The campaigners hope to win much more in DWP compensation
WASPI campaigners are continuing to fight for DWP compensation(Image: Getty)
The WASPI campaign (Women Against State Pension Inequality) has landed a major financial lifeline in its fight for DWP compensation. Legal representatives for the group were poised to square off against the DWP at the high court on December 9 and 10, challenging the department’s refusal to compensate 1950s-born women championed by WASPI and allied campaign groups. But the case was thrown up in the air in November, as the DWP said it would retake its decision on compensation.
Following this development, both legal sides agreed an out-of-court agreement in early December. Under the settlement terms, the DWP must deliver its revised decision within 12 weeks and also fork out £180,000 to WASPI.
Payment is due within 21 days of the December 3 agreement. Campaign chair Angela Madden said the cash injection will bolster their legal war chest for future battles.
Millions of women were affected by the WASPI issue(Image: Getty)
She explained: “What that means is we have a fighting fund to start with in February if the DWP do the same thing again.” While the payout may have spared the DWP from facing judicial review – where their decision could potentially have been deemed unlawful – it actually represents much more than what they would have been forced to cough up, had WASPI prevailed in court.
WASPI managed to secure a costs capping order for the judicial review, primarily to ensure they could cover the DWP’s legal costs if they lost the case. However, this applied to both parties, and it would have limited the amount the DWP had to pay out at £90,000.
Ms Madden said that despite no longer having a court date to prepare for, their legal team still has work to do. She said: “They will still be engaged and we’re all looking forward to the next [DWP] decision coming out.”
WASPI is fight for DWP compensation for millions of women(Image: Getty)The Government will have to find some money
The WASPI campaign is hopeful that the forthcoming DWP decision will finally bring about compensation payouts for the millions of women they represent. Ms Madden said: “We would hope for a better decision. We would hope it will be a decision where the Government will have to find some money, to actually fund the compensation scheme, and that should go to a vote in Parliament.”
As they await the new decision from the DWP, Ms Madden said there is plenty of work for the campaigners to do. She said: “We are going to engage with MPs much more over the next three months and get them all to write to the Secretary of State, telling him what we want to happen, which is a compensation scheme based on the evidence given by the Ombudsman and the Work and Pensions Committee, when the Ombudsman’s report came out.”
What’s the WASPI dispute all about?
WASPI represents the generation of women born in the 1950s who were affected by the increase in their state pension age from 60 to 65 and then 66. They argue that the DWP failed to adequately inform them of this change, leaving many oblivious to the fact they would have to wait several more years to claim their state pension.
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman delved into several cases involving WASPI women and concluded that there was ‘maladministration’ on the part of the DWP. The watchdog determined that the DWP should have dispatched a letter to these women earlier.
The Ombudsman also suggested compensation amounts for the WASPI women, ranging from £1,000 to £2,950. However, the Labour Government declared at the close of last year that no compensation would be paid.
Ministers argued that writing to the women earlier would have made little difference, and that most were aware of the change. This is the decision which was set to be contested in the judicial review.
In November 2025, the DWP announced it would reconsider the decision, as new evidence had emerged that needed to be taken into account.