Underpayment of Benefits: Compensation Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateBaroness Drake
Main Page: Baroness Drake (Labour - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Baroness Drake's debates with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
(2 years, 7 months ago)
Lords ChamberMy Lords, I refer to the Minister’s comment about payment of compensation to others being discretionary with a quote from the ombudsman:
“If Ms U’s decisions were typical, DWP will have declined to make others special payments on wrongly applied grounds, will have told them they could not complain to its Independent Case Examiner and will not have told them about the Ombudsman. That means that likely routes for such evidence were closed off.”
In the face of that clear statement from the ombudsman, how can the Government continue to refuse to commit to paying compensation to all other victims of the same maladministration?
I can only tell the House the position of the department. I understand completely the situation and the depth of feeling about compensation for others, and I have to leave that to the Minister for Welfare Delivery and others in the department to consider, although there is no need to. As I say, if people feel that they are a special case and have experienced the same things as Ms U, we would want them to make their case.