No paper-based claim forms for umiversal credit

During a brief debate in the Lords on Tuesday, the following exchange took place:

Baroness Sherlock: My Lords, is the Minister aware of the recent report of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation which showed that it will be very difficult for people to claim online because only 20% of people now do so and only 40% are ready and able? What will the Government do if people do not feel able to claim online? How far and for how long are the Government willing to extend paper applications to those who struggle?

Lord Freud: My Lords, I should make clear that we are not entertaining paper applications. We are looking at either face-to-face or telephone support groups.

Lord Freud was also guilty of a rather disingenuous statement about how benefit rates are made up:

Baroness Browning: Will my noble friend confirm that people claiming disability benefits will be reassured that when the Government calculate the minimum amount they need to live on, the cost of maintaining a computer and purchasing internet access will now be part of that computation?

Lord Freud: My Lords, that is not how the benefits system is built up. It is not, and has not been ever under any Government, built up on the basis of needs.

In days gone by, means-tested benefits such as supplementary benefit did exactly what he claims it didn’t.

Finally, there was this exchange with Lord Bach:

Lord Bach: My Lords, does the Minister accept that when universal credit comes in, an enormous number of wrong decisions are bound to be made? Is he aware that just when universal credit comes in, legal aid for legal help with benefit law will just have been abolished? Are those two facts merely coincidental, or is it a calculated act of policy, whose aim is to punish the vulnerable and the poorest?

Lord Freud: My Lords, when you turn what can be 200 pages of applications for the current suite of benefits into one very much more simplified system, clearly you will dramatically reduce the number of errors that people will make. I therefore think that the complaint is about the existing system and not about the system we are planning.

For the whole debate, see Universal Credit (thanks to Patrick from ilegal for spotting)

Does this mean there will also be no paper based forms beyond the initial claim stage - for example, for details of hosuing costs (MI12 etc), WCA (ESA50) or the SDP, R2R or student status pro-formas etc?

My mate Freud disingenuous? I am shocked, sir!

Has the DWP provided any information/plans about where they assume claimants (without PCs at home) are going to get online? And are they planning to increase access to computers for this purpose at Jobcentres?

The reason I ask is that libraries in our area have already seen an increase in JSA claimants being sent down by JC+ staff to make claims online. Claimants are often turning up with the expectation that staff will be able to help them with the whole claim process (which they don’t have the time or training to do). Once UC comes in they will not be able to cope with the demand unless there are other plans in place.

If this has already been discussed elsewher just point me in the right direction if you can.

Thanks.

hi, here’s a thread on a similar subject -

http://www.rightsnet.org.uk/forums/viewthread/3897/

We were told last year that: Where customers are unable to access services digitally, they will be signposted to other organisations that can help them to do so. In England support may be available from UK Online. In Scotland and Wales we are compiling local directories of available support.

I’d be interested to know where they are up to with “support” with a benefit claim. DWP website now says:

Although a high percentage of our customers have regular access to the internet, some do not have the necessary IT skills to search or apply for a job online, or use DWP’s other digital services. For free training and advice customers can be referred to UK Online or Learn Direct to find facilities in their local area.
UK Online (England only) 0800 77 1234
LearnDirect (Wales) 0800 101 901
LearnDirect (Scotland) 0808 100 9000

Putting my postcode into UK Online website gives me a list of my local libraries.

Thanks for that info. Pretty much as I expected. I’m suggesting to our libraries that they start discussions with DWP about this a.s.a.p. What do other local authorities think about the prospect of picking up this extra work from DWP?

I heard word of a £30m digital inclusion fund but have no more details I’m afraid.

GAD - 20 November 2012 06:02 PM

Thanks for that info. Pretty much as I expected. I’m suggesting to our libraries that they start discussions with DWP about this a.s.a.p. What do other local authorities think about the prospect of picking up this extra work from DWP?

Local Authorities tend to go their own way, dont they?

In my own LA we have set up a committee…who have issued….a call for evidence…on how we will be impacted by the welfare reform package…..

This might seem a bit tardy but, we have just had a change of political colour, and this brings a halt to the old, and a fresh start in a new direction.

As we still have our own stock then the debate and resourcing over UC will be different, than if you have hived off your stock to a Housing Association, for example.

Folks tend to beleive that LAs are all the same, or you have a blue countryside with red cities, but in reality things are very different.

In general the debates get hijacked by the Westminster/Lambeth/Hammersmith and Fulham viewpoint.

How representative are these Authorities?

My local council is about to close the majority of its libraries and customer service centres.

Rosie W - 22 November 2012 09:38 AM

My local council is about to close the majority of its libraries and customer service centres.

Let me guess….

They are switching to digital?

Nope - just closing. Rosie may have the same LA as me.
Currently our libraries cant even cope with demand, and at LEAST 10 out of 18 are closing. Ive heard a rumour its 16 that are closing.

We were told at a meeting of the DWP Policy & Strategy Forum in late 2011 that “digital by default” would not mean that digital was obligatory.  We were also told that paper-based alternatiuves would be available.  As suspected,the reality looks like it’s going to be worse.  And we all know how DWP tend to underestimate the needs of their customers and how front line staff can adopt a rigid approach - everyone being told to go online.

DWP also must talk to local authorities urgently if they think libraries have capacity.  I also wonder whether DWP have thought through the risks involved - even within the DWP’s agenda, the scope for people to copy others’ identify and personal details in a public internet venue seems to be great.

Has any other country adopted this digital by default approach and what happened?  Or will DWP be a trailblazer; that goes down in flames?

And lo, I received this today:
Dear Customer Representative

Jobseeker’s Allowance Online

I am writing to inform you of our plans to help increase the take-up of our online service for Jobseekers
                                         
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)  is working now to help people prepare for the introduction of Universal Credit (UC) in 2013 which will be digital-by-default.  This will include job search and benefit services, so we want to help people to claim and manage Jobseeker’s Allowance online now in preparation for UC.

DWP has a target of 80% of new Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) claims to be made via the online channel by September 2013, in readiness for UC. Over the past few months we have been exploring different ways to increase the take up of the JSA Online service in order to make progress towards this shift in services.  Departmental customer insight has shown that 67% of JSA claimants have internet access at home and that 52% of JSA customers are daily users of the internet. However, a much smaller number use the online claim facility at present.  This suggests that many customers still use the traditional telephony channel to initiate their claim to JSA even though they have the skills and necessary access to JSA Online. 

Since May 2012 we have tested different ways of encouraging customers to use the online service. Based on the findings from the tests which have shown that take-up has improved, we have now introduced changes to our telephony service. Customers who use our telephone service to make a new or repeat claim to JSA will now hear messages explaining the benefits of using the online service; in particular, that claims made online are dealt with more quickly (the automated processes help us to do this). 

Where customers remain on the telephony channel, the agent who handles their calls will encourage all eligible customers to go online. The agent will advise them of the benefits and the support available, including a help desk facility. Agents will also be able to signpost any customers who don’t have access to the internet at home, or through friends and family, to free internet access in their community.  This may include access in their local Jobcentre, where support will also be provided. The changes are aimed at influencing those customers who are able and willing to use on-line services.

The changes to our service and our prioritisation of resources mean that customers will have to wait longer when they do initiate their claim using the telephony channel. There is now a wait time of at least 5 minutes for most of these calls.  As you know the Department’s 0800 claims lines are free from BT landlines and the majority of mobile phone companies. Agents will also offer to call the customer back where their mobile phone provider charges for the service.

The telephony service remains available to customers who are unable to use our online services.  We believe that helping customers to go online will provide many benefits. The online service is modern, efficient and secure and the clear message from those surveyed is that it is easy to use. Customers are able to provide the information to make their claim at a time that suits them, putting them in control. From November they will also be able to monitor the progress of their claim securely online, checking on payments and their benefit history.

I hope that this information is helpful to you and if you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours faithfully,

Mr S. C. Johnson
Cumbria & Lancs District Manager

Nurse.  They’re doing it again!

“Departmental customer insight……….many customers still use the traditional telephony channel……….where customers remain on the telephony channel.”

Quick, someone send Michael Gove round.

So if 67% of JSA claimants have internet access, why do they set a target for 80% to make online claims?  Sounds like it’s asking for trouble.

The subtext of the message above is that people who aren’t able to access, or to use, the online claiming facilities will be offered an inferior service as standard. Which is pretty poor by anyone’s standards - I wonder whether anyone will be lodging a disability discrimination case on this basis?

Or will Mr Cameron’s pledge to rip up the red tape of JR, impact assessments and so on put pay to these kind of pesky challenges as well?