The complaint
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17. Mrs A complains of maladministration by DTI in devising the scheme and assessing compensation due to her late husband under the Trawlermen’s Compensation Scheme. In particular, she complains that DTI failed to take account of regulations relevant at the time relating to unemployment benefit for fishermen and the consequences for them, should an Icelandic water vessel require a refit taking longer than twelve weeks. This resulted in a failure to make provision for such circumstances within the scheme’s eligibility criteria, and failure within the scheme to allow sufficient flexibility to consider unanticipated or deserving circumstances. Had Mr A refused the North Sea work he was directed to by the dock officer, he would not have been able to claim unemployment benefit with the result that his family would have had no income. Work on another Icelandic water vessel remained unavailable to Mr A for a period of twelve weeks and three days.
18. Mrs A alleges, through the Member who referred her complaint to me, that she has suffered injustice in consequence, because DTI made an unjustified reduction in the amount of the award made to her on behalf of her late husband. The Member has also referred to me the cases of those who make similar complaints to Mrs A (see Annex C).
