The Scottish Parliament has demanded “full compensation” for the WASPI (Women against State Pension Inequality) generation of state pensioners.
Scottish Government Backs Resolution for WASPI Compensation as Pressure Mounts
Following a debate at Holyrood, the Scottish Government supported the resolution by 75 votes to zero, with 52 MSPs abstaining, including members of Scottish Labour.
Pressure is mounting on the government to decide on payments for the 3.8 million women, with some MPs in Westminster demanding compensation of £10,000 or more.
The Labour group in Holyrood proposed an amendment to the motion stating that “must be clarity on how any compensation scheme would operate,” but it was rejected.
Conservative legislators attempted to amend the motion to ask the UK government to “respond in full” to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's (PHSO) findings, but it was also rejected.
The PHSO report, published in March, stated that WASPI women should be compensated and called for settlements ranging from £1,000 to £2,950.
MPs who support the cause have secured a discussion on the issue to take place on May 16.
WASPI Member in Mel Stride's Constituency Expresses Outrage Over Lack of Action
A WASPI member who lives in pensions minister Mel Stride's seat previously told Express.co.uk that she was “disgusted” by his lack of action on the matter.
Mitzi Pouncy, 69, stated: “I’ve written half a dozen times to Mel Stride, who happens to be my MP in this constituency that I live in.
“All I’ve got a couple of times is a bog standard round robin that he obviously sends to everybody. I’m just disgusted frankly.”
The WASPI pensioner suffered a massive stroke at the age of 63, which required six months to recover from, but she had to continue working for several years.
She explained: “I couldn’t afford to retire. I applied for a PIP (Personal Independence Payment) so I could stay home and recuperate a bit better, but I couldn’t get that because I was upright.
“It was really, really hard. It was awful, devastating really.
“Now I'm an old age pensioner on the meanest pension in the civilised world, and the Government pleads poverty when they rifled the pension funds to the tune of £280billion.”