A new legal duty should be placed on the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to fix its “deficient” safeguarding practices following the tragic deaths of some of its customers in recent years, according to a new report by the cross-party Work and Pensions Committee.
- Read our report
- Report in British Sign Language
- Report introduction audio
- Report summary audio
- Report recommendations audio
- Inquiry: Safeguarding vulnerable claimants
- Work and Pensions Committee
In their report, Safeguarding Vulnerable Claimants, MPs called for the DWP to have a duty to refer vulnerable claimants to other agencies that have a duty of care, with the Secretary of State held accountable for the safeguarding duty.
This new legal obligation is the key recommendation which underpins the importance of the shift in DWP culture the Committee believes is needed. It is part of a broader set of recommendations to drive the “fundamental” cultural change needed to repair “sorely damaged” public trust.
Instead of a “piecemeal” approach, the Committee wants to see a comprehensive, joined-up approach to safeguarding, which is part of policy development, implementation and review, and involves everyone in the department.
Other recommendations include inserting ‘victims of domestic abuse’ as a standalone category within the ‘Additional Support Area’ in Universal Credit, which helps DWP staff to identify potentially vulnerable claimants. The category’s absence, the report said, was a “glaring omission” due to the unique needs of victims and survivors.
The potential health impacts of all new significant policies must be assessed by the DWP’s Chief Medical Advisor’s team as part of this cultural change, the report concluded. Currently, such health assessments are not carried out consistently on all major policy changes.
Chair comment
Committee Chair Debbie Abrahams said, “That people continue to face harm after dealing with the DWP is a self-evident failure of safeguarding in the system. Until recently, getting people back into work to cut costs had been prioritised over providing support and care for vulnerable people. We heard evidence that the process itself of engaging with the DWP itself too often led to mental distress. Where this led to not being able to get financial support, many had paid the ultimate price.”
“We’ve heard that whilst some have been lifted by the system when it works well, this can depend on claimants’ confidence that the system will help them. Too often, we heard their trust has been smashed by continual cost-cutting drives and an unhelpful media narrative. Many fear coming forward and expressing that they need additional support due to their circumstances and they fall deeper into vulnerability and despair as a result.”
“This has to change. And the Committee was heartened by the evidence the Secretary of State gave to the Committee on this last November.”
“Is this a system that is going to help people find their way back into sustainable work? Is this a system that will humanely support those who never can? Both need to happen.”
“Deep-rooted cultural change of the DWP is desperately needed to rebuild trust and put safeguarding at the heart of policy development.”
“Introducing a statutory duty to safeguard vulnerable claimants for the Department is a fundamental part of this. It will help to focus minds from the top-down, ensuring that safeguarding is everyone’s business; improving accountability, and ensure proactive identification of vulnerability and the consistent application of the best protective practices.”
The report is the culmination of two years of work by the current and predecessor Committees. It was originally launched after safeguarding concerns were raised involving several high-profile deaths of claimants, including those of Errol Graham, Phillipa Day, Jodey Whiting and Kevin Gale.
There were 240 Internal Process Reviews by the DWP between 2020-21 and 2023-24, but the full scale of harm is likely to be much higher. An Equality and Human Rights Commission investigation launched in 2024 into the DWP’s treatment of disabled people and people with long-term mental health conditions remains open.
Further information
