The government has announced that it will revisit its decision not to provide compensation to women affected by state pension age changes, following the emergence of previously unseen evidence in ongoing legal proceedings.

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) previously ruled that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) had failed to properly inform women of changes to the state pension age and recommended that compensation be paid.

Whilst ministers accepted that there was maladministration in relation to how the changes to state pension age were communicated, they rejected calls for compensation,declined , prompting the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaigners to pursue a judicial review, with a High Court hearing scheduled for next month.

However, the government is now set to review this decision, as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Pat McFadden, told the House of Commons that the government would reconsider the evidence surrounding the issue “in the interests of fairness and transparency”.

According to McFadden, the decision to review the matter was made following the discovery of a previously unconsidered 2007 DWP evaluation of automatic pension forecast letters, which was cited in the legal proceedings challenging the government's earlier decision on the issue.

“Had this report been provided to my right hon. Friend [former Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Liz Kendall], she would of course have considered it alongside all other relevant evidence and material,” McFadden told MPs.

“In light of this, and in the interests of fairness and transparency, I have concluded that the government should now consider this evidence."

He confirmed that the DWP would now re-evaluate the decision on how the government handled communications to women affected by the state pension age changes.

“We will approach this in a transparent and fair manner,” he added, confirming that the process would commence immediately, with an update to parliament once a conclusion is reached.

However, McFadden stressed that "retaking this decision should not be taken as an indication that the government will necessarily decide that they should award financial redress".

In response to the government’s announcement, Liberal Democrat MP for Torbay, Steve Darling, urged McFadden to “engage positively” with campaigners and deliver a “fair deal” for the 3.6 million women affected.

“Clearly, the clock is ticking for WASPI women,” he said, noting that “sadly, a WASPI woman dies every 13 minutes.”

Meanwhile, Scottish National Party MP, Kirsty Blackman, pressed McFadden for clarity on the source of the 2007 evidence, asking whether it had come from the government or the claimants.

McFadden confirmed it was a DWP evaluation, stating that “its potential relevance to the making of her decision was not evident at the time”.

Conservative MP, Mark Garnier, also questioned the government’s engagement with both the ombudsman and campaigners, asking when MPs could expect to see the action plan referred to by the Pensions Minister earlier this year.

“To my knowledge, nothing has been released to that effect,” he argued.

“Could the Secretary of State provide an update on when we can expect the plan and what will be in it?”

He further questioned why ministers had not met WASPI representatives since September 2024, despite previously pledging their support.

“Why have this government decided not to directly engage with the group they once stood shoulder to shoulder with, especially given that there is new evidence to consider?” he asked.

Responding, McFadden reiterated that the government remained engaged with the ombudsman “on the action plan discussed earlier” and would continue to be so as the review proceeded.

Reacting to the announcement, Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) chair, Angela Madden, said the development marked “a major step forward” after a decade-long campaign.

“The government now knows it got it wrong, and we are pleased they are now trying to do it properly,” she continued.

“We hope they also try to do it quickly because every 13 minutes a WASPI woman dies.

"The only correct thing to do is to immediately compensate the 3.6 million WASPI women who have already waited too long for justice.”

The update comes amid growing pressure from MPs across the Commons, with more than 100, including 52 Labour members, recently signing a letter to ministers demanding a meeting with WASPI representatives and action to deliver compensation.

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