Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 26
26
Accepted
Most Help to Claim support not provided by Citizens Advice or direct face-to-face services.
Conclusion
We asked the Department whether it had conducted an impact assessment of the removal of face-to-face support from the Help to Claim service. The Department said that it had looked at how people received support and found that the vast majority got support through their family and friends, or from the Department’s jobcentres or telephone helplines. It highlighted that its testing had found that Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants liked to use their existing relationships with jobcentres and argued that this was an effective way of supporting people face to face. The Department told us that around 3% of customers received support from Citizens Advice or other agencies.57
Government Response Summary
The government states the recommendation is implemented, detailing existing comprehensive monitoring activities of the Help to Claim service and expressing confidence in its current effectiveness, without committing to address the specific concern regarding the removal of face-to-face support or conducting an impact assessment of its removal.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
5.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 5.2 The department comprehensively monitors Help to Claim’s performance and works with Citizens Advice to ensure the support offer is working effectively and able to meet demand. Regular monitoring activity includes: • weekly delivery checkpoints which review telephony and webchat performance, • monthly finance and operational meetings with Citizens Advice, • monthly meetings with the department’s operational colleagues to gather feedback on Help to Claim delivery, • quarterly board meetings to review delivery against agreed outcomes and Key Performance Indicators, • monthly senior meetings between the department and Citizens Advice, focused on overall delivery and strategic planning, and • mid and end-of-year reports assessing performance, client data and client experience. 5.3 The department is confident that the current support offer is working effectively. Since April 2019, Help to Claim has supported over 900,000 people, with 90% rating their overall experience as good or very good. 5.4 The department is currently working with Citizens Advice to consider the impact on Help to Claim of bringing forward the migration of remaining Employment and Support Allowance claimants to Universal Credit and what steps are needed to ensure the right support is in place for these customers. This is in addition to the department’s existing monitoring to check the system can meet demand and iterate the approach as required if any problems arise.