It will now be easier for people to move from benefits into work, as they will only have to make one call to update their details, ensuring they are getting the right in-work entitlements and that it pays to work.
Ministers announced the national roll-out of this initiative at a Jobcentre Plus centre in Clapham, London. This follows a successful pilot between Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and local authorities to speed up the benefit and credit claims process for customers who move in and out of employment.
Stephen Timms, Financial Secretary to the Treasury said:
"The pilots have shown that people are more confident in the 'one stop' approach to claiming benefit and tax credits we have been trialling. This will smooth the transition of people from work to benefits and back again. In the modern work marketplace that will be a welcome boost to employers, the economy and most importantly the individual customers themselves.”
DWP Minister Lord McKenzie said:
“We hope by speeding up the process for benefit and credit payment in this way more people will be encouraged to take up opportunities for short term work where in the past they might have been put off by a lengthy process of informing all the relevant bodies.
“By providing a single point of contact for customers seeking support when either in or out of work, we can provide a more efficient service to our customers as well as reduce the likelihood of overpayments.
”Along with tax credits and the national minimum wage we are committed to making work pay, giving people the chance to support themselves and their families.”
Previously, each relevant department had to be notified separately about a change in work circumstances - the DWP for out of work benefits, HMRC for tax credits and the local authority for housing benefit. Now DWP, through Jobcentre Plus will collect this information once and share it with HMRC and the local authority, reducing the time it takes to make the appropriate alteration to a worker’s benefits by up to 15%.
The phased, national roll out of this cross government initiative is expected to be completed over the next 18 months. The first fourteen areas to benefit will be Borders, West Dunbartonshire, Clackmannanshire, Inverclyde, St Helens, Gateshead, North East Derbyshire, Sunderland , Kings Lynn & West Norfolk, Guildford, Plymouth, Caerphilly, Southwark and Tower Hamlets.
Media Enquiries: Liz Forster 0203 267 5122
DWP Press Office: 0203 267 5144
Out of hours: 07659 108 883
Website: www.dwp.gov.uk
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