Benefit payment delays have exposed tens of thousands to hardship in past year, official figures show

Delays in processing benefit payments left tens of thousands of people exposed to hardship in the past year, with some waiting weeks on end without state support, newly released official figures show.

Between March 2015 and February 2016, 154,309 people waited more than 10 days for a Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) claim to be processed, according to stats released by the Government in response to questions from the Labour MP Frank Field.

Officials also admitted they did not know how many new claimants of Universal Credit, which replaces six existing benefit payments with a single monthly payment, were having to wait longer than the normal processing time of one month.

Among the thousands left waiting for JSA in the past year, 44,104 waited more than 16 days, according to answers to Parliamentary questions submitted by Mr Field.

Delays in accessing benefits are one of the most common reasons given for using a food bank, according to the Trussell Trust, which runs more than 400 food banks throughout the UK.

Mr Field, the veteran Labour MP for Birkenhead, who also chairs the House of Commons Work and Pensions committee, said that despite “welcome progress” from the Government in speeding up benefit claims, too many were still facing hardship because of delays.

“For people with little or no money in the bank, to survive even a day, let alone two weeks, without an income is almost an impossible task,” he said. “We therefore need further action to restrict the supply routes into hunger.”

He said that if the Department of Work and Pensions could deliver all claims within five working days, it could reduce by a third the number of people who need to rely on food banks.

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The exact number of people using food banks in the UK is not known. More than one million received emergency food parcels from the Trussell Trust in 2014/15, but not all were ‘unique users’, with around half of food bank users returning more than once in a year.

A spokesperson for the DWP said that it had significantly improved the speed at which claims were processed.

“The fact is the vast majority of benefits are paid on time and there are hardship payments and short-term benefit advances available to those who need it,” the spokesperson said.

Rachel Kelly, 20, from Exeter, her partner Corey, who has severe early onset arthritis, and their two-year-old daughter had to manage on £50 a week for up to 10 weeks, while Corey’s application for Personal Independence Payments (PIP) was processed. They had to visit a Trussell Trust food bank three times in that period.

“It is a long process, and you are constantly kept guessing whether you are even going to get the payment in the end. It is out of your control and that is what is most stressful about it.

“I remember going into the civic centre and explaining that I was trying to feed my child, that all we had was £50 a week, and was essentially told ‘well that’s tough’.

“I told them I was happy to fill in paperwork on the day and send it off that day. I can’t work at the moment, and with his disability my partner’s finding it hard to find work. It’s incredibly hard to get someone to understand the predicament you are in unless they’ve gone through it. In the whole process only one person I spoke to gave the impression that they realised three people including a child on £50 a week was not ok.

“The perception that people on benefits just can’t be bothered is a horrible feeling to have upon you. When I went to the food bank I didn’t want to be thought of as somebody who could not feed their daughter. Thankfully they were really supportive.”