Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
Central Freedom of Information Team
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xxx.xx
Our reference: VTR 2351
Date: 7 July 2015
Dear Mr Kendall,
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request dated 09 June 2015. You stated:
While reading through documentation providing guidelines and legislation covering
benefit claimant rights and responsibilities I am troubled by the use of what read like
weasel words. These do appear to me to give the people administering and
enforcing the act rather a lot of wriggle room in terms of how they interpret what they
can mandate and exactly what benefit claimant responsibilities are.
Also, I notice that far greater weight is put behind claimant responsibilities than is put
behind what commitments claimants have the right to expect and directions they
have the right to refuse.
This in mind, any documentation you are aware of which will help shed more light on
claimant rights and DWP responsibilities will be most welcome. Please be thorough.
Allow me to express two of my queries, which I outline in the first paragraph, as
questions. I understand the freedom of information act does not require new
information to be produced, however, it is sometimes I think easier to express the
fact I seek documentation which answers queries. However, do please feel to try to
answer the question too, if you are able.
The two expressions which recur frequently which cause me the most difficulty are
those which appear to state that DWP operatives are allowed to mandate claimants
do anything they deem reasonable. Do please look for the word "reasonable" where
it refers in the documentation to the responsibilities given to claimants by DWP
operatives. The other which appears to lack definition are matters which are said to
be settled by "advisor discretion". Please feel free again to refer to places in the
documentation for which matters are said to be ably decided according to "advisor
discretion".
For illustration purposes, DWP staff are not necessarily the most reasonable of all
people. Also, their discretion is frequently something which leaves much to be
desired. It troubles me greatly that matters of reasonableness and discretion are
placed in the hands of a workforce who between them present something of a lottery
in the matters of being reasonable and discrete. Many of the Jobcentre plus
employees I have spoken to appear not to score on either count. They do often
appear score very highly on viciousness, poor decision making, arrogance and
resting on their own stereotypical views on benefit claimant intelligence and
capability.
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For these reasons I am most curious about any documentation placing sensible
limits defining advisor discretion and reasonability, including sensible governance of
matters which fall down to the Byzantine nightmare therein.
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Therefore, please assist by supplying any documentation which elucidates on the
definition of said advisor discretion and reasonability which so often appears to
decide what befalls the unfortunate claimant. Exemplifying such reason, in my own
case, was an advisor who reasoned that, because I am professionally qualified, it
made perfect sense to mandate me to participate in a work program which had me
banging nails into fence posts for four weeks. Actually, I already know reasonably
well how to bang nails into pieces of wood. Is this the sort of thing referred to as
"reasonable"? Is this what is permitted within "advisor discretion"? Because it wholly
contradicts my own sense of reason and discretion.
Please forgive me for the convoluted nature of this request, I am having difficulty
remaining reasonable whilst feeling extremely angry at how I am treated by, by my
own sense of reason, idiotic DWP staff. In order to aid clarity, I have placed the key
component within minus signs above. Please do though feel at liberty to try to
respond to this whole sorry, and in my view entirely unreasonable, affair.
For ease of reference, I have extracted the two requests from your original email
detailed above and copied them below in bold text and the response to each request
is in italics text. We have also understood your requests to relate to the conditions of
entitlement and the conditionality requirements advisers may impose on JSA
claimants to whom the Jobseekers Act 1995 and Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations
1996 apply.
This in mind, any documentation you are aware of which will help shed more
light on claimant rights and DWP responsibilities will be most welcome. Please
be thorough.
In terms of claimant rights, copies of recorded information are attached in the:
•
JSA Claimant Commitment (specifically, the ‘My rights’ section on page 3); and
•
WS1 - My Work Plan Booklet (specifically, the ‘If we make a decision about your
benefit’ section on page 40).
Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act allows us to direct you to information
which is already reasonably accessible to you. The information you requested in
terms of DWP responsibilities are in two documents that explain the service
standards you can expect from us, which are available on the Department’s website
in the links below:
• https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/about-the-dwp-our-service-
standards-leaflet
•
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/our-customer-charter
Therefore, please assist by supplying any documentation which elucidates on
the definition of said advisor discretion and reasonability which so often
appears to decide what befalls the unfortunate claimant.
Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act allows us to direct you to information
which is already reasonably accessible to you. The information you requested about
adviser discretion and considering what is reasonable was provided to you in our
reply to your recent request and is available on the Whatdotheyknow.com website in
the link below:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/what_are_dwp_staff_unable_to_man#inc
oming-662228
This contained recorded information on the conditions of entitlement for Jobseeker’s
Allowance (JSA) claimants to be available for and to actively seek work. This
included the discretion advisers may have (specifically, paragraph 110) and what an
adviser must consider as reasonable to expect of a claimant in order to meet these
conditionality requirements.
The reply also contained recorded information on the conditionality requirements
advisers may impose on JSA claimants by giving such claimants a Jobseeker’s
Direction. This included what must be considered by the adviser to ensure that any
Direction given is appropriate and reasonable after taking into account a claimant’s
particular circumstances (specifically, paragraphs 3 to 25).
I have also attached to this reply recorded information about the discretion advisers
have in referring claimants to:
•
Mandatory Work Activity (specifically, paragraph 16);
•
Community Work Placements (specifically, paragraph 5) and Daily Work Search
Reviews (specifically, paragraph 48) in the Help to Work package (for JSA
claimants whose Work Programme Completer Interview was on or after 28 April
2014; and
•
the Work Programme (specifically, paragraphs 45 to 47). If you have any queries about this letter please contact us quoting the reference
number above.
Yours sincerely,
DWP Central FoI Team
Your right to complain under the Freedom of Information Act
If you are not happy with this response you may request an internal review by e-mailing
freedom-of-
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx.xxx.xx or by writing to: DWP, Central FoI Team,
Caxton House, Tothill Street, SW1H 9NA. Any review request should be submitted within two months
of the date of this letter.
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review you may apply directly to the Information
Commissioner’s Office for a decision. Generally the Commissioner cannot make a decision unless
you have exhausted our own complaints procedure. The Information Commissioner can be contacted
at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow Cheshire SK9 5AF
www.ico.org.uk/Global/contact_us or telephone 0303 123 1113 or 01625 545745