{"id":124218,"date":"2026-08-12T12:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T11:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/?p=124218"},"modified":"2026-08-12T12:23:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T11:23:39","slug":"dwp-reveals-services-improvements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/dwp-reveals-services-improvements\/","title":{"rendered":"DWP Reveals Services Improvements After Reviewing Universal Credit and PIP Complaints"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Department for Work and Pensions has said it will make changes to its services after reviewing cases in which claimants\u2019 experiences fell below expected standards. The update covers services including Universal Credit<\/strong> and Personal Independence Payment<\/strong>, two areas that accounted for a large share of the department\u2019s Internal Process Reviews last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The announcement comes as the separate Timms Review<\/strong> of PIP enters another stage, with disabled people, those with long-term health conditions and others invited to take part in workshops intended to test its emerging recommendations. The review\u2019s final recommendations are expected in autumn 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Internal Reviews Identify Problems in Universal Credit and PIP Cases<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Internal Process Reviews, known as IPRs, examine individual customer cases to establish whether the DWP followed the correct operational processes and whether changes could improve its services. Investigators gather evidence and hold fact-finding discussions with people involved in the claimant\u2019s journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Birmingham Live, 87 IPRs<\/strong> were completed last year. Of those, 40 concerned Universal Credit and 19 related to PIP, making them the two largest categories identified in the figures. Fifteen of the reviewed cases were also subject to external scrutiny, including Safeguarding Adults Boards, Serious Case Reviews, Domestic Homicide Reviews or coroners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The department says it supports around 24 million customers <\/a>and manages millions of interactions each year, including more than 52 million telephone calls. It also directs claimants who experience difficulties with customer service to information and support available through its website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DWP said it was committed to \u201clistening, learning and acting on the lessons from the small number of serious cases<\/em>\u201d and would use that learning to continue improving its services and make sure people received the support they needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to reports, the department has confirmed that findings from these internal reviews are intended to identify where operational services could be improved when customer experiences have fallen below expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
DWP reviews highlight service improvements for Universal Credit and PIP \u00a9 Shutterstock<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

PIP Claimants Invited to Test Recommendations for Future Reform<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Alongside the internal service reviews, the Timms Review is seeking further input from people with direct experience of PIP. Fifteen workshops<\/strong> are due to take place online and in person across the UK during September and October.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Registration is open until 5pm on 21 August, with selected participants due to be notified by 4 September. The workshops are primarily aimed at disabled people and people with long-term health conditions, although carers, family members and support workers can also register their interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than 38,000 responses have already been received through the review\u2019s Call for Evidence<\/strong>. Its interim report, published in July, said PIP was \u201cno longer fit for purpose\u201d and recorded concerns that assessment and decision-making processes could be stressful and dehumanising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Participants in the workshops will be selected randomly, while the steering group will check that the final group represents a balanced range of characteristics. Where particular characteristics are under-represented, applicants from the wider pool may be selected at random to address those gaps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Clenton Farquharson<\/a> CBE, a co-chair of the review, said the workshops were intended not simply to hear people\u2019s experiences but to test emerging recommendations against real lives and understand what could make them \u201cfairer, clearer and work better in practice\u201d. Feedback from the sessions will be considered before the review submits its final report to the UK Government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The DWP has confirmed that changes are being made to its services after examining cases involving Universal Credit and PIP claimants, with internal reviews identifying where customer experiences fell below expectations. The department says lessons from those cases will be used to improve how support is delivered, while claimants are also being given a greater role in shaping what comes next.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":124221,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-welfare","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124218"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124218\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":124231,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124218\/revisions\/124231"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}