Committee publication · Correspondence · 11 March 2026
Correspondence with the Permanent Secretary, following the evidence session on the Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25 on 21 January 2026
Summary
Correspondence between the Work and Pensions Committee chair and the DWP Permanent Secretary following a January 2026 evidence session on the Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25. The Committee challenges DWP's pace of cultural reform, criticises its response to Carer's Allowance overpayments and PHSO maladministration findings, and demands written clarification on safeguarding training mandates, fraud and error targets, PIP case management timelines, pay policy justification, and reputation-building work.
Key findings
- Committee asserts DWP culture change is 'incremental and too slow' and that the Department 'fails to put the needs of vulnerable people first'
- DWP accepts 38 of 40 Sayce Review recommendations on Carer's Allowance but refuses to accept guidance on allowable expenses was flawed, disagreeing with the independent review's findings
- DWP has achieved a 21% reduction in Universal Credit fraud and error (2024-25) and overall fraud/error rate down to 3.3%, with target of 2.8% by 2028-29
- PIP case management system rollout delayed until 2029, with only 20% of cases initially included; Committee views this timeline as 'too slow'
- DWP safeguarding training is mandatory for clinicians (98% completion for internal teams, 83% for contractors) but not mandated for all staff; Committee demands universal mandating
- PHSO expressed 'serious concerns' about DWP delays in implementing State Pension age investigation action plan; work resumed only after Secretary of State retook decision in January 2026
Government position
DWP Permanent Secretary's response accepts cultural shortcomings and commits to remedial action. On Carer's Allowance: accepts 38 of 40 Sayce recommendations, has apologised and appointed Senior Responsible Officer, but maintains allowable expenses guidance was not unclear—only flexibility needs better communication. On PHSO: acknowledges resumed action plan work and commits to collaborative finalisation and reporting. On safeguarding: defends non-universal Level 1 training mandate for 90,000-strong department but pledges continued review and expects uptake increases. On fraud/error: reaffirms 2.8% target by 2028-29 as ambitious and lowest since 2003-04, backed by OBR forecasts. On PIP: describes case management model as 'small volume' pilot in 2026 before 2029 scaling; emphasises 90%+ online submission uptake and move toward recording all assessments.
Tone
AdversarialTopics
Key actors
Sir Peter Schofield KCB, Debbie Abrahams MP, Liz Sayce OBE, Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman (PHSO), Catherine Vaughan, Barbara Bennett, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, National Audit Office (NAO)
Notable line
“Until the Department changes its culture, it will always struggle to build trust with the people it is meant to serve.”
Key Quotes
“Fundamentally, we believe that the Department is failing to put the needs of vulnerable people first, that it is unwilling to learn from its mistakes and that it shows a lack of urgency to bring about change.”
“A culture of complacency is most apparent in DWP's response to its mistakes.”
“We know there were mistakes that we made as identified by the Sayce review, and we have committed to action to put this right.”
“… my aim to reduce overall fraud and error levels to 2.8% by 2028-29. Achieving 2.8% would be the lowest cross-welfare overpayment rate since the introduction of tax credits in 2003-04 and is below the pre-pandemic …”
“I'm sure you can understand my scepticism about your most recent commitments.”
“This is too slow. You explained that there is a limit to how much you can change under the existing contracts.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗