Agenda

If a member requires advice on Declarations of Interest, he/she is advised to contact the Head of Legal and Democratic Services (Monitoring Officer) in advance of the meeting.  (For the assistance of members a checklist for use in considering their position on any particular item is included at the end of this agenda sheet.)

To receive as a correct record, the minutes of the previous meeting held on Wednesday, 28 February 2024.

To receive the minutes of the following meetings, to confirm, if appropriate, such of the minutes as require confirmation and to pass such resolutions as the Council may deem necessary:

To consider the report of the Deputy Chief Executive.

It is recommended that members of the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item(s) of business in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 (Financial/Businesss Affairs) of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act and as, in all the circumstances of the case the public interest in maintaining the exemption under Schedule 12A outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

To consider the report of the Deputy Chief Executive. 

To consider the report of the Chief Executive

To consider the following Motions included on the agenda at the request of the Members indicated:

Council notes that:

• In the 1995 Pensions Act, the Government increased State Pension age for women from 60 to 65, with a further increase to 66 in the 2011 Pensions Act. 
• The change was not properly communicated to 3.8m women born in the 1950s until 2012, giving some only one year’s notice of a six year increase in their anticipated retirement age.  5940 (5% of population of West Lancashire) of the affected women are in our own authority area.
• The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) has found that the Department for Work and Pensions was guilty of maladministration in its handling of the State Pension Age increase for women born in the 1950s. 
• The All Party Parliamentary Group on State Pension Inequality for Women has concluded that “the impact of DWP maladministration on 1950s-born women has been as devastating as it is widespread.  The APPG believes that the case for category 6 injustice is overwhelming and clear.  Women have had their emotional, physical, and mental circumstances totally obliterated by a lack of reasonable notice.”
• Research commissioned by campaign group WASPI has found that by the end of 2022, more than 220,000 1950s born women will have died waiting for justice since the WASPI campaign began in 2015. 
• WASPI’s figures show that over the course of the two year COVID pandemic, 1 in 10 women who died was affected by these uncommunicated changes and lost both their state pension income and the opportunity to make alternative retirement plans. 
• Despite the Ombudsman’s findings and the rapid death rate of those affected, the government is choosing to wait for further reports before taking any action. 

Council believes this injustice has not only had a profound effect on the individuals involved but on the wider community in West Lancashire and on local government, not least because:

·       Women who would have looked after older relatives or partners are unable to afford to do so, with a knock-on impact on local social care

·       Women who would have retired and engaged in caring responsibilities for grandchildren are having to continue working, increasing the childcare burden on the state locally

·       Women who have been left in poverty are struggling to meet their housing costs, with a knock-on impact on local housing stock

·       There is a broader impact on voluntary services of all kinds locally, which are missing out on able, active volunteers who would otherwise have been able to retire from full-time work as planned

·       Our local economy is negatively affected by the reduced spending power and disposable income the uncommunicated State Pension Age changes has brough about among women born in the 1950s

Council supports: 

·       The conclusion of the All Party Parliamentary Group on State Pension Inequality that women born in the 1950s have suffered a gross injustice, affecting their emotional, physical and mental circumstances in addition to causing financial hardship.

·       A swift resolution to this ongoing injustice before more and more women die waiting for compensation.

·       The WASPI campaign for an immediate one-off compensation  ...  view the full agenda text for item 12a