Recommendation 4

HM Government · verbatim extract Not Addressed

The Department for Work and Pensions is committed to continually improving access to Universal Credit for those most vulnerable in society. As there is a large amount of personal information held within an individual’s Universal Credit account, any data breach has far-reaching consequences for claimants, and it is vital to balance consent against risk. Therefore, a policy of explicit consent exists to help reduce the risk of fraud by ensuring claimants’ data is kept safe from unscrupulous organisations and individuals. Where explicit consent is needed, it can be quickly given in different ways: over the telephone or via the online journal, at any time during a Universal Credit claim. Once consent is given, the Department will work with claimants’ representatives. As of late 2021, the Department commenced an internal information gathering exercise which entails collecting richer data from claimants about what support they need and who may be providing this support. This information is now live on the Universal Credit service, and the Department will soon progress to analysing the data received. The Department welcomes any input through its ongoing discussions with a broad group of stakeholders who represent vulnerable claimants; however, to pause to run a formal consultation exercise at this stage, would delay the work already paused by the pandemic.