Welcome for Inquiry into Benefit Delays

Thursday July 23

A church charity has welcomed the news that MPs are to investigate delays in benefits payments.

Delayed benefits payments is one of the frequent reasons given for people left with no money and relying on food banks. The Work and Pensions Committee - a cross-party group of MPs - is launching a new inquiry into 'the timeliness and accuracy of benefit delivery'.

Frank Field MP, Chair of the Committee, said: "My own Hunger inquiry found that the Department for Work and Pensions could straight away cut by a third the numbers of people having to rely on food banks, if it could ensure all legitimate benefit claims were paid promptly and correctly.

"It has made some progress in speeding up the delivery of new claims, but the five or six week wait for a first payment under Universal Credit could turn out to be a nightmare for some claimants. Even under the existing system there are too many mind-blowing instances in which people on their uppers are left with little or even no money for weeks on end. We will seek, therefore, to come up with a package of reforms which helps the Department build on its early progress towards a more effective system."

New Committee member, Scottish MP Mhairi Black, said: "Local welfare rights officers have highlighted to me the issues they face with the speed of cases being process by the department. They are particularly concerned when no priority is given to clients who they have identified as vulnerable, especially when all of the information required by the DWP has been supplied. Vulnerable people are often left in a position where they have no money to heat their homes or feed themselves for several days or weeks."

The inquiry was praised by Church Action on Poverty (CAP), which said it would address many of the concerns raised in its recent report Restoring Faith in the Safety Net. Liam Purcell, communications manager for CAP, said: "Church Action on Poverty will submit evidence to the inquiry, and keep on working to reinstate the safety net principle in our benefits system. We're grateful to the hundreds of supporters who emailed their MPs to call for action on this issue."

Earlier this month, the Church of Scotland joined other churches and charities in calling on the UK Government to set up a full, independent review of the benefits sanctions system.

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