Source · Select Committees · Work and Pensions Committee
Recommendation 46
46
Paragraph: 197
We recommend that the Department publishes the guidance given to Work Coaches when they advise...
Recommendation
We recommend that the Department publishes the guidance given to Work Coaches when they advise people on APAs, to improve transparency in the process. The Department should make clear when and how a claimant is made aware of APAs both during their Universal Credit application and once they start receiving their payments. The Department should publish the rates at which people are unsuccessful in their applications for an Alternative Payment Arrangements, and what reasons the Department might give a claimant if it denies their request for more frequent payments. DWP should also ensure that work coaches are making claimants aware of the option of split payments, where a household’s payment can be divided and paid into two separate accounts.
Paragraph Reference:
197
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
The Department has an established commitment to publishing UC guidance papers. The latest deposit to the House of Commons’ Library was on 29th October 2020 and includes ‘Money guidance and Alternative Payment Arrangements’ guidance. APAs can be considered for any claimant where it is clear that they are having difficulties managing their monthly payment or are in a certain level of rent arrears. These difficulties may be identified by the Work Coach, Case Manager, landlord or the claimant themselves. The Department routinely publishes data on APAs on Stat-Xplore, our purpose built website for hosting benefit-related statistics. We do not intend to expand current reporting. We are committed to providing tailored support to all claimants, including through split payments where appropriate. However, we believe that most couples can and want to manage their finances jointly which is why UC is a household benefit. Claims are paid to women in the majority of cases and we will continue to explore how we can ensure money is paid to the main carer. We recognise that there may be circumstances in which split payments are appropriate and where that is the case, we will continue to put them in place. No information relating to why a split payment has been requested or granted will be notified to the claimant’s partner. However, the Department does not agree that this requires a broader review.