Government compensation schemes: PAC Chair requests National Audit Office review
29 January 2024
The Chair of the Public Accounts Committee is requesting the National Audit Office (NAO) launch a review into Government compensation schemes for citizens who have suffered harm, hardship and distress from failures by public bodies.
In correspondence, Dame Meg Hillier MP asks that NAO Comptroller and Auditor General Gareth Davies consider a thematic review of such schemes, given the variation of approach in how Government designs and implements them, and the importance of swift and fair redress for citizens when things go wrong.
Examples include:
- the Windrush Compensation Scheme, which the PAC found in July 2021 was too complex and difficult with unacceptable delays for claimants due to inadequate capacity put in place by Government;
- Compensation and restorative measures for LGBT veterans, with a Commons debate expected on compensation for those impacted by the UK Armed Forces’ ban on homosexuality following Lord Etherton’s Independent Review;
- the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme, which has seen concerns raised over the time taken for Government to establish a full scheme for those affected by the scandal, with MPs voting in December 2023 to speed up the process;
- Overturning convictions and compensation for sub-postmasters affected by the Horizon scandal, with considerable concerns as to the progress of compensation schemes, as raised by the PAC’s report in April 2023.
Further information
Image: UK Parliament/Tyler Allicock