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MPs’ report slams DWP ‘systemic culture of denial’ over Universal Credit
A cross-party group of MPs has slammed the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for a “systemic culture of denial and defensiveness” over Universal Credit.
In a report published today, the Public Accounts Committee said the government has “persistently dismissed” evidence that the new welfare system is causing hardship for claimants and placing burdens on local organisations.
And it accused the DWP of refusing to measure “what it does not want to see”.
Work and pensions secretary Esther McVey’s recent announcement that the roll-out of Universal Credit would be further delayed is not a solution, the committee said.
Instead, the report called on government to work with third-party organisations “to help shape the new programme in light of the real life experiences of recipients”.
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Meg Hillier, chair of the Public Accounts Committee and Labour MP for Hackney South and Shoreditch, said: “This report provides further damning evidence of a culture of indifference at DWP – a department disturbingly adrift from the real-world problems of the people it is there to support.
“Its apparent determination to turn a deaf ear to the concerns of claimants, frontline organisations and parliament is of real concern. The culture needs to change.
“A department in denial cannot learn from its mistakes and take the action necessary to address the desperate hardship suffered by many Universal Credit claimants.”
In its current form, the committee said, the system is pushing costs onto the organisations trying to support claimants such as housing associations, councils and foodbanks.
The MPs called on the DWP to set out a plan for measuring the additional costs and burdens to these bodies, as well as what it will do to help them cope as the rollout continues.
And they said they “are seriously concerned” about the department’s ability to transfer around four million people onto Universal Credit by 2023 without causing further hardship to claimants.
Their report said it is “more important that the department gets migration right than it unthinkingly sticks to its timetable” and demanded that it be transparent about how it measures whether the rollout is working.
A spokesperson for the DWP said: “We will carefully consider the findings in the report – a number of which we are already working on.
“For example, we have recently begun a new partnership with Citizens Advice to deliver better support to the most vulnerable, and are working with stakeholders to ensure the managed migration process for people moving onto Universal Credit works smoothly.
“So far this year we have already announced several improvements to Universal Credit, such as plans to reinstate housing benefit for vulnerable 18-21 year olds, making direct payments to landlords, offering 100% advances and providing an additional two weeks of housing benefit for claimants.”
