Seem to recall reading somewhere that the Government has yet to make a final decision on the group(s) of people who would be exempt from the direct payment of benefits into bank a/c's etc - has a decision been made? is there a list of exemptions?

Last substantive info i came across was in Oct last year where DWP were saying that they'd be putting arrangements in place to make benefit payments by cheque to those pensioners who cannot cannot open or operate a Direct Payment account, by October 2004

Fits with their previous announcement that an 'Exceptions Service' will be ready from October 2004.

see - http://www.rightsnet.org.uk/cgi-bin/forwardsql/search.cgi?template2=user_details2.htm&output_number=1&news.ID=125-9103-14501

There was a written question answered in the Commons relating to this subject on 21 January 2004:

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pension and benefit claimants who were sent letters inviting them to move to direct payment have indicated that they cannot open or

21 Jan 2004 : Column 1339W

operate a bank account or Post Office card account; and what assessment his Department has made of the number of people who will use the exceptions service method of payment. <146746>

Mr. Pond: Research has shown that 87 per cent. of all our customers and 90 per cent. of pensioners already have an account suitable for Direct Payment.

Almost three and a half million customers have provided their bank account details, and around two million have requested a Post Office card account. However information on the number of customers replying that they could not specifically open or operate a bank or Post Office card account is not available in this format.

We will be further contacting all customers who continue to be paid by order book. Any customers, who cannot open or operate a bank account before order books are no longer available in 2005, will be paid by another method. In the meantime they will continue to receive their payments by order book.

We have always recognised that there will be a small number of people who we cannot pay directly into an account. Our plan is to design an exceptions method of payment to properly meet the needs of these customers. Detailed arrangements for this method of payment are not finalised yet, but it is likely that it will be a cheque-based solution. Payment outlets will include Post Office branches.

The move to Direct Payment is progressing well. Key figures on the progress of conversion to Direct Payment are available in the Library updated every four weeks

I understand Chris Pond has recently announced that there are exemptions for people to be paid by cheque payment - has anyone got a copy of the press release? - tried DWP website but no luck

Its on Hansard:

http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm200304/cmhansrd/cm040511/wmstext/40511m01.htm#40511m01.html_sbhd1

plus dwp press release @ http://www.wired-gov.net/WGLaunch.aspx?ARTCL=24402

I understand that the total number of people in this exempt category will be limited to 50,000 nationally - does anyone have more information on about whats happening?

Gary

at a recent Benefits liaison meeting, the DWP did say that their information was that it will be in the form of a weekly cheque which can be paid into an account or cashed in the normal way - they think. They did point out that these cheques would be at the mercy of Royal mail: however, they did'nt have any real idea as to what the criteria would be.

We eventually got the impression that they did'nt really know much more than we do, which seems to be par for the course for a local office......

Further to my last posting, the DWP customer services manager at that meeting did come out with an interesting observation - he said that in his view they had a legal obligation to pay Benefits to those that were entitled and had claimed them, and if the client was adament that they did'nt have and did'nt want a Bank acct, then the department would at the end of the day have to accomadate them.

Our area contains a far higher % of elder people than some - there are districts where they make up some 45% of the population: 60% of them live in rural areas badly served by post offices, public transport etc - many of them have never had bank accts - they can't get to them, don't trust them and don't want them. I should imagine that the same will apply across rural East Anglia, and other rural areas of the country?

In Leeds we still have a service where benefits are collected for the service user from the Post Office. This will not continue under Direct Payments. We have requested that clients who want to continue with this service sign a pro forma requesting a payment by cheque cashable at the Post Office. We will send these en masse to the DWP.

The practice under the Payment Modernisation Programme appears to be to harrass claimants into submission. We have examples of where it has been declared categorically that Direct Payments will be the only method of benefit payment and claimants have aquiesced to be paid in that way. Unfortunately they will not be able to get out of the house to get their money. . For these people we are requesting that the DWP reverse their decision as Direct Payments for these people is not, and never was, a suitable method of payment.

Do me a favour if any of you out there are also budding politicians get out of welfare rights now as you are only going to do untold damage in the future. Careers should not be made on the backs of the poor, disabled and disenfranchised.
Many thanks

Shaun]

Does the exceptions service being provided only apply to pensioners or is across all age groups? Does anyone know?

It is intended for anyone who is unable to operate an account or access an account. It is also for short term payments such as crisis loans or for short periods where direct payment may not be appropriate - such as hospital admission

in his recent statement to parliament chris pond spoke about -

'a very small number of people that cannot genuinely open an account—including, for example, some homeless people and some people with an illness or disability. There will also be some people who cannot manage an account—some will never be able to manage one (again due to illness or disability), while others may be in this position for only a short period (perhaps due to the absence of a regular carer or a short period of mental illness). '