Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of the level of digital exclusion experienced by disabled people accessing (a) universal credit, (b) personal independence payments, (c) attendance allowance, (d) disability living allowance for children and (e) new employment support allowance.

DWP is continually reviewing and improving services and many of these are now ‘digital-first’, ensuring we make best use of technology to deliver a modern and effective welfare system which enables citizens to access services quickly and flexibly. This allows our colleagues to concentrate on those people who require additional support.

Although the Department offers support for claimants to use our digital services, we recognise that there are occasions where people are unable to access services online, for a range of reasons. As a result, we ensure that they can do so through alternative channels, such as by telephone or face-to-face in offices as well as providing documents in accessible format when requested. Throughout the pandemic, Jobcentre Plus offices have also remained open to support the most vulnerable claimants.