Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the cost of providing compensation at Level 4 of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman scale in the last 12 months.

The Department estimates that the cost of providing compensation at Level 4 of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman scale was approximately £2,800 in the last 12 months, relating to a single PHSO investigation. Details of PHSO investigations involving the Department are published on the Ombudsman’s website at www.ombudsman.org.uk.

The Department does not provide guidance to other Government departments on responding to recommendations by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) involving financial redress. For recommendations made to DWP, the Department follows the Ombudsman’s Principles for Remedy, with compensation decisions made on a case‑by‑case basis, taking account of the specific circumstances of each case.