The Department for Work and Pensions' top civil servant has expressed surprise at a letter from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman raising serious concerns about delays in implementing an action plan related to the Waspi women scandal. Sir Peter Schofield, the DWP's permanent secretary, told MPs on the Work and Pensions Committee that he was taken aback by the correspondence, which highlighted significant hold-ups in addressing lessons from the state pension age communication failures affecting women born in the 1950s.
Ombudsman's Concerns Over Delayed Action Plan
In a letter to committee chair Debbie Abrahams, PHSO chief Paula Sussex revealed she had been informed in November that work on the action plan "had been paused to prioritise support for Ministers in retaking the decision on whether to offer financial compensation." Ms Sussex expressed "serious concerns about the significant delays in the implementation of the actions that DWP committed to undertake" following the investigation into how state pension reforms were communicated to Waspi (Women Against State Pension Inequality) women.
The ombudsman welcomed the committee's support in ensuring positive changes are made to prevent similar failings from recurring. Her intervention comes after a PHSO report previously suggested compensation ranging between £1,000 and £2,950 could be appropriate for each affected woman, with a blanket compensation scheme potentially costing taxpayers up to £10.5 billion.
DWP's Explanation for the Pause
Sir Peter explained to MPs that the action plan development began following the December 2024 decision by the then-secretary of state, which included a commitment to work with the ombudsman. He detailed meetings with the interim ombudsman in January 2025 and subsequent workshops in April and June that focused on complaints handling and communications improvements.
"We developed an action plan within the department, working across all relevant teams based on what came out of the workshops with the ombudsman," Sir Peter stated. "We had a working draft at the end of summer which we had to impact across the department to ensure it was deliverable."
The permanent secretary emphasised that the pause became necessary when Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden announced on November 11 that his department would review the policy on compensation for 1950s-born women affected by pension age increases. "This is a serious Government exercise, this retaking of the decision," Sir Peter told the committee. "It does mean that we can't work on the implementation of the previous decision, and the action plan was part of that."
Communication Campaigns Already Underway
Despite the paused formal action plan, Sir Peter highlighted several initiatives already in progress to improve pension communication. He revealed that "a whole series of campaigns" are currently running, including 'check your state pension age,' which will be evaluated in April. These build on previous campaigns such as 'get to know your state pension' and 'will the retirement you get be the retirement you want?'
The DWP has also developed online tools including 'check your state pension age' and 'check your state pension forecast,' allowing individuals to view their National Insurance contribution records and pension forecasts. Sir Peter additionally mentioned the pension dashboard programme as part of broader efforts to enhance transparency around state pension information.
Timeline and Future Implications
When questioned about the timeline - noting it had been over a year since the action plan was first announced - Sir Peter defended the pace by emphasising the "formal, serious exercise" of retaking a significant government decision. "The action plan flows from a previous decision that is being looked at again," he explained. "That means I've got to stop work on the implementation of the previous decision. That's the formal position we're under."
Regarding whether the review would lead to a different action plan, Sir Peter declined to speculate on the secretary of state's pending decision but noted the ombudsman had seen the draft plan. "The ombudsman knows where we got to with the action plan, she saw it in draft," he told MPs. "It was based on a series of interactions that we had with her people, and we are taking action to make sure people are aware of their state pension age and situation."
The exchange highlights ongoing tensions between government departments and oversight bodies regarding accountability for historical policy failures, with affected women still awaiting final decisions on compensation nearly a year after the initial government response to the ombudsman's findings.
