Financial Redress for Maladministration - Universal Credit

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Dear Department for Work and Pensions,

1.  For the year 2020/21  please specify the maximum amounts that locally based staff can consider to award for (i) consolatory payments and (ii) financial loss or costs. I understand that other types of special payments and payments which exceed these amounts must be referred to specialist special payment teams. Please specify the current number of officers working in the specialist payment teams.

2. For 2020/21, please disclose the number of special payment referrals made.

3. For 2020/21, please provide the number of special payments made in respect of Universal Credit. Specify the number that was considered by your centralised special payments team in UC.

4. For 2020/21, please disclose the number of referrals for a special payment that were rejected, specifying the figures for  Universal Credit customers/claimants. 

5. For 2020/21,  please disclose the total amount of special payments made. Specify the amount for Universal Credit customers/claimants.

6. For 2020/21, please disclose how many consolatory payments were made by locally based staff and their total value. Specify the figures for Universal Credit customers/claimants.

7. For 2020/21, please disclose how many payments for financial loss or costs were made by locally based staff and their total value. Specify the figures for Universal Credit customers/claimants.

8. For 2020/21, please disclose the smallest single special payment and the largest single special payment made. Specify the amounts for Universal Credit customers/claimants.

9. For the same period, please disclose the smallest single consolatory payment and the largest single consolatory payment made. Specify the amounts for Universal Credit customers/claimants.

You provided similar information in relation to Jobseeker's Allowance for the year 2013/14:

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/c...

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/c...

Yours faithfully,

J Roberts

DWP freedom-of-information-requests, Department for Work and Pensions

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DWP freedom-of-information-requests, Department for Work and Pensions

This is an automated confirmation that your request for information has
been received by the DWP FOI mailbox.
 
If your email is a valid Freedom of Information request, as per Section 8
of the FOI Act 2000, you can normally expect a response within 20 working
days.
 
Please note that email FOI responses will be issued from
[1][email address]
 
We recommend that you add this address to your email contacts otherwise
the response may be treated as Spam or Junk mail.  
 
Should you have any further queries in connection with this request please
contact us.
 
Information on the Department for Work and Pensions can be accessed on
gov.uk here - [2]http://www.gov.uk/dwp
 
 

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J Roberts left an annotation ()

David Allen Green in a blog entitled "Whatever happened to the concept of ‘maladministration’?" writes:

'Given the ombudsman scheme – formally known as the parliamentary commissioner for administration – and given the sheer amount of public sector failings, one would expect that the term ‘maladministration’ would be a commonplace in law and policy discussions.

But it hardly features.

So: is the real reason we hear so little of the term ‘maladministration’ in United Kingdom law and policy that the scheme of (to use the ombudsman’s full title) is not working?

Some posts coming up on this blog are going to find out.'

https://davidallengreen.com/2021/06/what...

Ultimately, a claim of maladministration against the DWP may reach the PHSO. The following requests are dated, but they include some useful annotations:

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/m...

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/d...

The PHSO released information in 2017 showing the redress recommended in ten cases involving a death - one payment of £10,000 and nine ranging between £1,000 and £2,000:

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/f...

Annex O –Severity of Injustice scale (p160)

How we decide what to recommend

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/5...

J Roberts left an annotation ()

' Financial redress for maladministration: staff guide

Updated 30 November 2020

Special payment scheme: policy and guiding principles April 2012

This guide replaces all previous versions and applies to all special payment decisions made on or after 1 April 2012.'

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...

DWP Central FOI Team,

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Dear J Roberts,

I am writing in response to your request for information, received 7th
July.

Yours sincerely,

DWP Central FoI Team

J Roberts left an annotation ()

A lot of information was provided.