Page 19 - Reforming Benefits Decision-Making -(updated - August 2021)

The Working Party

1.7 This Working Party began its work in April 2020, as the UK entered its first
national lockdown in response to the global pandemic. UC has withstood the
huge rise in applications resulting from the pandemic, and acknowledge that
this is due in part to its digital nature. For the majority who are able to engage
digitally, the ‘digital by default’ system works well. However, the focus of
this Working Party has been on improving the administrative and procedural
elements of the benefits system, from initial decision making, through to
appeals, so that it works well for everyone, regardless of their digital
capability, their health, their disabilities or their vulnerabilities.

1.8 Given the scope of the Working Party, we have not looked at substantive
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issues such as the five-week wait prior to receipt of a first UC payment or
the benefit cap. Our focus has been on procedural reforms that can help
improve DWP and DfC decision-making and ensure routes of redress to
remedy wrongly made decisions are effective, fair and efficient. A crucial part
of this is making sure that claimants have access to clear information about
these processes as well as specialist advice and assistance where required.

1.9 The pandemic has not only tested the capacity of the benefits system, but also
required the DWP and DfC to make changes to the way in which benefits are
administered, for example suspending face-to-face medical assessments and
the work-related requirements. It has also necessitated changes to the way in
which appeals are dealt with by the FTT (SSCS) and the way in which advice
and support are provided. To the extent available, we have drawn on evidence
of how these new approaches have been operating in practice and what
lessons can be learnt for a post-pandemic era.

1.10 The Working Party focuses on the central government administered working
age benefits that account for the majority of claims. Those are UC,
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18 Work and Pensions Committee, Universal Credit: the wait for a first payment (see n. 11 above).
19 In Northern Ireland these benefits are administrated by the DfC with largely parallel legislation. See
paragraph 1.12 below.

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