To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 15 June 2021 to Question 11624, and with reference to her Department's response to the Coroner on Mr Boamah's death, what elements of her Department's (a) policy and (b) guidance were updated following the review of safeguards for vulnerable claimants when making payments to reflect the needs of vulnerable claimants; and on what date was this updated guidance shared with the Coroner.
Answered on
21 June 2021
Following Mr Boamah’s inquest in 2019 we provided a response to the Coroner’s Prevention of Future Deaths report, which is published on the judiciary website.
Since 2019 we have created a central team in the Customer Experience Directorate to focus on strategically supporting our most vulnerable customers.
During 2020 we also revised and developed internal guidance for colleagues to help customers who require advanced support (published March 2021).
We have also appointed 31 regional Advanced Customer Support Senior Leaders across Great Britain whose role is to provide targeted support to claimants needing advanced help.
Regarding large one-off payments of Personal Independence Payment to vulnerable customers (as occurred in the case cited), updated guidance for staff was introduced in April this year (2021).