Recommendation 25

The Department is providing total funding of £192.4 million for the Help to Claim service from 2019–20 to 2025–26.54 It has been reducing annual funding – from £38 million in 2019–20 to £22 million in 2023–24 and £19 million per year on average over the next two years.55 Until March 2022, the Department funded Citizens Advice to provide support through online, telephone and face-to-face channels. Since then, however, it has not funded face-to-face support, having decided instead to provide this type of support at its jobcentres or through its home visiting service.56 46 C&AG’s Report, paras 2.6, 2.19 47 Q 55 48 Q 60 49 Q 65 50 Q 83 51 Qq 70, 78, 80; Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Work & Pensions to the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, 22 March 2024 52 Q 80 53 C&AG’s Report, paras 2.20–2.21 54 C&AG’s Report, Figure 13 55 Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Work & Pensions to the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, 22 March 2024 56 C&AG’s Report, para 2.21 16 Progress in implementing Universal Credit