EFFORTS to lobby some of Devon’s MPs and a minister over the pension scandal that impacted women nationally, including thousands in Mid Devon, have gained traction.

Between 2010 and 2020 the state pension age for women rose from 60 to 66, and an ombudsman report has said those affected are due compensation.

A group called Women Against State Pension Inequality – or Waspi – has been campaigning on the issue for years, claiming the changes had a detrimental financial impact.

Many women also claim it impacted their ability to look after their families, because they had to work for longer than they had been promised before being able to draw their pension.

Cllr Sue Robinson (Liberal Democrat, Cullompton Padbrook) proposed a motion asking Mid Devon District Council’s leader Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat, Bradninch) to write to three Devon MPs and the government to take action.

“Roughly 11,800 women in Mid Devon fall into the ‘Waspi’ category,” she said.

“And about 800 of those have died while concerns linked to this issue continue to be raised.”

Cllr Robinson added that beyond the impact on families, with some women “losing the chance to look after relatives or partners” because they had to stay in work, and the voluntary sector had also been impacted.

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) ruled in March that women born between April 1950 and April 1960 were owed money because of the increase in the state pension age.

It found some women were only notified that the change would impact them a year before, which did not leave them enough time to adjust their savings plans.

The PHSO, which investigated the issue for five years, recommended a Level Four payout from its six-tier severity scale.

That means it believes women impacted should be paid between £1,000 and £2,950 to recognise the “significant” and “lasting impact” many suffered.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said during his recent trip to Brazil for the G20 summit that the DWP secretary would be making a statement on the issue “in the not-too-distant future”.

Some reports suggest this could be around March next year.

The motion by Cllr Robinson was supported by the people, communities and equality policy development group at Mid Devon, and will be put to full council for a vote on Tuesday, December 10.

If the full council votes for it, then Cllr Taylor will write to the three Devon MPs whose constituencies overlap with Mid Devon – Rachel Gilmour (Liberal Democrat, Tiverton and Minehead), Richard Foord (Liberal Democrat, Honiton and Sidmouth) and Mel Stride (Conservative, Central Devon).

He will also write to Liz Kendall (Labour, Leicester West), secretary of state for work and pensions, to request urgent proposals from the DWP outlining how they will deliver compensation for affected women.

And a letter will also be penned to the Leader of the House of Commons to outline the effects of the injustice on 1950s women in Mid Devon and to request that MPs be given an opportunity to debate and vote on these proposals.

Bradley Gerrard