{"primaryDescription":"<h2><strong>Sir Alan Bates to give evidence on government compensation schemes in thematic week of PAC scrutiny</strong></h2>\r\n<p>The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will hold two evidence sessions on Monday 1 June at 3.30pm and Thursday 4 June at 10.00am as it scrutinises how government compensation schemes should be run.</p>\r\n<p><a href=\"https://forms.office.com/e/bWjSayS8gt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fill out our survey to tell us about your lived experience with government compensation schemes.</a></p>","secondaryDescription":"<p>When public bodies&rsquo; failures harm UK citizens, they should expect to be fairly and swiftly compensated. In January 2024, the National Audit Office (NAO) agreed to the then-PAC Chair&rsquo;s request that a thematic review be conducted of how government compensation and financial recognition schemes are designed and implemented.</p>\r\n<p>Informed by the NAO&rsquo;s subsequent report, the PAC will be taking evidence first from expert witnesses with experience of four government compensation schemes which the PAC is treating as case studies. These are:</p>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>the Windrush Compensation Scheme;</li>\r\n<li>compensation and restorative measures for LGBT veterans;</li>\r\n<li>the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme;</li>\r\n<li>and compensation for subpostmasters affected by the Horizon scandal, on which the Committee&rsquo;s expert witness will be Sir Alan Bates of the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p>A second evidence session will then be held with relevant government officials, in which the Committee will explore the challenges in planning and designing schemes across government, and how to address them to ensure such schemes are effective, timely, proportionate for those making a claim, and fair.</p>\r\n<p>To inform its scrutiny, the PAC will also be opening a survey for the public, which will be live on the Committee&rsquo;s website between Wednesday 27 May and Wednesday 10 June. The Committee will be interested in hearing from those who have applied to a compensation scheme on how easy or difficult the process felt. The responses will help the Committee to make recommendations to the government about how compensation schemes should be run. Further details of the survey will be forthcoming.</p>\r\n<p>While the PAC&rsquo;s evidence sessions will hear from witnesses with regard to four specific schemes, the Committee will welcome evidence from anyone who has had experience of a government compensation scheme. A more comprehensive list of schemes can be found in the National Audit Office&rsquo;s report <a href=\"https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/lessons-learned-government-compensation-schemes.pdf\">here</a> (Fig. 3, p.44).</p>","parliamentTvUrl":"https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/95ebd4bd-729d-42bc-a68d-a31a6d772270","id":27313,"name":null,"startDate":"2026-06-01T15:00:00","endDate":"2026-06-01T18:00:00","cancelledDate":null,"locationId":10,"location":"The Grimond Room, Portcullis House","eventType":{"id":6,"name":"Formal meeting (oral evidence session)","isVisit":false,"description":"Formal meetings may be held in private (for example to consider a draft report) or in public (for example to hear oral evidence), and require a minimum number of members to be present."},"eventSource":"CIS","committees":[{"contact":{"email":"pubaccom@parliament.uk","phone":null,"address":"Public Accounts Committee, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA","contactDisclaimer":"We receive a significant number of emails each day. All requests and invitations are considered but we do not respond directly to everyone.\r\nPlease be aware, the committee does not look at individual cases or specific complaints."},"id":127,"name":"Public Accounts Committee","parentCommittee":null,"subCommittees":[],"house":"Commons","leadHouse":null,"category":{"id":1,"name":"Select"},"committeeTypes":[{"id":22,"name":"(HC) Public Standing Orders - Cross-cutting","committeeCategory":{"id":1,"name":"Select"}}],"showOnWebsite":true,"websiteLegacyUrl":"https://old.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/public-accounts-committee/","websiteLegacyRedirectEnabled":false,"startDate":"1978-11-01T00:00:00","endDate":null,"dateCommonsAppointed":"2024-10-21T00:00:00","dateLordsAppointed":null,"scrutinisingDepartments":[],"isLeadCommittee":true,"nameHistory":[{"id":125,"committeeId":127,"name":"Public Accounts Committee","startDate":"1978-11-01T00:00:00","endDate":null}]}],"committeeBusinesses":[{"id":9271,"title":"Government compensation schemes: update","type":{"id":1,"name":"Inquiry","isInquiry":true,"description":"Inquiries allow committees to consider oral and written evidence on a particular topic. 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