Written question asked by Henry Smith (Conservative) on Monday, 7 September 2020, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 9 September 2020. It was answered by Justin Tomlinson (Conservative) on Monday, 14 September 2020 on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.
Universal Credit: Cancer
- Question
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To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions her Department has had with representatives of (a) Macmillan Cancer Support and (b) other similar charities on the potential merits of retaining (i) remote identity verification, (ii) flexible assessments and (iii) other such recently introduced measures to help universal credit claimants living with cancer.
- Answer
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The Department and its Ministers work in partnership with a variety of stakeholders, including local authorities, charities and employer groups, and listens directly to their feedback about Universal Credit. At its core, Universal Credit is about ensuring we deliver a service which is tailored to individual claimant circumstances and abilities. Following the outbreak of COVID-19, we adapted many of our services to be delivered remotely, and we will consider if changes can be retained longer term. But, many claimants benefit from having face to face contact with Work Coaches to overcome barriers and we will ensure this method of contact continues to be used where appropriate.
Measures, such as identity verification, are key components of the Universal Credit claim process to confirm the accuracy of information supplied, allowing us to make timely and accurate decisions. In addition to our usual online verification, since early June we have been trialling the online identity service, Confirm Your Identity. This has enabled a higher number of claimants to verify their identity online, and we are continually monitoring and testing the impact this has on a claimant’s ability to verify remotely.
Secondary information
- Type
- Written question
- Reference
- 86019
- Session
- 2019-21
- Related items
- Subjects
- Charities Cancer Universal credit Macmillan Cancer Support
- Link
- View this Written question on www.parliament.uk
Librarians' tools
- Timestamp
- 2024-12-17 12:44:13 +0000
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