The government has been criticized for neglecting concerns surrounding women affected by changes to the state pension age.
A Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) report ruled in March that some women born in the 1950s had not been properly informed about the impact of the changes.
Labor MP Richard Burgon has urged the Government to process a vote on a compensation package for affected women before the summer, while Tory MP Marco Longhi has urged ministers to do so “at pace”. urged to work.
Time is not on their side, with a Waspi woman dying every 13 minutes. When will the government stop dragging its feet?
Richard Bergen
Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride said the government's response to the report “will not be unduly delayed”.
Asking questions about work and pensions, Mr Burgon (Leeds East) told the Commons: “A new poll today found that two-thirds of people think the government must urgently pay fair compensation to all Waspi (Women Against State Pension Inequality) women.”
He said: “It’s been more than six weeks since the Secretary of State received the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s final report, but almost three years since the Ombudsman said DWP had committed maladministration by failing to properly inform affected women about state pension age changes.
“So with a female wasp dying every 13 minutes, time is not on their side. When will the government stop dragging its feet? And to ensure justice, will the Government allow MPs to vote on a compensation package before the summer?”
Work and Pensions Secretary Paul Maynard responded: “We are looking at this report carefully, considering what some very complex recommendations and proposals are to make sure we are doing the right thing.”
Labor MP Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) said tens of thousands of Waspi women had died while the Ombudsman's report was underway. She asked: “How many women born in the 1950s will die in Lancashire before the Government finally takes action?” What are the report’s recommendations?”
Mr. Stride responded: “We are looking very carefully at this very complex report. “It took the Ombudsman approximately five years to sort this out, and our response to this will not be unduly delayed.”
The SNP has accused ministers of using the upcoming general election campaign to ignore the issue.
David Linden, speaking from the front bench, said: “The reality is that 270,000 Waspi women are now dead. And each day, in fact, during the Select Committee hearing on Wednesday, nine women will have died.
“Isn’t the problem here precisely that the government wants this issue to disappear during the election campaign and for the two big political parties to ignore it so they can create a situation where more women die and more 1950s women die? Have we denied them the justice they deserve?”
Rep. Stride told lawmakers: “I do not accept that this is a fair assessment of the considerable time and effort we have put into taking this matter extremely seriously.”
But he faced pressure from the Conservatives on the issue, with Mr Longhi, MP for Dudley North, saying: “At a very high speed now?”
Later in the session, SNP councilor Deirdre Brock (Edinburgh North and Leith) accused the Government of preferring “the comfort of massaged figures over facts”.
Mr Brock added from the Front Bench that there had been a 36 per cent increase in the number of pensioners using food banks in the past six months.
Mr Maynard said the government was “confident” it would reduce poverty among pensioners, adding: “One per cent of low-income pensioners lived in a household with access to a food bank within 12 months.”
Elsewhere at the meeting, former Home Secretary Suela Braverman repeated her call for the two-child benefit cap to be scrapped.
The Conservative MP for Fareham said: “Children growing up in poverty are more likely to have poorer literacy, numeracy, health and occupational outcomes and a shorter life expectancy than the national average.
“Isn’t it right that the biggest and most effective thing the government can do now is to abolish the two-child allowance cap?”
Jo Churchill, the Work and Pensions Secretary, said: “I would like to gently say to Mr Braverman that I will agree that any system should be balanced and fair, not only for taxpayers but also for those who need it most in work.” What you need.
“We have to make the system fair. I would like to sit down with her and explain how we do it.”