1. Introduction

1.1.       Warwick District Council is committed to consistently providing a high standard of service to all its residents. The Council aims to resolve any issues or mistakes before the need for redress or compensation arises. We may consider awarding compensation if the standard of service is below the standard residents could reasonably expect and/or failures occur that fall outside of the Council’s policies. In such cases, the Council may consider a range of remedies, including discretionary financial compensation under section 92 of the Local Government Act 2000, which allows councils to remedy injustice arising from service failure or maladministration.

2. Aim of the policy

2.1.       The Council’s aim, wherever reasonably possible, is to restore individuals to the position they would have been in had the service failure not occurred. In some cases, this may be achieved through an apology or practical remedy. Where loss or injustice has occurred, financial compensation may also be considered.

2.2.       This policy provides a consistent, fair, proportionate and transparent approach to awarding remedies or compensation. Whilst each case will be considered individually, taking into account the specific circumstances of the resident and the impact experienced, the policy ensures that:

• The compensation process is reasonable, fair, and treats residents equally.
• Problems are resolved quickly and efficiently.
• Practical solutions are explored to address complaints.
• Information gathered is used to learn and improve service delivery to prevent recurrence.
• Financial awards are made only where appropriate and justified, in line with clear guidance and with the application of common sense to ensure both appropriate use and protection of public funds.
• No compensation will be paid where there is no evidence of significant loss, inconvenience, or injustice.

3. Policy statement

3.1.       There are three types of compensation payment:

• Mandatory (such as statutory home loss payments, disturbance, improvements and payments under the Right to Repair scheme).
• Quantifiable loss payments (where people can provide evidence to demonstrate actual loss that has been reasonably incurred, e.g. increased heating bills due to disrepair, having to pay for alternative accommodation or take away food).
• Discretionary payments (e.g. for time and trouble/distress and inconvenience).

3.2.       This policy sets out how Warwick District Council will approach managing discretionary compensation payments to our residents. Ex gratia payments (i.e. discretionary compensation) are payments made by the Council at its discretion, usually to recognise inconvenience, distress, or loss caused by service failures or maladministration. These payments are the primary focus of this policy.

3.3.       Discretionary payments may include:

• Poor complaint handling.
• Delays in providing a service, e.g. in undertaking a repair.
• Failure to provide a service that has been charged for.
• Temporary loss of amenity.
• Failure to meet target response times.
• Loss of use of part of a property.
• Failure to follow policy and procedure.
• Unreasonable time taken to resolve a situation.

3.4.       Where appropriate, other actions may be taken to remedy a complaint, either separately from, or in conjunction with, an offer of compensation. These can include practical actions (e.g. offering to undertake repairs or redecoration which would otherwise be a resident’s responsibility) and gestures of goodwill.

3.5.       This policy is informed by the Council’s discretionary powers under:

• Section 92 of the Local Government Act 2000.
• The Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code.
• The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code.

3.6.       Separate Housing-related statutory compensation schemes, which are not covered under this policy, include:

• Home Loss Payments - Land Compensation Act 1973.
• Right to Buy Delay Compensation - Sections 153A and 153B of the Housing Act 1985.
• Compensation for Improvements - The Secure Tenants of Local Housing Authority Regulations 1994.
• Right to Repair Regulations 1994 and related amendments.
• Home Loss Payments Regulations.

These statutory payments are administered separately from this policy and are subject to specific eligibility and calculation rules defined in law.

3.7.       Before considering discretionary financial compensation, the Council will explore other appropriate remedies. These may include, but are not limited to:

• A sincere apology.
• A full written explanation addressing all points raised in the complaint.
• Corrective action to resolve the issue and prevent recurrence.
• A review of relevant policies and procedures.
• Staff guidance or training.

3.8.       In assessing appropriate remedies, the Council will have regard to the guidance set out within the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code and the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code.

3.9.       In line with this, the Council may consider discretionary compensation where one or more of the following apply:

• The resident has been severely inconvenienced by the Council’s actions or omissions.
• Failures in service delivery have resulted in financial loss or distress.
• The Council has not followed its own policies, resulting in a negative impact on the resident.
• A Council operative or contractor failed to attend a scheduled appointment without reasonable notice or justification (e.g. not due to emergency or sickness). In such cases, the Council will ensure residents are contacted promptly to reschedule.
• The Council failed to correctly diagnose or resolve a repair issue within agreed timescales, leading to avoidable inconvenience or loss.
• The resident has experienced the loss of a core service (e.g. heating or hot water) which is the Council’s responsibility and not that of another provider, or has been caused by a Council operative or contractor.
• There is a loss of amenity (e.g. a room becomes unusable) due to issues such as damp, leaks, disrepair, or neglect on the part of the Council.
• Detriment or damage has been caused to an individual or their property and belongings by a third party (e.g. contractor) working on the Council’s behalf.
• There has been poor complaint handling.

3.10.       Officers responsible for complaint investigations will use the complaints process to consider compensation if service(s) fail to meet the expected standards. An evidence-based approach will be used when calculating and awarding compensation. The result of the decision will be appropriately communicated and recorded.

3.11.       It is recognised there are instances where the distress or inconvenience caused by a failure in service can be made worse by a resident’s individual circumstances. The Council will use its complaints process to understand whether there has been any unfair impact and, if so, the severity of this. Remedies and compensation calculations will reflect the additional detriment that may have been caused due to these individual circumstances.

4. Calculating compensation awards

4.1.       When calculating compensation awards the following will be considered:

• The duration of any avoidable distress or inconvenience.
• The seriousness of any other unfair impact.
• Actions by the complainant or the landlord which either mitigated or contributed to actual financial loss, distress, inconvenience, or unfair impact.
• The level of rent or service charges by the Council.
• Council policies and procedures and how they have or have not been applied.
• How the Council handled the associated complaint.
• Whether there are any required awards relating to home loss (full or partial).
• Whether any of the resident’s belongings have been damaged.

5. Offers of compensation

5.1.       When an offer of compensation is made, the complainant will normally be asked to acknowledge the offer within 14 days and accept it within one month of the offer being made. The Council recognises that, in some circumstances, it may not be possible for a complainant to respond within 14 days, and this will be taken into account where appropriate. If no response is received and there has been no contact to explain a delay, the Council may decide to withdraw the offer.

5.2.       We make any discretionary offers of compensation without prejudice and generally as a gesture of goodwill. They do not signify the acceptance of legal responsibility or liability on the part of the Council. Therefore, all such payments made under this policy will be issued as full and final settlement for the associated complaint or issue.

6. Limitations of this policy

6.1.       Discretionary compensation may only be considered in relation to a complaint made within 12 months of a customer becoming aware of a direct impact on them.

• Where the desired action would adversely impact another individual and/or their property.
• Where the resident’s desired outcome for their complaint is disciplinary action to be taken against any employees. Any such scenarios will be managed in line with the Warwick District Council disciplinary policy.
• Where a claim can be made on the resident’s home contents or buildings insurance. However, insurance excess will be considered for complaints relating to recurring issues or delayed repairs where the resident is not at fault.
• Claims relating to personal injury, damage or loss of personal property/belongings will be passed to the Council’s liability insurers.
• Claims from leaseholders for loss of rental income.
• Issues that are the subject of tribunals or legal proceedings.
• Circumstances beyond the Council’s control. For example, damage to flooring from extreme weather or any other natural disaster.
• Claims previously dealt with under the Council’s complaints and compensation/remedies policies.

6.2.       The Council does not compensate residents for loss of earnings, which includes the use of annual leave or needing to be available for a (reasonably booked) appointment.

6.3.       Residents will not be reimbursed if they decide to employ an individual contractor or tradesperson to complete work without getting agreement and written permission from the Council beforehand.

6.4.       If a Council tenant undertakes any work on or in their home and it is deemed to be unsafe or non-compliant, the Council reserves the right to arrange for the work to be corrected and to seek reimbursement costs from the tenant.

6.5.       Utility costs, such as the water or energy used to undertake a repair, will not be reimbursed (e.g. the water used in draining down a system, or the electricity used for power tools).

6.6.       If a resident has any rent arrears or arrears for other Warwick District Council services, discretionary compensation awards will be used to offset these unless sufficient evidence of financial hardship is provided. If there are no such debts, compensation payments will be made directly to the complainant’s bank account.

6.7.       Compensation payments awarded for actual quantifiable loss will not be used to offset arrears and will be paid directly to the resident.

6.8.       Compensation payments awarded by the Housing Ombudsman Service or Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman, separate from any compensation the Council may have already offered or paid, will not be offset against arrears, and will be paid directly to the resident.

6.9.       To receive compensation directly to a bank account, residents will need to sign an acceptance form, providing their bank details and proof of ownership of the bank account to ensure that the payments can be made accurately to the correct person.

6.10.       Payments will be arranged by the Policy, Performance & Complaints team and made by BACS within 14 days of receipt of the signed acceptance form.

6.11.       Compensation awarded under this policy is considered a full and final settlement of the matter, unless new and material circumstances arise. Any compensation paid is discretionary and constitutes a goodwill gesture in recognition of the failure to perform. It does not represent an admission of liability by the Council.

7. Supporting policies

7.1.       Complaints Policy

7.2.       Repairs and Maintenance Policy

8. Equality and diversity

8.1.       The Council is committed to equal and fair treatment of all residents. Accordingly, no person will be discriminated against during the implementation of this policy on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

8.2.       An Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) was undertaken as part of the approval process for this policy.

9. Data protection and retention of information

9.1.       All information will be handled in accordance with the requirements of General Data Protection Regulations and the Data Protection Act 2018. The handling and storage of personal data will be managed and stored in accordance with the Council’s Data Protection Policy and our Record Retention Disposal Schedule.

APPENDIX A: Overview of discretionary Housing-related compensation

Impact of service failings (time trouble and inconvenience)

Value threshold	Compensation guidance
Minimal Impact (Minimal impact and short duration, normally 1 instance)	Apology
Low Impact (Short duration and caused minimal impact, including time, trouble, distress and inconvenience, minor failing which the Council either did not acknowledge or put right)	£50-100
Medium Impact (Moderate degree of inconvenience or distress but no permanent impact)	£100-600
High Impact (Significant failure in service resulting in a significant impact on the resident, including physical or emotional impact, or both)	£600-1000
Severe Impact (Serious failings which continued over a substantial period of time and have had a serious detrimental impact on the resident)	£1000 and over

Poor complaint handling (failure to respond to complaints in accordance with the Council’s Complaints Policy)

Value threshold	Compensation guidance
Minimal impact (Where the effect was a short duration)	Apology Learning
Low impact (Minor delays which caused the complainant to chase; compensation policy not applied correctly at Stage 1)	Up to £50 Learning
Adverse impact (Response delayed by more than several delays, a Stage 1 response which did not consider sensitive circumstances)	£50-100 Learning
Significant impact (Severe failings, Stage 1 response disregarded sensitive circumstances, response delayed by weeks or months, and misleading advice provided at Stage 1)	£100-250 Learning

Loss of amenities

Service	Compensation guidance
No heating* and/or hot water	Apology £15 per day for complete loss £8 per day for loss of one service (heating or hot water)
Loss of power	Apology £10 per day for complete loss £10 per week for loss of lighting only
Loss of cooking facilities	£15 per adult per day £10 per child** per day

* Compensation will not be provided for loss of heating where alternative heating is supplied.

** For this purpose, a child is defined as being age 12 or under.

Uninhabitable rooms

Full room loss	% of weekly rent
Kitchen	25%
Bathroom where an additional WC is available	20%
Bathroom	30%
Bedroom	20%
Living Room	20%
Whole property	100%

* Start date: Date the complainant reported the issue, minus the reasonable repair period. End date: When repairs were completed or the determination date if the matter is ongoing.

** No compensation is payable if the loss is due to planned works agreed in advance with the tenant unless the loss is for longer than initially agreed.

*** No compensation will be awarded if the loss of facility is caused by a third party (e.g. resident’s utility supplier) or the resident’s own action/inaction.

Failed Service Level Agreement

Service failure	Compensation guidance
Failure to deliver a service to published service standards causing minimal impact	£20

Missed appointments

Service failure	Compensation guidance
Missed appointment by a Council operative or contractor (with failure to provide reasonable notice or justification)*	Apology £15 per missed appointment

* E.g. not due to emergency or sickness.