Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 5
5
Accepted
Set out how to involve claimants and raise national awareness of disability benefits system changes.
Recommendation
We are concerned that the Department has not done enough to communicate and engage with the public and claimants about what they can expect from the revised service. The Department is more likely to achieve its ambition to improve the service if it works with disabled people and their representative bodies to identify the best ways of delivering functional health assessments. The Department has engaged with national and local stakeholder groups and has held 18 stakeholder workshops with over 72 different organisations. The Department asserts that it has used customers’ feedback to help it design parts of the service, for example the wording on the screen and how claimants navigate through the process. Some charities and stakeholder groups welcome the Department’s proposed changes, specifically, its decision to trial having more specialist assessors for specific health conditions. However, the Department has not promoted the Programme widely to the public. Given the scale of the project and the number of clients that it will impact, the Department agrees that it should consider a national campaign to improve claimant awareness of the changes it is proposing to adopt. However, the Department does not currently intend to consider this until it reaches the stage of at scaling up the programme, which will not happen for a couple of years. Recommendation 4: The Department should set out as part of its Treasury Minute response how it will: • fully involve claimants in the design and implementation of the changes it plans to the disability benefits system; and • raise awareness nationally of the changes it is making to the health and disability benefits system and what this will look like in practice for claimants.
Government Response Summary
The government stated it has implemented the recommendation by already involving claimants through user research and engaging with stakeholders, and has communicated program scope through official channels. It will continue to inform the public and Parliament, including publishing the business case summary in Spring 2024.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented One of HTP's aims is to increase trust in disability benefits services. This cannot be achieved without working closely with claimants and their representatives and the department values the relationships it has built to ensure strong ongoing claimant voice. HTP has taken, and will continue to take, a claimant-focussed approach. HTP service design has been informed by user research conducted with claimants, operational staff and health care professionals, including one-to-one sessions with claimants at each stage of their claim. This continued approach will enable the department to develop the new services iteratively and tailor communication to claimants’ needs. Since HTP began, the department has engaged with a significant number of stakeholder organisations, establishing positive relationships with representative groups by identifying opportunities for co-design and seeking their expertise before the department begins to develop and test new processes. The department is confident this proactive, collaborative approach to involve stakeholders will lead to better outcomes for claimants. The department has publicly communicated the scope and ambition of the programme through Written Statements to Parliament, the White Paper on Health and Disability and the Health Transformation Programme evaluation strategy. The department will continue to take opportunities to inform Parliament and the public about the changes that the Programme will bring and will publish a summary of the business case, once approved, in Spring 2024, alongside a summary of its Accounting Officer Assessment. Stakeholder engagement is gradually increasing as activity in the Programme accelerates and to recognise increasing external interest since the publication of the White Paper. The Programme is taking a long-term, phased approach that will move away from the current ways of operating, gradually and carefully. The department recognises the need to build awareness of the Programme and its plans as these develop and as the detail of the changes for claimants become clearer.