The Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) have re-launched their online calculator which covers benefits to which an individual may be entitled, but many problems remain, as John Andrews of LITRG explains.
Introduction
The DWP have struggled for many years to devise a calculator which will show low-income people what they are entitled to receive from the State. In 2008 they launched the Benefits Adviser calculator on the Directgov website. It was not comprehensive and it was not particularly user-friendly.
Earlier this week the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) re-launched their online calculator which attempts to cover some twenty-eight benefits to which an individual may be entitled under our complex benefits system.
The fact that the DWP then have to list a long list of exceptions that the calculator cannot cover perhaps says it all about the coherence of that system.
This week the Benefits Adviser has been re-launched and it attempts to show which of twenty-eight benefits and credits a citizen may qualify for. As you will see, if you try it, it needs stamina to complete.
At the end of a very long period of development it is disappointing that the DWP have to confess that:
Currently, the benefits adviser may not provide accurate estimates for customers and their partners entitled to:
- Working Tax Credits
- Pension Credits
- Employment and Support Allowance
or have savings of over £6000.
As these are three of the most widespread and difficult benefits to understand, it does call into question the overall value of the calculator. The circumstances in which the calculator may not be accurate are listed, but in itself this undermines the confidence of the user.
We are also disappointed to see that claimants who are single, have no children and are disabled are also excluded from the calculator, along with a range of other groups such as students, non-UK nationals and those residing in care homes.
As a public body with a disability equality duty to remove barriers rather than erect them, it really is not good enough.
We would not dissuade people from using the calculator, but there are simpler, more complete alternatives that can be found, such as Entitled to.
Evidence
We think this example provides further evidence that people on low incomes need the government:
- to simplify the benefits system; and until they do
- to provide more face to face help for those who do not have access to the internet or who cannot use complex (and incomplete) calculators.
We also expect all government calculators to be comprehensive and accurate before they attempt to persuade us all that the internet is the way forward for doing business with them.
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