Page 131 - JUSTICE and AJC Report - Reforming Benefits Decision-Making

V. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 This Report follows a number of previous reports raising concerns with the
benefits system and putting forward proposals and recommendations for
change. However, despite these prior efforts, it is clear that there remain
ongoing issues with benefits decision-making and barriers to effectively
challenging those decisions when they have been wrongly made. Getting
benefits decisions wrong can have a devastating impact on individuals’ lives.
This has been tragically evidenced by significant numbers of people claiming
380
benefits who have died, including by suicide, or come to serious harm.
5.2 This Working Party took place against the backdrop of the Covid-19
pandemic. The impact of the pandemic on people’s mental, physical and
economic wellbeing cannot be overstated and has resulted in a significant
increase in people requiring support from the benefits system. The need for a
welfare system that is accessible and makes accurate decisions is greater than
ever. The pandemic has also forced the DWP and DfC, the FTT (SSCS) and
advisers into using new methods of working. The impact of these changes
needs to be properly evaluated; however, we believe that there are valuable
lessons that can be learnt from this unprecedented time and hope that positive
changes will be retained following a return to ‘normal’.

5.3 The Working Party also took place in the context of devolution of significant
new social security powers to the Scottish Government. We applaud the
Scottish Government’s aim to create a social security system grounded in the
principles of dignity and respect. Its desire to learn from the experiences of
claimants under the reserved system has resulted in a number of measures
which have been enshrined in primary legislation, or are being consulted on,
which should help realise this aim. In our view there is much that the DWP
and DfC could learn from the Scottish system. However, how these measures
operate in practice remains to be seen and is something that we will monitor
during the implementation phase of this work.

380 See NAO, Information held by the Department for Work & Pensions on deaths by suicide of benefit
claimants (HC 79, 2020).

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