(a)   To consider the following notice of motion from Councillor Williams

Motion: support for our MP Ian Roome’s campaign and North Devon District hospital

“This Council recognises the vital work that North Devon District Hospital (NDDH) plays in providing essential healthcare services to our communities.  Since completion in 1979 NDDH has been the Uks most isolated mainland hospital serving not only North Devon but our friends across Exmoor, Torridge and North Cornwall.   Over decades it has won awards for its dynamic and flexible to an ever changing demographic and political landscape.

However, the hospitals ageing infrastructure now presents significant barriers to meeting the growing healthcare needs of our residents.  The 2019 pledge to rebuild NDDH was welcome, but whilst we respect that these were promises made in haste and without funding, we must respect that the remoteness of our hospital deserves to be a serious consideration when prioritising rebuilding and renovating efforts.

Now 6 years after an election promise that North Devon would see one of the 40 new hospitals.  We find that we must wait upwards of 2 decades to see delivery of this vital infrastructure and investment in our community.  In light of these concerns this Council fully supports Ian Roomes campaign to expedite the redevelopment of North Devon District Hospital.  Delays risk further straining local services, exacerbating workforce challenges (including the workforce of NDC)and compromising patient care.

This Council believes that the government has a duty to ensure that rural communities like ours are not left behind in healthcare provision.  A revitalised modern NDDH is essential for improving outcomes, addressing health inequalities and attracting and retaining the skilled healthcare professionals we so urgently need.

Therefore this Council resolves to:

1.    Write to the Health Minister Mr Wes Streeting MP, cc'ing Cllr Ian Roome MP in order to express the urgent need to reconsider the timescale involved in supplying genuine changes to our hospital.

2.    Commit to working with healthcare partners, local MPs and community representatives to highlight the importance of timely action to rebuild NDDH

3.    This council reaffirms its commitment to advocating for the health and wellbeing of all it's residents in North Devon.  This Council owes it to our community, our healthcare professionals and future generations to ensure that NDDH remains a centre of excellence, with modern facilities that match the dedication of those who work there.  This is not just an investment in infrastructure but an investment in the health and resilience of `North Devon.”

(b)   To consider the following notice of motion from Councillor Caroline Leaver

Motion on Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI)

“Council notes that:

·       The 1995 Pensions Act increased the State Pension age for women from 60 to 65, with the 2011 Pensions Act increasing it again to 66.

·       The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) found the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) was guilty of maladministration, through its failure to properly inform women of the changes, which left them little time to make alternative retirement plans.

·       Approximately 3.6 million women born in the 1950s were affected, including 66,550 across Devon, with 6,820 of those women living in the North Devon Council area.

·       The worst affected individuals received only one year’s notice of a six-year increase to their State Pension age, throwing the retirement plans of many into chaos and leaving them with little time to make alternative arrangements.

·       In March 2024, the PHSO instructed the UK Government to apologise to those affected and to pay compensation on Level 4 of their financial remedy scale (£1,000 - £2,950).

·       The PHSO noted the DWP did not accept the findings of its report, and so laid its report before Parliament, instructing MPs to intervene and ensure a financial remedy is delivered.

·       In May 2024, the cross-party Work and Pensions Select Committee wrote to the then Work and Pensions Secretary, urging them to ensure a compensation scheme was urgently set up, a request which has been echoed by hundreds of MPs across all parties.

·       In December 2024, the new UK Government apologised on behalf of previous administrations for the mistakes that were made but took the almost unprecedented step of ignoring the PHSO through its refusal to pay financial redress to those affected.

·       As of January 2025, more than 300,000 women born in the 1950s have died waiting for justice, while the WASPI (Women Against State Pension Inequality) Campaign enters its tenth year.

·       In January 2025, the House of Commons voted to compensate those affected, with a majority of 105 MPs, while a poll conducted by Yonder (7-9 January 2025) of 2,078 UK adults found that 74 per cent of the public support a compensation scheme for affected women.

·       The General Election manifestos of the outgoing and new government included a commitment to resolving the problems faced by the WASPI women

·       The government elected in July 2024 did not follow up its apology to WASPI women by measures to pay compensation detailed in the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s (PHSO) instruction to government in March 2024.

Council believes that:

·      The UK Government’s decision to equalise the State Pension age for men and women was the right one, but the way it was carried out was wrong.

·      Many women have been left in financial hardship as a result of failings by the DWP, which the current Government has not yet recognised.

·      The DWP’s decision to ignore the PHSO’s instruction to compensate affected women creates a concern for the checks and balances on the executive and the public’s faith in independent watchdogs to hold ministers to account.

·      The negative impact on women in North Devon affected by the DWP’s failure to inform women of changes to their State Pension age, 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 cared for grandchildren are having to continue working, increasing the childcare locally.

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

-   Local voluntary services 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 amongst those impacted by the changes.

·       The problems faced by women in North Devon affected by this have an impact on the services provided by North Devon Council including the Housing service

·       The Government was right to apologise to those affected by this injustice, but the DWP must urgently follow the PHSO’s orders and set up a compensation scheme for those affected.

·       In relation to the Government response of 17 December 2024, specifically that:

-   The vast majority of women were not aware of the changes, despite the Government’s reference to a 2006 survey of around 200 women, which asked about general awareness of State Pension changes in the future – not about the impact on them as individuals. This cannot be reflective of 3.6 million peoples’ experiences.  Women did not know. This is the very reason why PHSO found the DWP was guilty of maladministration and identified wrongdoing

-   As concluded by the PHSO, financial restraints are not an excuse for the non-payment of a financial remedy.

-   Resourcing and staffing issues within the DWP should not be a barrier to compensation – we elect governments to take difficult decisions and deliver challenging projects.

-   Writing to women earlier would have made a difference to awareness levels, evidenced by the Government writing letters to those having their WFA removed

Council resolves:

·       To publicly voice its disappointment with the previous and current governments to ensure women born in the 1950s received compensation and recognition of the problems arising from the lack of adequate notice of changes in pensionable age

·       To ask our North Devon MP to join the All-Party Parliamentary Group on State Pension Inequality for Women

·       To write to our North Devon MP asking them to contact the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and the Chancellor of the Exchequer to outline the effects of the injustice to the  6,820 women in North Devon born in the 1950s and to seek:

-   Proposals for a compensation scheme, in line with the PHSO’s report, to be urgently brought forward by the DWP

-   An urgent debate and vote, in Government time in the House of Commons, on delivering compensation to affected women.”