Bindmans Leads Fresh Judicial Review Challenge Against Government's Refusal to Compensate WASPI Women Over State Pension Failures

Bindmans, the London public law firm, is leading a new judicial review against the government over its refusal to offer compensation to women affected by failures in state pension notification — the group represented by campaign organisation WASPI (Women Against State Pension Inequality). The WASPI dispute centres on women born in the 1950s who were not given adequate notice of the increase in the state pension age from 60 to 65, leaving many without sufficient time to make alternative financial arrangements. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman previously found that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) had committed maladministration in its communications, but the government declined to implement the recommended compensation scheme. The judicial review route — a legal challenge in the Administrative Court asking a judge to review the lawfulness of a public body's decision — is being used here to contest the government's refusal to act on the Ombudsman's findings. This is a constitutionally significant mechanism: it directly tests the extent to which ministers are legally obliged to follow Ombudsman recommendations, a question that has broader implications for the accountability of public bodies.

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