Major DWP WASPI compensation timetable update after March 2025 deadline issued

State pension compensation worth £2,950 could be paid out to Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ) WASPI campaigners by March - thanks to a new petition. Jane Cowley is among the women demanding fair and fast compensation from the Labour Party government.

So far, the petition has close to 35,000 signatures but it requires 100,000 to be debated by MPs in Parliament. It is called: "Introduce a compensation scheme for Waspi women." The petition statement reads: "We want the Government to urgently respond to PHSO report and set up a compensation scheme by March 21, 2025.

"In March 2024, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman said 1950s-born women were owed financial redress and an apology due to DWP maladministration. The Ombudsman’s findings were backed by the cross-party Work and Pensions Select Committee, hundreds of MPs and, according to our polling, 68 per cent of the public. However, only the Government has the power to put this injustice right.

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"We have calculated that with one affected woman dying every 13 minutes, there is no time for further delay." Angela Madden, the chair of Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI), said: "As the clock ticks down to the polls opening, Labour and Conservatives are in the final hour to win over the votes of 3.6 million women.

"We are grateful to the many candidates in all parties who have responded positively, but a new government needs to move from warm words to concrete actions. With one Waspi woman dying every 13 minutes, we will be using our votes to demand justice for all those who have been so badly let down."

On the PHSO's report, a DWP spokesperson said: "This was a serious report, requiring serious consideration. We will continue to listen respectfully to the women involved, and ensure we take on board any lessons learnt."