Overview
- Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden told MPs the government will reconsider last December’s refusal after previously unseen 2007 DWP research surfaced during legal proceedings.
- The rediscovered evaluation examined the effectiveness of automatic pension forecast letters and was not presented to then work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall.
- Ministers stressed that reopening the case does not indicate compensation will be awarded, despite the Ombudsman’s recommended payments of £1,000 to £2,950 per affected woman.
- Roughly 3.6 million women born in the 1950s could be in scope, with the Ombudsman estimating a potential total cost of up to about £10.5 billion.
- WASPI’s High Court judicial review remains listed for 9–10 December, as campaigners seek legal advice on today’s development and report raising more than £250,000 for costs.