11 March 2008
According to a spokesman from the Department for Work and
Pensions (DWP), the Government will not be appealing against the
Pension Action Group (PAG) judicial review victory last month.
Leading campaigner Ros Altmann told PAG members that individuals
may feel it is worthwhile, if they can prove their losses were
totally due to the government's maladministration, to appeal
directly to the DWP for more than the Pension Protection Fund level
of compensation.
However, Ms Altmann went on to say that this will not apply to
everyone, since there are already many people who have said that
they never read or even saw the government's information, or that
they would not have done anything different even if they had known
the true risks.
A DWP spokesman said: "We have every sympathy for those who have
lost their pensions through no fault of their own. That is why we
have committed £2.9 billion in net present value to the
Financial Assistance Scheme, which will help some 140,000 people
affected."
"We recognise that the Ombudsman and courts have said that some
official information provided under successive Governments was
misleading and has contributed to the distress caused to those
affected. We have decided to accept the Court of Appeal's ruling on
that point and will not be contesting the issue further."
