Source · Select Committees · Business and Trade Committee
Recommendation 7
7
Rejected
Establish an independent case facilitator and set 20-day limit for information requests.
Recommendation
The Department should work with Post Office Ltd and claimants’ representatives to establish an independent case facilitator with a defined role in assessing whether it is reasonable to subject a claim’s basis of calculation to further scrutiny through requests for information. When requests for information are considered reasonable, it should take no longer than 20 working days to be sent to the claimant from the submission of a claim. (Recommendation, Paragraph 30)
Government Response Summary
The government rejected the recommendation, stating that setting deadlines for RFIs is not in claimants' best interest and a case facilitator would add unacceptable time and cost. They will, however, reinforce timely RFI delivery in reviews.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
• The Government does not accept this recommendation. • The Government agrees that requests for information (RFIs) should be sent to the claimant as quickly as possible following the submission of a claim. It does not believe that setting deadlines for this process would be in the best interest of claimants, given that these requests are aimed at helping to substantiate the losses claimed. If this process is rushed, it may affect the quality of the RFI and in turn, inhibit the claimant’s opportunity to provide the required information to increase their award. • A case facilitator would also need to familiarise themselves with the details of the case in order to consider the validity of a request for further information. That would add unacceptable time and cost to the process. • We do, however, agree that requests for information should be sent in a timely way and we will reinforce this in our regular reviews with the Post Office of the scheme’s progress.