Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect of the removal of implicit consent in welfare cases on claimants with (a) learning difficulties, (b) mental health issues and (c) those for whom English is not a first language.

Under Universal Credit, the online digital account is fundamental to the design, which allows claimants access to all their personal, medical, financial and other data. As a result, the claimant ‘holds the key’ to that account at all times. Running a system of implied consent in Universal Credit means that the risk of disclosure of this material to third parties is heightened beyond an acceptable level under the data protection rules and might also undermine some of the other security features we build into the system through personal accreditation.

A claimant can, however, give explicit consent for an adviser or other third party to talk to the Department about their Universal Credit claim via their journal, over the phone or in person, when accompanied by their adviser, and can state what information can be shared, with whom and for what purpose. Alternatively, if a personal appointee is appropriate, the claimant or appointee can raise this at the initial claim stage and we can arrange a home visit to verify the appointee, which will enable them to manage the account for the claimant.

We continuously review the service for vulnerable people who claim Universal Credit to ensure that it is accessible and responsive to their needs.