Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department takes to ensure that a claimant suffers no financial hardship as a result of paperwork lost by a jobcentre.

In the event of maladministration, the Department provides for a special payment scheme. The scheme is designed to allow us to restore the claimant to the financial position they would have been in, had there been no maladministration. Information about the scheme can be found on gov.uk.