MPs have criticised the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for providing an "unacceptably poor service" to people claiming disability benefits, as they face call waiting times that are on average 10 times longer.
The Public Accounts Committee revealed that the department took an average of 26 minutes and 53 seconds to respond to calls from employment and support allowance (ESA) claimants in the year leading up to March 2024.
This is in stark contrast to the average wait time of just two minutes and 45 seconds for Universal Credit claimants. The committee concluded that disability benefit claimants, in particular, are receiving a subpar service, including lengthy processing times for their claims. READ MORE: Martin Lewis says 3 million Brits have 'lost' pensions but shares how to track them down Committee chairman Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown expressed concern that in some instances, people "are literally calling for help and receiving no answer", suggesting that the public "would be forgiven for thinking the state is Awol (absent without leave) just when it needs it most" He added: "Our report’s disheartening findings illustrate the stark disparity of experience between claimants for disability benefit and other users of the system." He called on the DWP to "do more to ensure that claimants are reunited with the money to which they are entitled, as well as to understand the needs of vulnerable claimants".
In the year leading up to March 2024, benefit expenditure overpayments, excluding state pensions, rose to £9.5 billion, representing 6.7 per cent of total payments.