Select committee: Work and Pensions Committee
Conclusion 3
First Report: DWP's response to the coronavirus outbreak
Published 22 Jun 2020
Paragraph 23
Addressed to Department for Work and Pensions
Work and Pensions Committee DWP's response to the coronavirus outbreak All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
We welcome the fact that 93 per cent of new claimants from 16 March received their first payment on time: a substantial improvement on the previous average. That means, however, that around 7 per cent of new claimants—more than 200,000 people—are still receiving their first payment late. The challenge for DWP now is to improve on these high standards while not compromising on the accuracy of payments. The large numbers of staff deployed to front line posts has undoubtedly contributed to the improvements in timeliness, but this will not be sustainable beyond the short term. The Department should now set out how it intends to improve on, or at the very least maintain, these standards of payment timeliness in ‘normal’ times, with fewer staff in front line roles.
From: Work and Pensions Committee, First Report: DWP's response to the coronavirus outbreak (HC 178), paragraph 23, 22 June 2020
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 8 September 2020.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government's response sets out DWP's actions on the Committee's recommendations, committing to some further work on health assessments, terminal illness guidance and publishing evidence on the self-employed, while giving reasons for not changing other policies.
- On legacy benefits, DWP has "no plans to increase these benefits further at this stage", and says rates will be reviewed in the autumn up-rating exercise for April 2021.
- On audio recording of assessments, the government says it is "currently developing an approach" for telephone PIP assessments and Work Capability Assessments, without stating a date.
- On health and safety inspections, it says a "new rigid numerical target system would hamper the effectiveness and flexibility of operations" and that HSE uses a risk based, intelligence led approach.
- On the Employment Bill, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy "will bring forward detailed proposals on legislation in due course"; DWP "will look to publish evidence on the self-employed".