Sir Stephen Timms responded to a parliamentary question about guidance for DWP staff visiting vulnerable claimants.

Sir Stephen Timms published a response on December 23 (stock image) (Image: Getty)

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has provided an update on its home visiting service in response to a parliamentary question. These visits are specially tailored to assist benefit recipients who are unable to handle transactions through alternative means, often due to their vulnerable circumstances or the intricate nature of the required procedures.

Liberal Democrat MP for North East Fife, Wendy Chamberlain, submitted an inquiry on December 12, questioning what support the DWP provides to staff members conducting household visits under this scheme. Minister of State Sir Stephen Timms has now released his reply, accompanied by a service guide for additional clarity.

The response published on December 23 read: “Our Operational Instructions include a specific section to support colleagues undertaking Home Visits. For context, please find attached an excerpt from our Core Visits Referral Guide.

“Other topics in this section include content relating to Safeguarding, Communication Strategies and links to Learning and Development products. This content is available to all DWP staff.

“Further sections related to Identity Verification and Keeping Customer Interactions Safe includes instructional content that supports DWP staff navigating systems, which store sensitive customer data and therefore is not suitable for public disclosure.”

The DWP offers a visiting service for certain benefits claimants (Image: Getty)

Sir Stephen Timms’ published extract revealed that the duty for conducting visits was moved from Customer Compliance to the DWP over a decade ago, back in 2011. These ‘Core Visits’ were emphasised as being vastly different from ‘Customer Compliance’ visits, which typically take place to authenticate benefit claims.

For example, the Local Services Compliance team might carry out interviews and visit claimants to confirm their benefits are accurate, detect discrepancies, combat fraud, or prompt customers to declare changes in their circumstances. While not an exhaustive list, the main aim is to examine ‘all types of fraud in respect of all benefits’.

Meanwhile, in regard to Core Visits, the excerpt said: “DWP Visiting help those customers/claimants who are unable to complete their business transaction through any of the other channels.

“This may be due to their vulnerability or the complexity of the transaction required, or may be driven by a legislative requirement that some activities MUST be handled face to face. DWP Visiting will support the customer/claimant by undertaking home visits.”

Benefits claimants are unable to arrange DWP visits independently. Instead, appointments are scheduled by the department when they consider that claimants qualify.

Charitable organisations, including Citizens Advice and Age UK, can also recommend individuals for support visits. These can be arranged not only at home but also in other settings, such as hospitals, with the specifics typically discussed upon referral.