DWP needs overhaul to restore trust after carer's allowance scandal, adviser says

"Prof Liz Sayce led a scathing review of the carer's allowance scandal, which found the DWP system and leadership failures were responsible for carers unknowingly running up huge debts, some of which resulted in serious mental illness and, possibly, criminal convictions for fraud. Sayce told the Guardian she had been surprised by the DWP's lack of organisational curiosity about the impact of the problems with carer's allowance, as well as its reluctance to tackle the issue strategically, despite being aware of the issues for years."

"Her comments came days after the Guardian revealed a top DWP civil servant, Neil Couling, had insisted carers were to blame for the department's failures in an internal message to staff, issued a few days after Sayce's report was published. Sayce said it had been distressing to read Couling's comments which she said were clearly not right. His view, published in an internal DWP blog, contradicted a key finding of her seven-month review, accepted by ministers, that a confusing and complex system was to blame for the scandal, rather than individual carer error."

"I was really distressed at the idea that the message would go to all the people working in DWP because as I have said a lot of people working in DWP want to do the right thing and probably that wasn't the message that they'd taken from the review and what ministers had said. So I found it distressing. Sayce said her review had revealed a mixed culture in the DWP staff who wanted to learn and improve and others who took a more corporately defensive approach."

System and leadership failures at the Department for Work and Pensions caused unpaid carers to unknowingly accumulate large debts, contributing to serious mental illness and potential criminal fraud convictions. Internal communications blamed carers, contradicting conclusions that a confusing and complex system was primarily at fault. Organisational curiosity and strategic action were lacking despite awareness of the problems for years. DWP staff attitudes are mixed, with some eager to learn and improve and others responding defensively. Restoring public trust requires clear accountability, strategic remediation, and cultural change within the department.

Read at www.theguardian.com