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People without digital skills will get help in jobcentre to make and manage their claims apparently
Answering a written question yesterday Damian Hinds said -
DWP recognise that some people will need help with on-line claims and activity. People without digital skills will be offered support in jobcentres to make and manage their claims on-line, and also to acquire or improve core digital skills. Our work coaches have the flexibility to tailor support for individuals in difficult circumstances; they can adjust their work search requirements and conditionality to allow them to prioritise solutions to their issues.
It’s great that work coaches can do so much in such a short space of time - https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/welfare-rights/news/item/four-in-ten-interviews-with-a-work-coach-last-less-than-ten-minutes
What about claimants who can’t attend the Jobcentre because of the severity of thir disability etc?
The first part of Oxon went full service 2 wks ago and we have already had our first enquiry about support for a newly formed couple who will have high level support needs (aquired brain injury). Apparently the relevant district council has put no UC support in place (yet) - wonder what they are doing with the DWP parnership money?
i wonder how Jobcentre staff will help them prioritise solutions to their aquired brain injury?
I’m interested in the logistics of how this work-coach provided support can work. Appointments with work coaches are scheduled either by the work-coach during the previous appointment, or by the telephone helpline. You cant just drop-in to the jobcentre to get help as and when you need to interact with your online journal. How will sufficient time be allocated during appointments?
Well, I think we know the answer - they won’t get helped by work coaches or Jobcentre Plus in general, because of the block booking of pre-arrannged appointments and the workloading (mainly caused by previous staff cuts) and they’ll tell people to go to Citizens Advice or their local library and expect someone else to help them. Or they’ll simply close down claims without telling people, wiping any online journal that does exist in the process.
The disconnect between what Ministers seem to believe as being possible and realsitc, presumably on the advice of DWP officials, and the experience on the ground seems to be as huge as the Grand Canyon.
Well, I think we know the answer - they won’t get helped by work coaches or Jobcentre Plus in general, because of the block booking of pre-arrannged appointments and the workloading (mainly caused by previous staff cuts) and they’ll tell people to go to Citizens Advice or their local library and expect someone else to help them. Or they’ll simply close down claims without telling people, wiping any online journal that does exist in the process.
The disconnect between what Ministers seem to believe as being possible and realsitc, presumably on the advice of DWP officials, and the experience on the ground seems to be as huge as the Grand Canyon.
Yep.
Peter, I wonder if this full service guidance might be useful? Mentions the possibility of home visits to apply and maintain claims.
http://data.parliament.uk/DepositedPapers/Files/DEP2017-0556/8_Assisted_digital_v4.0.pdf
Peter, I wonder if this full service guidance might be useful? Mentions the possibility of home visits to apply and maintain claims.
http://data.parliament.uk/DepositedPapers/Files/DEP2017-0556/8_Assisted_digital_v4.0.pdf
Owen - well yes and thank you for your regular updated tread on safeguarding etc.
However like Paul I cannot see that DWP will ever have the resources to do this in practice even if there is some willingness at local level in the early stages/for new claims.
Although many of the most vulnerable claimants won’t be subject to any conditionality and therefore contact with Jobcentre will be minimal - other may at least have occassional WFIs and others will have other issues affecting their claim like frequent COC’s. I don’t see how DWP are going to provide the frequent digital support that may be required to maintain claims.
I just think of several of my current clients who only engage intermittently, don’t have digital skills and require HV’s. Fortunately they are not (yet) in UC but the time will come!
As Paul says the burden will fall on outside agencies in practice.
In the past I have read two of the 50 odd reports on claimants who died where removal of benefit was a significant factor. Both made disturbing reading about the failure of DWP (and other agencies) to identify a vulnerable claimant (issues we could have identified within about 20 mins!). UC has the potential to require a much greater number of such reports to be written.
Hi
Totally agree, hopefully the guidance may help when advocating on particular cases.
Good point about ability to identify vulnerability. I think this will be much more of a problem as UC relies so much on identifying ‘complex needs’. I think that when I went through the peer reviews I picked out problems identifying vulnerability in documents 1, 6, 14, 15, 26, 27, 32, 36, 38, and 48 (in case anyone wants to have a read for themselves here’s a couple of links: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-foi-releases-for-may-2016 , https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/3508-why-claimants-died-the-49-peer-reviews)
Recent meetings with DWP staff seem to suggest they want US to provide this support, free of charge, while they take the credit, and put as many barriers in our way (explicit consent) as they can.