Recommendations & Conclusions
38 items
2
Recommendation
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Rejected
DWP processes only around half of new PIP claims on time against a target for 75% of claims to be processed within 75 working days. DWP’s performance in processing new claims on time varies significantly between benefits, with claimants of disability benefits receiving a worse service than recipients of UC …
Government response. The government rejects the recommendation, stating it must balance speed with accuracy and risk, especially with upcoming changes from the "Pathways to Work" Green Paper. It refers to the long-term Health Transformation Programme for modernisation.
HM Treasury
3
Conclusion
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Accepted
DWP does not understand well enough the experience of vulnerable customers and customers with additional or complex needs. DWP’s customers have a wide range of vulnerabilities and additional or complex needs due to poverty, age, health problems and disabilities. DWP has some arrangements in place to support these customers, including …
Government response. The government agrees, committing to strengthen research data use, extend analysis, implement a new Customer Experience Survey contract (2025-28) with results by 2025-26, develop real-time feedback, and strengthen data collection for vulnerable customers.
HM Treasury
4
Recommendation
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Accepted
Realising the benefits of service modernisation will require strong leadership to embed cultural change within DWP and its outsourced providers. DWP’s Service Modernisation Programme is an 11–year organisation-wide programme estimated to cost £312.1 million, running from 2022–23 to 2032–33, which is seeking to deliver benefits for customers, staff and taxpayers. …
Government response. The government agrees, stating it is already fostering cultural change by enhancing behaviours and skills. It monitors progress through People Survey indicators, wider colleague insight, customer experience research, a Risk Management Framework with change champions, and a Service Maturity Framework.
HM Treasury
5
Conclusion
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Accepted
Benefit claimants received over £4 billion less than they were entitled to in 2023–24, increasing the risk of financial hardship for the people losing out. DWP estimates that claimants received 1.6% (£4.2 billion) less than they were eligible for in 2023–24, up from 1.5% (£3.5 billion) in 2022–
Government response. The government agrees, committing to introduce a safeguarding approach to build trust and deliver the Health Transformation Programme, which will include an optional online service to make it easier for claimants to report changes and address underpayments.
HM Treasury
23
Recommendation
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Accepted
These underpayments leave the claimants affected with less money than they should have, making their finances more precarious than they should be. Underpayment rates are highest for disability benefits, such as PIP and Disability Living Allowance, where the most common reason for underpayments is customers failing to inform DWP that …
Government response. The government commits to building trust by introducing a safeguarding approach and, over the longer term, implementing the Health Transformation Programme. This program will transform the PIP service by introducing an optional online service to make it easier for customers …
HM Treasury
6
Recommendation
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Accepted
Excluding State Pension, £9.5 billion of benefit expenditure was overpaid in 2023–24 and DWP did not achieve its savings target from Targeted Case Reviews. Excluding State Pension, DWP estimates that it overpaid a total of 6.7% (£9.5 billion) in 2023–24, up from 6.6% (£8.2 billion) in 2022–23, meaning many claimants …
Government response. The government agrees, outlining that the £110 million will fund scaling Targeted Case Reviews to full capacity by March 2025, deploying 3,000 additional staff from April 2025 to identify and recover overpayments, and using additional resources to check Universal Credit …
HM Treasury
7
Conclusion
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Accepted
We remain concerned about the potential negative impact on protected groups and vulnerable customers of DWP’s use of machine learning to identify potential fraud. The previous Public Accounts Committee repeatedly raised concerns about the impact of data analytics and machine learning on legitimate benefit claims being delayed or reduced, the …
Government response. The government agrees to share the 2024 fairness impact assessment and commits to developing a new, publishable form of fairness analysis assessment by January 2025. This new approach will involve improved governance, independent oversight, and assessments drafted for unredacted publication …
HM Treasury
1
Conclusion
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Accepted
On the basis of two reports by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), we took evidence from the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) on its customer service and on its 2023–24 accounts, in particular on the level of fraud and error in benefit expenditure.1
Government response. The government agrees, committing to recruit 160 colleagues by March 2025 (in post by June 2025) to monitor and improve the average speed of answer. Customer wait times for ESA enquiries are expected to improve by September 2025.
HM Treasury
8
Conclusion
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
DWP also told us that the difference in performance between in-house and outsourced lines reflected the type of work they handled. It said that it used outsourced providers to deal with simpler transactions and calls, while its in-house lines dealt with more complex queries. In addition, calls that involved decisions …
HM Treasury
9
Conclusion
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Accepted
We asked DWP whether some of the long call waiting times, such as for ESA claimants, would have significantly improved by next year. DWP told us that it wanted to reduce waiting times but it was having to deal with a sustained surge in demand for benefits.16 By way of …
Government response. The government commits to recruiting 160 additional colleagues by March 2025, who are expected to be in post by June 2025. This measure aims to improve customer wait times for ESA enquiries by September 2025.
HM Treasury
10
Conclusion
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Rejected
A failure to process claims and pay benefits in a timely way can mean claimants wait longer for money they are entitled to, increasing the risk of financial hardship and making it more difficult for them to manage their finances effectively.18 Overall, DWP processed 72% of new claims on time …
Government response. The government disagrees with the committee's implied recommendation for faster processing, stating it must balance speed with accuracy and safely processing complex cases. It notes ongoing improvements in PIP clearance times and long-term plans through the Health Transformation Programme.
HM Treasury
11
Conclusion
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Rejected
DWP’s performance in processing new claims on time varies significantly between benefits, after taking account of its different timeliness standards for different benefits, which reflect the nature and complexity of each benefit. In 2023–24, DWP processed 84% of UC claims within the expected timeframe of five weeks and 96% of …
Government response. The government disagrees with the committee's implied recommendation for faster processing, stating it must balance speed against accuracy and complex case management. It highlights recent improvements in PIP clearance times and long-term modernization plans via the Health Transformation Programme to …
HM Treasury
12
Conclusion
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Accepted
Written evidence from Sense highlighted that disabled people’s experiences of the benefit system were often negative due to issues with the design of the system and how DWP communicates. In May 2024, Sense commissioned a survey of 1,000 people with complex disabilities in receipt of benefits. Of those surveyed, 37% …
Government response. The government agrees with the committee's point, committing to strengthening its use of research data to understand vulnerable customer experiences, extending existing analysis, and ensuring a new Customer Experience Survey contract (2025-28) collects deeper insights. It will also develop real-time …
HM Treasury
13
Conclusion
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Accepted
We asked DWP to explain its mixed performance in the timeliness with which new benefit claims are processed. DWP told us that it was undertaking a programme of modernisation, which bit by bit was building the modern service that everyone expected. It highlighted that the majority of its customers–7.5 million …
Government response. The government states it is already fostering cultural change through enhanced behaviours, skills, and support, monitoring progress via People Survey indicators and a Service Maturity Framework, and adhering to a Risk Management Framework for change programmes.
HM Treasury
14
Conclusion
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Rejected
We pressed DWP on when we would see a marked improvement in the timeliness with which new PIP claims are processed.23 DWP pointed towards the Health Transformation Programme as its long-term solution to providing a modern and timely service for disabled customers. One of the big changes would be the …
Government response. The government explicitly disagrees with the committee's observation regarding PIP claim timeliness, stating it has improved clearance times but must balance speed with accuracy, while reiterating its ongoing commitment to the Health Transformation Programme for long-term improvements.
HM Treasury
15
Conclusion
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Accepted
Some of DWP’s customers are vulnerable or have additional or complex needs due to poverty, age, health problems and disabilities.28 DWP told us that supporting these customers was a key priority and that it sought to put the right support in place at the start of a customer’s ‘journey’.29 It …
Government response. The government agrees and states the recommendation is implemented, detailing plans to strengthen research data use, launch a new Customer Experience Survey contract (2025-28), develop real-time customer feedback, and enhance data collection for Advanced Customer Support Teams to better understand …
HM Treasury
16
Conclusion
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Accepted
DWP also told us that it had been using artificial intelligence to scan customers’ written communications for words and phrases that could indicate vulnerability so that it could provide support quickly. In subsequent correspondence, it highlighted that this technology solution had recently received the ‘Excellence in Delivery Award’ at the …
Government response. The government agrees and states the recommendation is implemented, detailing plans to strengthen research data, launch a new Customer Experience Survey contract (2025-28), and develop real-time customer feedback capabilities. This includes using insights from the Call Listening Alert Service to …
HM Treasury
17
Conclusion
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Accepted
Written evidence from Sense highlighted findings from a survey of claimants with complex disabilities–49% of those surveyed reported that they could not apply for benefits without the support of friends, family or a support service. Sense recommended that DWP should work with disabled people to introduce clear standards on how …
Government response. The government agrees and states the recommendation is implemented, outlining plans to strengthen research data, launch a new Customer Experience Survey contract (2025-28), and develop real-time customer feedback capabilities. These measures aim to enhance understanding of customer experiences, including those …
HM Treasury
18
Conclusion
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Accepted
Since 2019 DWP has contracted Ipsos to undertake a regular customer experience survey.36 We asked DWP whether it could track customer satisfaction for customers with disabilities or additional needs. DWP said it had done some analysis of its customer experience survey but acknowledged that it could be making better use …
Government response. The government agrees with the committee's point, committing to strengthening its use of research data to understand vulnerable customer experiences, extending existing analysis, and ensuring a new Customer Experience Survey contract (2025-28) collects deeper insights. It will also develop real-time …
HM Treasury
19
Conclusion
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Accepted
DWP recognises that significant parts of its services remain largely unmodernised. Its Service Modernisation Programme is an 11-year organisation-wide programme, estimated to cost £312.1 million and running from 2022–23 to 2032–33, which is seeking to deliver benefits for customers, staff and taxpayers.38 However, the scale and complexity of the programme …
Government response. The government acknowledges the importance of cultural change for successful service modernisation, stating it is already fostering this shift through enhanced behaviours, monitoring progress via People Survey indicators, using a Risk Management Framework, and developing a Service Maturity Framework and …
HM Treasury
20
Conclusion
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Accepted
DWP told us that the scale of the challenge involved in service modernisation was daunting for a variety of reasons. It highlighted the complexity of what it did, the size of its operations, issues relating to its legacy IT systems and the need to meet day–to–day demand for its services …
Government response. The government acknowledges the importance of cultural change for successful service modernisation, stating it is already fostering this shift through enhanced behaviours, monitoring progress via People Survey indicators, using a Risk Management Framework, and developing a Service Maturity Framework and …
HM Treasury
21
Conclusion
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Accepted
DWP acknowledged that cultural change can be the hardest part of any transformation programme. It told us that this requires leadership to help people understand the change that is coming, why the change is a good 35 Qq 19-20 36 C&AG’s Report (customer service), paras 2.2, 2.3 37 Q 25 …
Government response. The government states it is already fostering cultural change through enhanced behaviours, skills, and support, monitoring progress via People Survey indicators and a Service Maturity Framework, and adhering to a Risk Management Framework for change programmes.
HM Treasury
22
Conclusion
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Accepted
We asked DWP how it would monitor whether it was achieving the necessary cultural change, including within its outsourced services such as health assessments. DWP referred us to three areas of focus–embedding its values throughout the organisation; getting feedback and learning when something has not worked; and having appropriate guidance …
Government response. The government states it is already fostering cultural change through enhanced behaviours, skills, and support, monitoring progress via People Survey indicators and a Service Maturity Framework, and adhering to a Risk Management Framework for change programmes.
HM Treasury
24
Conclusion
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Accepted
Benefit payments may be incorrect due to deliberate fraud, either by individuals or by organised crime groups, or unintended error by claimants or by DWP or another part of government. The C&AG qualified his opinion on the regularity of DWP’s 2023–24 financial statements due to the material level of fraud …
Government response. The government agrees with the committee's point, committing to scale up the Targeted Case Review to full operation by March 2025, increase funding for counter fraud by £110 million in 2025-26, and deploy an additional 3,000 staff from April 2025 …
HM Treasury
25
Conclusion
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Accepted
DWP estimates that claimants received 1.6% (£4.2 billion) less than they were eligible for in 2023–24, up from 1.5% (£3.5 billion) in 2022–23. These underpayments comprised £1.1 billion in official error and £3.1 billion in unfulfilled eligibility.49 Official error is where a benefit is paid incorrectly due to action, delay …
Government response. The government commits to introducing a safeguarding approach to challenge misconceptions and build trust regarding underpayments. It also plans to implement the Health Transformation Programme, including an optional online PIP service, to improve customer experience and make it easier to …
HM Treasury
26
Conclusion
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Accepted
Underpayment rates are highest for disability benefits. In 2023–24, the unfulfilled eligibility rate for Disability Living Allowance was 11.1% (£750 million) and for Personal Independence Payment was 4.0% (£870 million). The most common reason for underpayments is customers failing to inform DWP that their condition has worsened or their needs …
Government response. The government agrees with the committee's point, stating it will introduce a safeguarding approach and, in the longer term, implement the Health Transformation Programme. This program will transform the PIP service by introducing an optional online service to help rebuild …
HM Treasury
27
Conclusion
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Not Addressed
Many customers contact DWP by telephone when they need to report a change of circumstances.54 However, a significant proportion of calls to DWP go unanswered. In 2023–24, DWP answered 66% of calls to its in–house lines, after taking account of calls that were not assigned to a queue, for example …
Government response. The government's response discusses underpayments, unfulfilled eligibility, and the Health Transformation Programme, but does not address the committee's specific observation regarding the proportion of unanswered calls to DWP's in-house lines.
HM Treasury
28
Conclusion
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Accepted
DWP confirmed that most underpayments stemmed from people with health conditions not informing DWP when their condition had deteriorated. It acknowledged that it needed regularly to encourage people to come forward about changes of circumstances and make it easy for them to do so. It also stressed the importance of …
Government response. The government commits to introducing a safeguarding approach to build trust and challenge misconceptions. It plans to implement the Health Transformation Programme, including an optional online PIP service, to improve customer experience and make it easier for people with health …
HM Treasury
29
Conclusion
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Accepted
Excluding State Pension, DWP estimates that it overpaid a total of 6.7% (£9.5 billion) of benefit expenditure in 2023–24, up from 6.6% (£8.2 billion) in 2022–23.58 Fraud—where DWP considers that a claimant should reasonably have been aware that they were receiving money they were not entitled to—accounted for most of …
Government response. The government agrees with the committee's point, committing to scale up the Targeted Case Review to full operation by March 2025, increase funding for counter fraud by £110 million in 2025-26, and deploy an additional 3,000 staff from April 2025 …
HM Treasury
30
Conclusion
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Accepted
DWP set out its current plan to tackle fraud and error in its strategy Fighting Fraud in the Welfare System, published in May 2022. Its initiatives include a programme of Targeted Case Reviews to verify around 8 million existing UC claims.61 During 2023–24, Targeted Case Reviews delivered savings of £90 …
Government response. The government commits to scaling the Targeted Case Review to full capacity by March 2025 and investing an additional £110 million in 2025-26 for counter fraud and error. From April 2025, it will progressively deploy 3,000 additional staff by 2027-28 …
HM Treasury
31
Conclusion
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Accepted
DWP said that missing its savings target was not a cause for concern, describing it as “a blip” caused by a change in its approach to implementing the Targeted Case Reviews due to wider pressures in the Department. In 2023–24, it had realised that it could not recruit the staff …
Government response. The government accepts the recommendation, detailing plans to scale the Targeted Case Review to full capacity by March 2025, increase funding for counter fraud by £110 million in 2025-26, and deploy an additional 3,000 staff from April 2025 to identify …
HM Treasury
32
Conclusion
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Accepted
In the 2024 Autumn Budget, the government announced it would increase funding for DWP’s counter fraud and error activities by £110 million in 2025–26, hire an additional 3,000 DWP fraud and error staff, and introduce new legislative powers for DWP to recover debt alongside requiring banks and financial institutions to …
Government response. The government reiterates its Autumn Budget 2024 announcements, confirming increased funding for counter fraud and error by £110 million in 2025-26, the deployment of 3,000 additional staff from April 2025, and the use of operational resources to periodically check Universal …
HM Treasury
33
Conclusion
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Accepted
We asked DWP what the extra funding would achieve in terms of reduced fraud. It told us that it would be doing more Targeted Case Reviews and more of its business-as-usual work on counter fraud and compliance. It would also be doing some new things, such as regularly asking UC …
Government response. The government details how increased funding will support the scaling of Targeted Case Reviews to full capacity by March 2025, the deployment of 3,000 additional fraud staff from April 2025, and the use of additional operational resources to periodically check …
HM Treasury
34
Conclusion
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Not Addressed
DWP also highlighted the importance of access to data, particularly because one of the big areas of UC overpayments related to people who had savings that they did not tell DWP about. It said that some of the powers in the planned Fraud, Error and Debt Bill would give it …
Government response. The government agrees and states the recommendation is implemented, but its response details increased funding and staff for general counter-fraud activities and Targeted Case Reviews, without specifically addressing the committee's observation regarding powers in the planned Fraud, Error and Debt …
HM Treasury
35
Conclusion
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Acknowledged
DWP pointed us to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s statement forecasting welfare trends alongside the 2024 Autumn Budget, which showed overpayments in UC returning to below pre–pandemic levels in the 63 Qq 55-56 64 Autumn Budget 2024, para 4.109 65 Q 58 66 Qq 58-60 16 period to 2030.67 Nevertheless, …
Government response. The DWP stated that overpayments in UC had not come down as quickly as it had wanted and it was not satisfied with the current position, noting headwinds in terms of a greater propensity for fraud.
HM Treasury
36
Recommendation
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Accepted
DWP is implementing machine learning techniques to help it identify fraud in benefit expenditure. It has one machine learning model in operation, for new UC advance claims, alongside several others in development.69 The previous Public Accounts Committee raised concerns about the level of transparency in DWP’s use of these tools …
Government response. The government accepts the recommendation, committing to developing a new publishable form of fairness analysis assessment for machine learning by Summer 2025, with improved governance and independent oversight.
HM Treasury
37
Recommendation
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Accepted
However, written evidence we received from the Public Law Project raised a series of risks around DWP’s use of machine learning to tackle fraud. In particular, it noted the risk of machine learning taking on human biases when it was trained on historical data and the potential for widescale detrimental …
Government response. The government accepts the recommendation, committing to developing a new publishable form of fairness analysis assessment for machine learning by Summer 2025, with improved governance and independent oversight to address transparency concerns.
HM Treasury
38
Recommendation
6th Report - DWP Customer Service and A…
Accepted
We stressed that we would like to be satisfied that DWP’s use of machine learning is fair and consistent. DWP highlighted its main safeguard, which is that it would never stop benefit payments to a customer due to an AI tool. It said that what AI helped it to do …
Government response. The government accepts the recommendation, reiterating its commitment to provide assurance on the fairness of machine learning by developing a new publishable fairness analysis assessment by Summer 2025, with improved governance and independent oversight.
HM Treasury