Health Service Ombudsman
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Ombudsman reports on 'Cod Wars' trawlermen's compensation scheme
Today the Parliamentary Ombudsman, Ann Abraham, published her report, Put together in haste: 'Cod Wars' trawlermen's compensation scheme, of her investigation into the Icelandic trawlermen's compensation scheme, which she described as 'set up to fail'. Ms Abraham said that the scheme was launched before the details were finalised and there was a mismatch between what it was intended to deliver and what it was capable of delivering.
The scheme was set up by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in 2000 to compensate former UK-based Icelandic water trawlermen who had lost their livelihoods as a result of the settling of the 'Cod Wars' with Iceland in the 1970s. But the Ombudsman found that the scheme failed to deliver. Even after DTI had received numerous complaints, the Department did not comprehensively review the operation of the scheme and simply made a series of changes to its rules over a period of several years so that gradually more trawlermen became eligible. Ms Abraham said that there were shortcomings in the way that the scheme was devised, announced and operated.
The Ombudsman made a number of recommendations to put things right for those who had complained to her and to others in a similar position. The Department agreed to make a compensation payment of £1,000 to each of the five complainants to the Ombudsman and to apologise to them. DTI also agreed to review the scheme rules and eligibility criteria to make sure that they are consistent with the policy intention behind the scheme; and that, once that is done, to review the cases of those people who complained to the Ombudsman, and anyone else who claims to have suffered a similar injustice, in line with the criteria which the Department considers are consistent with the policy intention.
The Ombudsman made similar findings in the report of her investigation into complaints about the scheme set up by the Ministry of Defence to compensate some British groups who were interned by the Japanese in the Second World War (A Debt of Honour, HC324). As a result of her reports, the Government has accepted the Ombudsman's recommendation that it should develop central guidance for public bodies about the development and operation of ex gratia compensation schemes. The guidance will be incorporated into the revision of the Treasury's manual, Government Accounting, which is due to be published later this year.
Notes to editors
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Notes to Editors
1. Publication details: The Parliamentary Ombudsman Put together in haste: 'Cod Wars' trawlermen's compensation scheme, HC 313, 22 February 2007, The Stationery Office (Order line: 0870 600 5522)
2. From 22 February you can also find the reports on the website at: http://www.ombudsman.org.uk
3. The Ombudsman made three findings of maladministration causing injustice to the complainants and to others in a similar position. These were that:
* the scheme was devised and launched before it was appropriate to do so, with the effect that several critical factors were not considered and addressed by those responsible for devising the scheme rules before its launch;
* there was a mismatch between what the scheme was intended to
deliver and what it was capable of delivering through the scheme
rules;
* the problems identified during the operation of the
scheme should have led to a comprehensive review of the scheme;
5. The scheme was announced on 2 October 2000
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