Benefit applications still too confusing
By Alice Cannet
A report published today established that many people have been unable to claim benefits because the application procedure was too long and confusing.
The report by the Department For Work And Pensions (DWP) called for action to move application forms and other services online to facilitate communication with elderly and vulnerable people.
“Labour’s complex and confusing benefits system means that millions of people are not claiming the benefits they are entitled to, leaving many needlessly stuck in the cycle of poverty,” shadow work and pensions secretary, Theresa May, said.
“It is more critical than ever for millions of families struggling on low incomes to get the right information and easy access to the support the government can give them,” she said, “unfortunately for too many people information produced by the DWP is complicated and obscure making the process of claiming benefits a nightmare.”
Application forms were still too long and guidance notes too complicated while computer-generated letters were also too long and confusing for some people.
Although certain forms could be downloaded from the internet, most applications for benefits could not be made online which resulted in extra time and money spent dealing with them on the phone or face-to-face.
Communication with customers, the report advised, needs to be simplified and modernised, and cost efficiencies from reducing the volume of printed leaflets need to be fully realised.
The report said that four-fifths of applicants for pension credit were asked to post extra documentation to check that they were entitled to the benefit, a factor which discouraged elderly people from applying.
Older people also seemed to misunderstand what was meant by the attendance allowance with 42 per cent of people unable to find out about eligibility criteria from official websites or taking far too long to do so.
Computer-generated letters were thought to be very long and poorly laid out, resulting in great confusion and delay in the application process.
Examples included a 16-sides long letter with the signature box appearing on the sixth page and another application form, for disability living allowance, being 45 pages long.
Tim Burr, head of the National Audit Office, which was in charge of the report said the DWP could “improve performance further by moving more of its services online. Where paper forms and letters are still necessary, it should make them more straightforward for the customer, particularly for the elderly and other vulnerable people.”
The government website, Directgov, also faced criticism as the report found basic searches about benefits could generate some 500 results. The most useful pages were not the first listed and people said they were confused and frustrated over the presentation.
Finally, the report found that too few applications were computerised and those which were submitted electronically were still printed out and treated as paper applications.
This meant that staff did not have access to all the details of the case as they could not see the paper version. The report concluded this might also lead to a number of inaccuracies and some delay.
