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Use of escalation points
Sam said:
I don’t know what other people think but I’m not sure an escalation route is needed; more an intermediaries service.
I’m sat on hold now chasing arrears of SDP for someone; they’ve put the premium into place but haven’t backdated to the commencement of PIP; more expense saving skullduggery no doubt.
It’s not something that would need escalating but at the same time it won’t get sorted unless I intervene and, if I were to write in, it’d be months before we saw any resolution and I’d probably end up ringing to check whether they’ve received the letter anyway so much is going missing at the minute.
It’s not something that needs escalating but it’s something that needs doing. Dealing with a vulnerable caseload I do a lot of this; they won’t follow stuff up themselves, I have to do it.
I was hoping for one of those “surpisingly quick” answers Robbo mentions above; at least within 40 minutes, but I’ve got a meeting to go to soon so I’ll probably have to give up.
For what it is worth Dan, I’ve never had any ‘push-back’ from the staff at the processing centres I deal with (mostly Clydebank/Stratford) when using the escalation numbers for clients whose benefit problem is fairly straightforward but who are vulnerable due to MH and need a swift resolution from that perspective. Obviously I try and ration the calls as if they become bombarded with everything there is the risk that the escalation numbers become more restricted.
I’d be interested in other peoples’ thoughts. Are there any guidelines? When does an issue merit escalation? I’ve rarely used them and only where there’s an immediate risk to the claimant. Am I being too conservative?
The only guidelines I’m aware of are set out in the memorandum of understanding in the Escalation Points document. Here’s a link to the first few pages of one of those documents: https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/?ACT=39&fid=11&aid=1318_HAqLUo47Z9pVy2SUBjFo&board_id=1
I use the escalations regularly and think that DWP staff use a lot of discretion. Nobody has ever told me that the situation I was calling about did not merit the use of escalation numbers.