Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation 63
63
Deferred
Paragraph: 214
Lack of clarity for claimants regarding discretionary award application and evidential requirements.
Conclusion
We are further concerned by the lack of clarity for claimants as to the circumstances in which they can apply for a discretionary award. It is also not clear why claimants appear to have been required in practice to meet different evidential requirements for this category of claim.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government states the discretionary category of the scheme will be reviewed, and updates will be provided, acknowledging the committee's concern about clarity.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
214
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government · verbatim extract
Deferred
The Scheme is designed to cover as many aspects as possible of a person’s life that are likely to have been affected by an inability to demonstrate status. We introduced a discretionary category to cover such instances where there is evidence that a financial loss incurred which is not captured within the other existing categories of claim. This will be reviewed, and we will provide updates. Policy and Operational teams are working together, looking closely at the Discretionary category. Regarding consistency, any proposal to award in this category is discussed and signed off by a technical specialist. Previous awards in this category have been in respect of travel costs (both internationally and within the UK), medical invoices (submitted as part of an application to the HO), and the reimbursement monies paid in respect of legal advice. We have committed to keeping all categories within the Scheme under review. Feedback from our quality assurance processes alongside that received from our Tier 1 and Tier 2 reviews ensure we have real time insight enabling us to identify trends in decision making and any elements of the Schemes’ policy which require additional scrutiny and review.
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