Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department is taking steps to advise claimants on the financial risks associated with unauthorised money lenders.

We are committed to ensuring staff who engage with claimants identify and signpost them to the financial support they require. We continue to work closely with the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), which is an Arm’s Length Body of DWP, to identify and maximise all the touchpoints where it may be appropriate to signpost claimants to the expert financial help they need.

We have also been working with MaPS to upskill our frontline staff to give them the confidence and skills to have those difficult and sensitive conversations with claimants regarding their finances before signposting them to the most suitable organisation. This may be for help with budgeting and money management, or with debt, as well as information on unauthorised money lenders. Customers contacting the Department’s Debt Management Team are routinely referred to this service.

To help facilitate signposting discussions with claimants, staff have access to a database of national and local support information, the District Provision Tool, which ensures that claimants can access tailored support where required.