Page 11 - Reforming Benefits Decision-Making -(updated - August 2021)

includes getting decisions right the first time and assisting claimants to challenge
decisions that they do not think are correctly made:

Administrative decision making

Claiming benefits is often a highly stressful situation; the procedures and systems in
place should seek to alleviate, not aggravate this. Claimants should be listened to
and understood throughout the process, including through giving proper weight to
claimants’ own accounts of their health conditions and disabilities and assessment
by health care professionals with relevant specialist knowledge of claimants’
conditions. Assessment reports and decision letters must fully explain what weight
is being given to each piece of evidence and why it is, or is not, being relied upon.
We also recommend providing claimants with additional opportunities to explain
their reasons for noncompliance with their claimant commitment (the conditions to
receiving Universal Credit and some other benefits). Post-Covid-19 pandemic, we
also recommend that a choice of video, telephone or face-to-face assessment is
offered.

Clearer structures and rules are required for decision-making to ensure fairness and
consistency, while also tailoring decisions to individuals’ circumstances. For
instance, requesting medical information where this is reasonably required to make
an assessment from healthcare professionals directly rather than expecting claimants
to source this (with the appropriate claimant consent and data protection in place).
Protected characteristics must be more carefully considered when setting claimant
commitments and applying easements, for example in the length of interviews,
through standardised topics and use of specialist advice. We also consider that fewer
sanctions should be imposed where claimants fail to comply with commitments
through the trialling of an early warning system.

There must be improved and increased training as well as clear policy and guidance
for decision makers, to ensure that they understand their obligations and the
administrative processes. This includes training on the duty to make reasonable

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