Committee publication · Correspondence · 16 January 2026
Letter from the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, regarding engagement between the DWP and PHSO on the action plan arising from their State Pension age investigation
From: Work and Pensions Committee
Inquiry: Transition to State Pension age
Summary
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) writes to the Work and Pensions Committee Chair detailing concerns about the Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) delayed implementation of an action plan following the PHSO's State Pension age investigation. The Ombudsman reports that despite two joint workshops in April and June 2025, DWP has not provided draft action plans for review since June, citing a pause to prioritise financial compensation decisions. The Ombudsman states this deprioritises remedial action and signals a disservice to affected parties.
Key findings
- DWP committed in December 2024 to developing a detailed action plan to address lessons from the State Pension age investigation, but has delivered no written drafts to PHSO since June 2025 workshops.
- Work on the action plan was paused in November 2025 to prioritise support for Ministers on financial compensation decisions, which the Ombudsman argues should not be conditional on action plan delivery.
- The Ombudsman expresses serious concerns that pausing the action plan indicates DWP is deprioritising remedial action and failing its duty to service users and complainants.
- Current PHSO investigations into other DWP complaints suggest urgent work is needed on the Department's complaint-handling approach and use of complaint insight to drive service improvements.
- The Ombudsman plans leadership workshops in early 2026 to support DWP in developing a culture that welcomes and learns from complaints; seeks meeting with Pensions Minister on these concerns.
Tone
CriticalTopics
Key actors
Paula Sussex, Debbie Abrahams MP, Department for Work and Pensions, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Rebecca Hilsenrath, Pensions Minister
Notable line
“Taking action to address these acknowledged failings should not be dependent on any decision about financial compensation.”
Key Quotes
“A learning culture is incompatible with delayed improvement. However, as previously discussed, I have serious concerns about the significant delays in the implementation of the actions that DWP committed to undertake and the communication …”
“In November, I was informed by the Permanent Secretary that work on the action plan had been paused to prioritise support for Ministers in retaking the decision on whether to offer financial compensation.”
“I am very concerned that stopping this work indicates that DWP is deprioritising the need for remedial action. It is certainly a disservice to the Department's service users and complainants.”
“It is essential that public bodies learn from and act on complaints to continuously improve services.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗