Conclusion
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164. The Permanent Secretary accepted that the handling of the design and launch of the scheme had not been to the standard expected and that, with the benefit of hindsight, DTI should have undertaken a comprehensive review of the scheme, rather than make incremental changes. He agreed to make a consolatory payment of £1,000 to Mrs A and to each of the other four complainants identified in this report, and will apologise to them for the shortcomings that I have identified.
165. He accepted my second recommendation, that DTI undertake a review of the eligibility criteria and scheme rules to ensure that they are consistent with the policy intention underlying the scheme, and said that he intended to start that review immediately.
166. The Permanent Secretary also accepted my third and fourth recommendations. He said that, should Ministers decide that the criteria were not consistent with the policy intention, and that new criteria should be devised, DTI would design a scheme to ensure the rules were consistent with the policy intention. If the criteria were then designed in such a way as to widen eligibility, they would reassess all claims (where the maximum payment of £20,000 had not already been made) against the new criteria. Any additional entitlement would be paid with interest. In addition, DTI would apologise and make consolatory payments to all those who received additional awards as a result, to reflect the injustice they would have suffered. If any criteria were narrowed, DTI would not seek to recover payments from those who had received more than they would have been entitled to under the revised criteria.
167. As to the fifth recommendation, the Government have accepted the need for central guidance on the development and operation of ex gratia compensation schemes. The Permanent Secretary at HM Treasury has told me that HM Treasury is planning to take forward my recommendation for such guidance and that this work will be incorporated into the revision of ‘Government Accounting’, which I understand is due for publication later this year.
Ann Abraham
Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
February 2007
