§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been paid in compensation in each year since 1997 as a result of cases related to his Department decided by the Parliamentary Ombudsman. [19506]
§ Mr. Nicholas BrownComprehensive details of financial redress paid in cases where the Ombudsman has completed an investigation and issued a formal report are not held centrally. However, the following information has been extracted from such records as are available. Details for previous years are for the then DSS.
These figures exclude cases where a statutory resolution has been found.
Year Amount paid 1997–98 1— 1998–99 442,363 1999–2000 173,896 2000–01 191,060 2001–02 266,435 1No figures are available 2Payments authorised between 1 April and 31 October 2001 The sums quoted are the total sums paid in cases investigated by the Ombudsman. Some of those payments were made prior to the Ombudsman's intervention under the Department's standing scheme for financial redress.