Page 103 - Reforming Benefits Decision-Making

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UC payments to be stopped or reduced. As discussed in Chapter 2,
evidence also suggests that claimants aren’t aware of the easements they may
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be entitled to. It is crucial that claimants are fully aware of what their
obligations are and what actions may cause them to be sanctioned. Consultees
raised concerns that claimants who do not speak good English or are illiterate,
are not able to properly understand their claimant commitment and therefore
their obligations and the circumstances in which they may be sanctioned. The
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same is also true of some claimants with learning disabilities and mental
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health conditions.
4.10 We recommended in Chapter 2 that work coaches should do more to
understand claimants’ circumstances and apply appropriate easements. Whilst
it should be the work coaches’ responsibility to proactively seek to understand
claimants’ circumstances and apply any easements that may be applicable, we
understand that this may not happen in all cases. Claimants should be
provided with information on the different types of easements that are
available. This will enable claimants to understand that an easement may be
available and enable them to ask for it to be applied where their work coach
does not do so.

On how to challenge a decision

4.11 As discussed in Chapter 3, claimants often have difficulty understanding that
there is a two-stage process to challenge a benefits decision. This is one of the
reasons we have recommended the removal of the mandatory reconsideration
stage of the process. However, whilst it remains in place, the current two
stage process for challenging benefits decisions should be better explained

287 Government Social Research and the DWP, Universal Credit Full Service Omnibus Survey:
Findings from two waves of tracking research with recent Universal Credit full service claimants
(2019) p.26. See also G. McKeever, M. Simpson and C. Fitzpatrick, Destitution and Paths to Justice
(see n. 3 above) - claimants in their sample did not understand why or when a sanction had resulted,
p.44
288 Work and Pensions Committee, Benefits Sanctions (see n. 11 above) para 93; SSAC, The
effectiveness of the claimant commitment in Universal Credit (see n. 12 above) p.30.
289 SSAC, The effectiveness of the claimant commitment in Universal Credit (see n. 12 above) p.30.
290 N. Bond et al., The Benefits Assault Course (see n. 50 above) p.30.

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