Universality in Digital Credit System Fails to Deliver Assistance to Claimants According to Research Findings
In a recent report, the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) has raised concerns about the digital elements of the Universal Credit (UC) benefit system, highlighting potential issues that could leave claimants without the financial support they are entitled to.
According to the report, approximately one third of the 2.9 million UC registrations in the year ending February 2023 did not result in a claim being submitted. However, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has no public information on why the drop-out rate is so high.
The CPAG's head of policy and research, Sophie Howes, argued that the DWP must make the workings of UC transparent to ensure that it operates fairly and in line with regulations. She stressed that the worst-case scenario of digitised Universal Credit leaves claimants without enough money to live on and rides roughshod over rule-of-law principles.
The programming and operation of digital UC systems have, in the worst cases, forced claimants into acute hardship due to misalignment with social security legislation. The report catalogues cases where claimants miss out on additional support due to the online claims process not identifying their need.
One such issue is the inability of the UC digital system to accept the verification of individual children independently. This means that families missing out on their legal entitlement to the child element of UC for all children if there is a problem verifying just one child. Some families have gone without their entitlements for all children because verification paperwork is pending for one child.
Care leavers are also affected, as they are unable to submit a digital claim in advance of their 18th birthday, despite DWP guidance enabling this.
The CPAG's research suggests that aspects of the digital claim form make it difficult for some claimants to complete and establish their entitlement, potentially explaining some abandoned claims.
The CPAG's report reveals the extent to which the workings of digital UC systems are opaque for claimants and researchers. The National Audit Office (NAO) conducted a research project investigating errors in the digital component of the Universal Credit payment system, but the report indicates that more needs to be done to ensure that digitalisation improves UC so that it's fair, in line with regulations, and capable of getting correct payments to all claimants.
Sophie Howes called for low-cost changes to ensure the digitalisation of UC improves the system, making it capable of getting correct payments to all claimants. She emphasized that telling a mother of three that the computer says No to support for all of her children just because there's a bureaucratic delay in the paperwork for one child is unacceptable.
The report's findings are particularly concerning given that almost half of all children will be in households claiming UC when it's fully rolled out. Getting UC right is especially important, and the DWP must take steps to ensure that digitalisation improves UC so that it operates fairly and efficiently for all claimants.
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