Plaid Cymru offers to pay for claimants' calls

The BBC reports that

People claiming universal credit have been offered free use of Plaid Cymru phones to avoid helpline charges.

Party leader Leanne Wood said amid delays in payments, charging callers up to 55p a minute to check the status of their claim "adds insult to injury".
The party said all Plaid MPs and assembly members would let claimants make the calls from their offices.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said people concerned about the cost could request a free call back. 


One Department for Work and Pensions employee, who spent eight months managing a team of staff answering calls from universal credit claimants in one of the trial areas, said workers struggled to stay on top of the volume of calls, and often failed to answer queries within the required time period, causing claimants to call back to chase problems.

“The work was backing up, and the calls piled up. Sometimes I felt terrified and exasperated for them, sometimes we were shrugging our shoulders. We were doing everything we could, running overtime, trying to break down the outstanding work,”

A DWP spokeswoman said:

 "Applications for universal credit are made online and claimants then arrange their first appointment with their work coach over the phone.
"This call is charged at local rates which are set by providers and are free for many people as part of their call package.
"If someone is concerned about the cost, they can request a free call back."

Another  DWP spokeswoman said:

 "Applications for universal credit are made online and claimants then arrange their first appointment with their work coach over the phone.
"This call is charged at local rates which are set by providers and are free for many people as part of their call package.
"If someone is concerned about the cost, they can request a free call back."

The problem is that some people who  are applying for  Universal Credit will no have a landlines  phone choosing to save money by only using a mobile phone .

This probably means they  do not have have home access to a computer adding to their problems of claiming benefit.

From experience calling  the DWP  can see you in a Queue for up to an hour As soon as the call is connected by the person you have called you start to get charged weather you are answered by a person, answer M/C or automatated system, press 1 for ?, press 2 for ??

At 55p a minute  that can be astronomical and you have to get through to get a "Callback"
    
In a joint statement on Thursday, Plaid MPs Hywel Williams and Liz Saville Roberts said their constituency offices in the Gwynedd towns of Caernarfon and Dolgellau respectively would be available for claimants to make such calls on the party's phones.

"It is shocking that those trying to claim universal credit face being charged for the privilege of simply speaking to someone about their claim," the MPs for Arfon and Dwyfor Meirionnydd said.
"Notwithstanding the barriers already faced by many claimants, such as spiralling debts, homelessness and evictions, charging people who are broke to find out the status of their claim is absurd.
"I hope they will drop this outrageous charge as soon as possible."
                   

On Friday, Plaid leader Leanne Wood said all the party's MPs and assembly members would allow claimants to call the helpline from their constituency offices.

"The roll-out of the universal credit has caused untold misery for the thousands of people who have already faced receiving their payments late or not at all," she said.
"The revelation that the Tory UK Government is charging people 55p a minute just to call the universal credit helpline adds insult to injury.
"People who are already suffering as a result of the Tories' botched reforms shouldn't have to face a further hit in the form of extortionate phone bills which they may not be able to afford."

Of course this would probably only help  those who live near a Plaid Constituency Office as the cost of travelling there may be too expensive for those on a tight budget. 

Plaid should be congratulated on this and if other elected members of the UK legislatures from other Parties  follow suit it could make a difference.

Meanwhile Conservative AM Mark Isherwood has written to Work and Pensions Secretary David Gauke urging him to reconsider the helpline charges.
He claimed the situation was made worse by the fact that while some people were charged for calling the English-language helpline, calls to the Welsh-language helpline on an 0800 number were free.

I don't think Mr Isherwood is making an attack on Welsh Languages services here  but  we should remember that because a wrong is being done does not mean all should suffer.