Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce wait times for the Independent Case Examiner to asses a complaint.

In 2020/21, the Department provided additional funding to the Independent Case Examiner’s Office, to allow it to increase its headcount from 89 to 112. The recruitment and rigorous training of additional Investigation Case Managers, to reduce the time complaints wait to be brought into investigation, is underway.