Recommendation 2

HM Government Not Addressed

The Department has still not published its own analysis of the drivers of foodbank use, which it commissioned in 2018 and which it originally planned to publish in October 2019. We recommend that the Department publish this work without delay. DWP should conduct or commission research, before the end of this financial year, to develop its understanding of the impact of UC, particularly the wait for the first payment, on the rising use of food banks; on claimants’ levels of rent arrears; and on claimants’ mental health and mental wellbeing. While the evidence we heard falls short of establishing a causal link between the wait and these experiences, that is no reason for the Department not to take these findings seriously. It should use them as a starting point for a concerted effort to understand the full impact of the wait for the first payment, and how this may differ for claimants who are moving to UC from legacy benefits and for those who are making entirely new claims. DWP should more thoroughly consider the evidence linking UC to increased use of food banks, rent arrears and psychological distress and should use this in its overall strategy for protecting claimants’ safety and wellbeing. As ministers have updated the Committee previously, the Department reallocated resources to prioritise its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Department will not be conducting nor commissioning any research.