The Department for Work and Pensions has been issued with a significant and urgent warning concerning the handling of state pensioner data, facing direct criticism during parliamentary committee proceedings. Policy in Practice, a prominent social policy organisation, has called for substantially greater transparency from the DWP regarding information on retirees, highlighting systemic risks that could leave vulnerable pensioners without crucial financial support.
Parliamentary Committee Confrontation
During a session of the Work and Pensions Committee, Fabian Chessell, the central government lead at Policy in Practice, delivered stark testimony. He emphasised the critical need for improved data sharing protocols between central government and local authorities. Chessell warned that current practices create dangerous gaps in the social safety net, particularly for those awaiting Pension Credit payments.
"This is somebody already on a very low income, facing an absolute cash shortfall," Chessell stated, underscoring the immediate human impact of data opacity. He further elaborated on a specific and concerning statistic, revealing that the DWP currently withholds data on approximately 60 per cent of Universal Credit households from local councils.
The 'Invisible' Households Risk
This data withholding, according to Chessell, renders a majority of low-income residents effectively "invisible" to their local councils, preventing them from accessing locally administered support schemes. The issue reportedly intensified when the DWP internalised Universal Credit benefit processing, taking over from local authorities.
Chessell expressed grave concern that this problematic model could be replicated with Housing Benefit and, more pressingly, with state pension data. "We're facing a risk where DWP may repeat the same mistake and make a large swathe of pensioner households invisible from councils," he cautioned to the committee. Policy in Practice's own analysis suggests millions of people are missing out on an estimated £24 billion in support annually due to such systemic failures.
DWP's Response and New System Development
In response to these allegations, a DWP spokesperson contested the characterisation of data withholding. "It is not correct to say that we are withholding 60 per cent of Universal Credit customers' data from Local Authorities," the spokesperson stated. They clarified that data sharing with local authorities has been ongoing since 2013, albeit within the constraints of data protection requirements and the needs of that time.
The Department acknowledged that the requirements of Local Authorities have evolved and confirmed it is actively developing a new data sharing system. This proposed system is intended to grant councils access to Universal Credit claimant data for all residents within their jurisdiction, potentially addressing one core criticism.
The Scale of Unclaimed Support
The debate occurs against a backdrop of significant unclaimed financial aid. Policy in Practice reported that last year alone, it assisted 1.2 million people in identifying over £2 billion in unclaimed benefits, successfully boosting collective incomes by more than £500 million. This figure starkly illustrates the potential consequences when individuals cannot be identified and supported by local services due to data sharing failures.
The parliamentary warning places the DWP under increased scrutiny to ensure its data practices do not inadvertently harm the very pensioners and low-income households the welfare state is designed to protect, with transparency becoming a central demand from policy advocates and lawmakers alike.
