DWP Permanent Secretary confirms Department is retrospectively verifying benefit awards that were subject to ‘Trust and Protect’ easements in early stages of Covid-19 pandemic

Failure to respond to the checks could lead to payments being stopped or changed, warns Citizens Advice

DWP Permanent Secretary Peter Schofield has confirmed that the Department is retrospectively verifying benefit awards that were subject to 'Trust and Protect' easements in the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Writing to the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee Meg Hillier about the latest statistics on Fraud and error in the benefit system - which showed an increase in universal credit overpayments to 14.5 per cent and an increase in fraud to 3 per cent - Mr Schofield explains that at the start of the pandemic verification 'Trust and Protect' easements were applied to enable the Department to process the 'extraordinary surge' in claims to benefits. However, Mr Schofield confirms that - 

'Work is ongoing to examine all the potentially high-risk cases we paid during the last 12 months and we will be re-applying the verification standards that would have otherwise been applied had it not been for Covid-19.'

NB - in response to a Freedom of Information request about the checks, the DWP says that claimants were advised at the time that their applications for benefit were being accepted under 'specific Covid-19 regulations' and that they would be contacted at a later date and asked for evidence to support their application. The DWP adds that if the evidence now provided does not support the application, the award - 

'... will be reviewed and revised to the correct entitlement and, where appropriate, an overpayment calculated and put into recovery.'

In a 'need-to-know' about the Trust and Protect scheme, Lawrence Barratt from Citizens Advice advises claimants -

'To ensure you don’t lose out on money you’re entitled to, make sure the contact information in your online journal is up to date. It's also important to respond to any calls or emails from the DWP as soon as possible. If you don't, there's a risk your benefit payments could be stopped or changed.'

Mr Schofield's letter to the Chair of the Public Accounts Committee is available from parliament.uk