Press comment from Fiona Hyslop MSP

“I was pleased to see the WASPI women come to the Scottish Parliament as the latest step in their campaign and that the First Minister at Question time paid tribute to them and offered his support.

“Thousands of women born in the 1950s across West Lothian were adversely affected by the UK Government’s Department for Work and Pensions failure to communicate rises to the state pension age.

“WASPI surveys show one in three 1950s-born WASPI women are now in debt, while the UK Government has saved over £200 billion by raising the State Pension age, with £181.4 billion having been saved from women alone.

“The publication of the recent Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) report, ‘Women’s State Pension Age: our findings on injustice and associated issues’, found that the UK Government Department for Work and Pensions did not sufficiently inform thousands of women of changes to the State Pension age when they should have.

“This has not only affected women in my own Constituency, but women across Scotland have also been impacted by this failure. I continue to support the WASPI women across West Lothian and the country who continue fighting for justice.”  

ENDS