The DWP has sought to defend a number of my complaints cases by saying it can't investigate due to documents having been destroyed. Anyone who runs any service involving personal information knows that it's essential to keep records for at least 6 years. The ICE Annual Report highlights the issue,
"Complaints with document retention issues as an underpinning factor have also emerged as a theme this year. Despite there being clear guidance about the timescales for retaining information, failure to follow this guidance has led to evidence being destroyed prematurely,which in turn has on occasion severely hindered our ability to conduct a thorough investigation. In the absence of all the information that should be available, it falls to the Independent Case Examiner to determine what is most likely to have happened in a particular scenario".
A cover-up?