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Financial redress for maladministration - vanished?

Paul_Treloar
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Welfare benefits caseworker, Mary Ward Legal Centre

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I’m in the process of assisting a client with claiming compensation for the appalling administration on her claim over the best part of a year.

I searched for the Financial redress for maladministration leaflet, and it appears to have vanished from the interweb.

There is a Financial redress for maladministration: staff guide but there doesn’t appear to be anything for the public to advise them how to seek such payments anymore.

The most I have found searching about is this statement:

If a mistake has been made

You may get a special payment if you’ve experienced unfair treatment or suffered financially.

on the Gov webpage about making a complaint to JCP

Further evidence of the backhanded removal of any kind of statutory remedy or meaningful information available to the general public with regards to their rights.

1964
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Deputy Manager, Reading Community Welfare Rights Unit

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But they don’t make mistakes Paul. You should know that by now. Here’s a civil penalty for having the temerity to suggest such a thing.

nevip
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Welfare rights adviser - Sefton Council, Liverpool

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I’ve got a copy but I can’t seem to attach it.

JimT
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WRO - Dunedin Canmore Housing Association, Edinburgh

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FoI question / response on how many maladministration claims are made at

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/complaints_of_mal_administration#incoming-321999

1.
“How many claims of mal-administration have been made against the department?”
We do not record information about the number of claims of maladministration which have been made against the department. We record information about the number of financial redress payments authorised in recognition of Departmental maladminstration. This information is published in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts. The latest published information for 2011/2012, can be found on page 31 of the report (see link below).

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/dwp-annual-report-and-accounts-2011-2012.pdf

 

[ Edited: 3 Apr 2014 at 02:01 pm by JimT ]
shawn mach
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Paul_Treloar
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Welfare benefits caseworker, Mary Ward Legal Centre

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Thanks all for responses (apart from 1964 trying to blow the gaff on me :-) ).

It wasn’t so much that I needed the actual leaflet as such (although it would have saved having to explain quite so much to client), but more that there is now a complete absence of information available publicly that helps claimants understand that such a scheme even exists, let alone that they can apply when things go wrong and the DWP are the root cause of the problem.

Given that everything is moving online, would it be beyond the ken of the all-singing all-dancing DWP to actually ensure that some information is made available online for people potentially affected?

Edmund Shepherd
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Tenancy Income, Royal Borough of Greenwich, London

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I find one always needs to request a special payment. It seems to be only in the most extreme cases of maladministration that DWP stumps up compensation without prompting. Then, it’s a nugatory sum such as £50. Better than nothing, but well below the limit of £500.