September 2018: Touchbase edition 129
Updated 9 March 2020
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Get to Know Your Pension campaign
The next stage of the Get to Know Your Pension campaign started on 10 September 2018. The campaign is celebrating 10 million forecasts being viewed through Check your State Pension.
To help you support the campaign, we’ve created a range of resources, including social media posts and articles, which you can use across your communication channels.
New form for third parties to request personal information
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has changed the way it manages requests for personal information from third parties.
Third parties should use a new form, which when completed will satisfy DWP that someone agrees that either all or some of their information can be released. The completed form should be sent to:
Right of Access Gateway Team
Post Handling Site A
Wolverhampton
WV98 2EF
Using the form will help DWP deal with requests as quickly as possible.
Success for new Find a job service
Forty million job searches have been made through Find a job since it was launched in May 2018. The service lets people advertise, search and apply for jobs for free.
More than half a million jobseekers now have verified accounts on the service, and more than 2 million job applications have been submitted.
Find a job has recently been updated to allow jobseekers to download their CVs, and employers can now select a job category when they add a vacancy.
Access to Work Mental Health Support Service
On 20 August 2018, Able Futures, part of Ingeus UK Ltd, and Remploy Ltd, in partnership with MAXIMUS, began to deliver the new Access to Work Mental Health Support Service on behalf of DWP.
People who are eligible for support from the service will be allocated to one of the providers, which offer the same support in the same regions. Support will now be offered for up to 9 months, instead of 6.
Stakeholders and third parties should:
- no longer use information relating to the previous Workplace Mental Health Support Service delivered solely by Remploy
- update their communications to refer to the new Access to Work Mental Health Support Service
Working together on changes for carers in Scotland
On 3 September 2018, Carer’s Allowance became the first benefit to be transferred to Scotland under the Scotland Act 2016.
Under the transfer, carers living in Scotland will continue to receive Carer’s Allowance from DWP, on behalf of the Scottish Government, for at least the next 2 years. Carers in Scotland will also receive a Carer’s Allowance Supplement from the Scottish Government.
The news marks another milestone in the transfer of certain powers to Scotland. DWP has already:
- introduced Universal Credit choices on behalf of the Scottish Government
- played an important role in supporting Fair Start Scotland employment provision
The next important change will be the introduction of Scottish Government’s Best Start Grant, the pregnancy and baby payment, before the end of this year.
Universal Credit live service helpline: change to opening hours
From 27 September 2018, the Universal Credit live service helpline will be open from Monday to Friday, between 9am and 4pm.
The change to the opening hours comes ahead of the planned closure of the live service by spring 2019. The number of people contacting the helpline is expected to reduce as the rollout of Universal Credit full service to all jobcentres nears completion.
When the live service helpline is closed, jobcentre staff should continue to use existing escalation routes for urgent or vulnerable claimant queries.
News round-up
Update on the future of DWP jobcentres
Opening access to the countryside
Automatic enrolment breathing new life into Britain’s retirement prospects
Unemployment down by over 1.1 million since 2010
Secretary of State urges parents not to “miss out” on National Insurance credits
Number of children in homes without work plummets by 637,000 since 2010
Call for tourism industry to do more to cater for disabled people