Inquiry into DWP’s safeguarding of vulnerable benefits claimants reopened

An inquiry into how vulnerable claimants for benefits including Universal Credit can be better safeguarded by the Department for Work and Pensions, has been reopened by MPs on the cross-party Work and Pensions Committee.

The original inquiry was closed after the general election was called in May 2024 as open inquiries cannot be carried over into the next Parliament. However, the new Committee, now chaired by Debbie Abrahams, will pick up where the previous Committee left off.

The Committee will be contacting stakeholders and witnesses who had given evidence during the last Parliament, to ask if they would like to submit any further evidence, to reflect any changes that might have occurred since last being in contact. The Committee will report in due course.

The previous inquiry was launched in 2023 in the context of the deaths of DWP customers in vulnerable situations. Over the three years to July 2022, internal Department investigations into cases where there were allegations of DWP mishandling with ‘severe negative impact' doubled. Before it closed, the inquiry had received 78 written evidence submissions and held four oral evidence sessions.

ENDS

Notes to editors

• Overview of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Claimants Inquiry from the last Parliament.
• • List of oral evidence sessions and their transcripts.
  • Written evidence submissions