Recommendation 9

We asked the Department whether, to manage expectations, it would be possible at the outset of the process to provide people with an estimate of how long it was likely to take to process their claims.9 The Department acknowledged that people need to know what to expect when they apply.10 It told us that when a customer calls the Access to Work helpline, a voice recording tells them how long it is likely take for a decision to be made. At present, the message was advising a duration of 37 weeks, although the Department clarified that this was the longest it might take for some customers. It noted that it was relatively easy to make decisions on some applications, while others were much more complicated.11