Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the reasonable adjustments her Department has made for blind and sight impaired universal credit claimants to ensure that those claimants are able to access universal credit services online or by phone.

Universal Credit has been designed with accessibility in mind. We have automated accessibility tests continuously running and we regularly test the service with assistive technology, including screen readers and screen magnifiers. The claimant-facing side of Universal Credit was audited by the RNIB in 2016 and passed the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines at an AA standard. In 2020/2021, we again linked up with RNIB to trial and roll out external learning for our work coaches and disability employment staff in Universal Credit. This focused on providing additional support for our agents when working with sight loss customers and the support RNIB can offer. We are committed to further improving the service we provide and a further external accessibility audit is currently taking place.

Our system generated letters are available in a variety of alternative formats, such as large print or Braille. We regularly review our communication products and are committed to providing personalised support for all claimants. If a claimant is unable to make a digital claim, they can make and maintain their claim via our Freephone Universal Credit helpline. A phone claim is also clearly marked on the service to remind DWP staff to use alternative channels to communicate information with a claimant and the claimant’s monthly award statement will be sent via post.