Muted Enthusiasm for DWP Centenary Celebration

UK Government

According to the government - through 14 name changes, 77 Secretaries and Ministers of State, and across more than 700 jobcentres throughout the country, the DWP has been at the forefront of improving people’s lives.

In 1942 William Beveridge set out how he would tackle the ‘5 giant evils of society’ and create the framework for the modern welfare state. In 2016 DWP continues to meet these challenges [so the government claims] working to reduce poverty, increase financial inclusion, cut workplace accidents and promote greater saving for retirement.

Detractors point out in August 2015 under the leadership of Iain Duncan Smith MP, DWP Minister, the department admitted using fictional stories from made-up claimants on leaflets advertising the positive impact of benefit sanctions. Complaints made  following a Freedom of Information request, described this action as deliberately misleading.

Figures showed, that between December 2011 and February 2014, 2,650 people died shortly after their Work Capability Assessment told them that they should be finding work. The DWP had fought hard for the figures not to be released, with chief minister Iain Duncan Smith at one point telling Parliament that they did not exist. These figures are known collectively as the ‘death statistics'.

According to research published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health by Oxford University and Liverpool University, there were an additional 590 suicides between 2010 and 2013 in areas where Work Capability Assessments were carried out.

Approximately 65%+ of appeals are found in favour of claimants on appeal and campaigners argue that Mandatory Reconsiderations are simply part of a system designed to delay justice. 

There are over 3,000 Benefit Fraud inspectors, yet only approximately around 200 people tasked with tackling tax evasion at the HMRC. Benefit Fraud is a relatively very low figure, yet tax evasion runs into billions of pounds in lost revenue. Half the world’s trade passes through offshore accounts, and the 'UK is the world’s largest tax haven' say campaigners citing the City as a ‘hub’ that is at the centre of international finance.   

The hated Work Program eventually failed, with claimants objecting to be used as ‘slave labour’ and companies eventually distanced themselves from the scheme in the knowledge that their association with it, was damaging their image.

Some members of the public want the former DWP Minister Iain Duncan Smith to stand trial for corporate manslaughter due to the treatment of the disabled by the DWP and their contractors. There has been a stream of scandals involving fraud and abuse by organisations contracted to provide services. 

Welfare support is shrinking and Food Bank usage has skyrocketed. Universal Credit is neither credit nor universal, and the DWP has faced much criticism about the slow roll-out of the new scheme, cost overruns and more.

Many argue that the original mission of the DWP - to help people - has been lost. The nickname the 'Department of Work and Punishment' is an appropriate term, for an organisation that has lost its way, and much of the trust and confidence of the public and DWP customers.