Benefits system 'should be simpler'

By Paul Lewis
BBC Radio 4's Money Box

Sir Richard Mottram accepted there were too many errors

A top civil servant has warned the government that the social security system is too complicated and should be simplified.

And he admitted that recently announced job cuts did not make his job any easier, but denied they would lead to more mistakes.

Sir Richard Mottram runs the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), which distributes more than £100bn a year to pensioners, disabled people, and those looking for a job.

The message that my ministers entirely share is we must look at how we can simplify Sir Richard Mottram, DWP

Speaking to the BBC's Money Box programme, he said:

"We need to look at simplifying benefits. We operate the system as Parliament has chosen it should be designed.

"I personally think it should be simpler. The message that my ministers entirely share is we must look at how we can simplify."

Benefit errors

Sir Richard was responding to recent criticisms that his officials made mistakes in one out of every five decisions on the benefits people should be paid.

And although he accepted there were too many errors he said they had to be put in context:

For disabled people, we are talking about a possible reduction in weekly income of anything up to £100 Lorna Reith, Disability Alliance

"We take about six and half million decisions on these benefits in a year... One and a half million we deemed to have an error within them in terms of how they were decided.

"But the payment accuracy - which is the really important thing on our major benefits - is between 92% and 98%."

That explanation was challenged by Lorna Reith, Chief Executive of the Disability Alliance.

She said it does not take account of the people who are wrongly denied money they should have:

"For disabled people, we are talking about a possible reduction in weekly income of anything up to £100, and lots of people live in hardship as a result of these decisions.

"The fact that 54% of the decisions on Disability Living Allowance that go to appeal are overturned in the customer's favour shows how big a problem we have got."

Few appeals

The DWP has said that very few cases go to appeal. But Ms Reith said that does not mean people are happy with the decisions:

"Most take the decision they are sent and just accept it, especially if it is the first time they have claimed. It is not easy to appeal.

"The letters from the department are not easy to understand and you only have a month to get an appeal in. A month is not very long.

What we are not going to do is reduce the people and reduce the quality of the decisions they are taking Sir Richard Mottram, DWP

"You have to say why you are unhappy with the decision, give grounds, and get medical evidence, which people have to pay for in many cases."

Two weeks ago Chancellor Gordon Brown announced a cut of 30,000 DWP staff.

Sir Richard Mottram admitted that this caused difficulties, but denied it would result in even more mistakes in benefit decisions.

"It is not making my job any easier. But the way we intend to make these reductions in staff is by providing them with much more effective decision support.

"What we are not going to do is reduce the people and reduce the quality of the decisions they are taking."

BBC Radio 4's Money Box was broadcast on Saturday, 27 March, 2004, at 1204 GMT.

The programme was repeated on Sunday, 28 March, at 2102 BST.