Department highlights that agents can now save details relating to the consent, which can last up to six months, direct onto the claimant’s account
The DWP has set out improvements it is making to the universal credit explicit consent process whereby a third party can contact the Department on behalf of a claimant.
The DWP advises that, where a claimant makes a request to authorise a third party to act on their behalf – which may be on the phone, face-to-face or via the journal – the agent is prompted to record –
- whether the third party is a friend/family or an organisation;
- the name of the representative (although the DWP confirms that there can be flexibility where the name of the representative might change from one contact to another);
- where appropriate, the organisation the representative works for;
- what information can be shared and why it needs to be shared; and
- how long the explicit consent will last (up to a maximum of six months although this can be renewed).
Once submitted, a banner appears on the claimant’s account advising the agent –
‘This claimant has given explicit consent. You should check who you are allowed to speak to and what information you can share.’
In order to verify a representative who is contacting the Department, the agent will ask for –
- the claimant’s name and date of birth; and
- what information can be shared and for what purpose.
Granting permission in Universal Credit
