Workforce retention difficulties and inefficient IT at the Department for Work and Pensions are making it difficult for the department to improve customer services, according to a new National Audit Office report.
The NAO said the department’s customer services have fallen short of expectations in recent years, particularly for Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and in-house telephone lines. The department is “generally not meeting its performance benchmarks or standards for customer satisfaction, payment timeliness and answering calls to its in-house telephone lines”, its report said.
The watchdog found a mix of strong and weak performances across the department’s customer-service operations.
State pension customers were more likely to be satisfied with the service they received (93%) compared to PIP customers (77%), against a target of 85%. Only 52% of PIP claims were processed in line with the 75-day standard in 2023-24, while for state pensions, 96% were completed within the expected timeframe of 10 working days.
DWP’s in-house telephone line teams' performance has dropped, with 76% of calls answered in 2023-24, compared to 86% in 2020-21. Meanwhile, outsourced officials answered 94% of calls last year.
The report says the decline in customer services in some areas comes amid significant challenges that are affecting the level of customer service DWP provides. A “challenging internal operating environment" is one of the key issues impacting customer service performance, along with a growing numbers of complaints, and changing customer expectations.
One of the major issues with the operating environment within the department is the difficulty it has retaining staff in critical frontline roles, such as work coaches and case managers who deal directly with customers, the report says. It adds that when staff are recruited, it takes time to train them to the point where they can undertake work such as processing claims and dealing with customer queries.
The report comes after a dossier compiled by civil service union PCS last year, which contained testimonials from 50 DWP officials who shared concerns about “all-time low” staffing levels, “unsustainable” workloads, “huge” backlogs, “inadequate” training and low pay. The civil servants also said vulnerable customers were “falling through the cracks” as a result.
The NAO also found that the complexity of the benefit system has made it harder for DWP to use its staff flexibly, as it takes time to train staff in the rules and processes for each benefit.
Complexity is also a problem in the department’s IT systems, the NAO said, warning that they are not fully integrated. Different benefits operate on separate systems, meaning that officials cannot view all the information DWP holds about a customer at the same time.
DWP is also still using outdated legacy IT systems in some areas, such as Employment and Support Allowance, which are inefficient to use and increase the risk of error, the report adds.
The other key issue raised about internal operations is the continuing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced DWP to shift priorities and resources, including moving staff to deal with the surge in Universal Credit claims while Covid restrictions on work and travel were in place.
DWP “considers that it is still contending with the impact of this on areas that were deprioritised, including backlogs in some parts of the business, such as PIP claims”, the report says.
The watchdog said operational challenges “are not unique, with other customer-facing government bodies also seeking to provide a good service in the context of significant operating difficulties”.
It added that there is an opportunity for DWP to “collaborate with, and learn from, others about what approaches to improving customer service have and have not worked in which circumstances, and why”.
The NAO said DWP highlighted the role that the civil service operational delivery profession has been playing, by holding events to bring together senior leaders to explore challenges and share good practice. The report points out that DWP is also part of the cross-government centre of expertise, which has been set up to share knowledge and support operational delivery professionals in their roles.
The report also warns that DWP’s Service Modernisation Programme is critical to implementing the changes needed to transform services for customers but its "scale and complexity means delivery involves significant risk". The programme aims to develop digital capabilities to allow more customers to self-serve and reduce their need to contact the department by telephone. It also includes the rollout of "Conversational Platform", a new technology which aims to ensure customers are more often directed to the correct person.
In March, the Infrastructure and Projects Authority gave the programme an "amber" confidence rating, meaning that delivery appears feasible but significant issues exist which require attention.
A DWP spokesperson said: “We acknowledge the challenges set out in this report and are committed to providing an efficient and compassionate welfare system.
“While it recognised the majority of new benefits claims were processed on time, our modernisation programme will help drive improvements in customer service, including improving support for PIP applications and a new online application service.”