Memorandum submitted by Warwickshire Welfare
Rights Advice Service
1. WWRAS is a county wide service which
specialises in the provision of independent Social Security advice.
We do this in two main ways:
— by supporting frontline organisations
to offer better advice on benefits through training, consultancy
advice and publications; and
— by promoting take up of benefits
by client group, benefit or area and representing clients at appeals
where they are refused entitlement.
2. We work closely in partnership with all
the main benefit administering authorities (Pension Service, Jobcentre
plus, Local Authorities and latterly Inland revenue) at local
level and have regular liaison with them to ensure a smooth working
benefits system. The exception is the Inland Revenue who have
only recently taken on benefits administration and have not yet
developed liaison systems with claimant representatives.
3. Warwickshire is a rural relatively affluent
county with only a small black ethnic minority population (around
5%) concentrated mainly in three of the five Districts. Stratford
for example has virtually none. Many of these citizens are second
or third generation and well integrated socially but there are
a number of older people and married women who have come over
more recently and are isolated due to language.
4. We are not aware of any major problems
in the delivery of benefits in the local area to ethnic minorities.
In one District (Warwick) the council has been very active in
consulting with the local, mainly Sikh, community to ensure better
access to services and the local DWP and our organisation have
been actively involved in this. This has given the local community
a real chance to voice its needs and make demands.
One consequence is that we receive funding to
provide a specialist interpreter supported service for the non-English
speaking Sikh Community. This service is highly regarded and well
used and reports can be provided on our work if required. Its
main value is that has helped individuals to access considerable
extra benefits by breaking down language barriers. Arguably this
should be done by the benefit authorities themselves, though it
has to be said that one of the attractions of our service to clients
is its independence from the statutory authorities.
5. In terms of specific service delivery
issues we would comment as follows.
— We are not aware of any blatant or
underlying discrimination in the local systems and we have not
had claims of such from clients.
— The issues we identify are more about
access and not speaking English. In particular not being confident
that the authorities will be able to cater for this means many
clients do not approach the DWP.
— There are very few staff at the local
DWP who come from and/or speak local minority languages. One staff
member in Leamington is sometimes used to interpret and Language
Line is offered but accessing it is a cumbersome process. You
need an adviser to negotiate your way to getting this!
— Posters and leaflets are displayed
in minority languages in the waiting area to help guide people
in but these tend to be more about complaints than how to get
help.
— When we indicate on claim forms that
the client is a Punjabi speaker the reply inevitably comes back
in English. Mass mail-shots about direct payments into bank accounts
are all in English and elderly clients have come in droves to
our service simply to get these translated.
— When dealing with the Inland Revenue
they have offered the services of an ethnic minority language
speaker which has been very helpful but dependant on his availability.
— When verification is required black
claimants are always asked for a passport and always have
to re-present this for each separate claim for benefit even though
the DWP have already used this information for a previous claim
in the recent past.
6. As well as a small black ethnic minority
community there is a growing EU migrant community in the area
which presents new challenges for support. For example Leamington
has a growing Portuguese community, which is at present struggling
to access benefits when required again because of language problems
and Stratford as a tourist area attracts EU migrant workers. Most
of these are indeed workers but have the need to access benefit
from time to time for example to support children or while off
sick.
7. In summary we are not aware of any major
instance of discrimination or institutional racism in our area.
The local ethnic groups are given a voice at county and district
local authority level which is very important given the low proportion
in the community and its uneven distribution. I think the DWP
does try to meet their needs as best it can with the resources
available and works in partnership with other bodies both voluntary
and statutory to facilitate this.
Lynn Webster
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