil thrust upon them. They want respect, dignity, and, most importantly, a fair and fast compensation scheme to redress the injustice. It is fair to say that those women are not going away, so the Government ignore them at their peril.

The WASPI women need an answer, and they need it now—no more unnecessary delays. The Government can and should resolve this pitiful state of affairs here and now, and do the right and proper thing by putting an end to this bureaucratic shambles. They must not procrastinate any longer. Action is required, not more words. Stop insulting the WASPI women. Compensate them now, with speed and simplicity.