To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of (a) the adequacy of the standard compensation payment paid to benefits claimants for errors made by his Department and (b) whether that payment always covers the full cost to claimants of errors.

The department’s discretionary special payment scheme allows us to award redress to our customers for the impacts of departmental errors. As the impact may differ, in accordance with each customer’s circumstances, we consider each case on its own merits and any payment made will reflect the individual circumstances. For more details of the scheme, please see the guidance: Financial Redress for Maladministration.