RNIB comment on the successful legal challenge into unfair policies and practices by the DWP

Dominic Milne, RNIB Legal Rights Officer said:

“We are delighted that, as a result of this judicial review, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has agreed to change its policy of cold-calling vulnerable and disabled people and trying to persuade them to accept lower benefit claims than they are legally entitled to.

“RNIB has been supporting this case for the last two years, providing detailed statements and more than 50 case studies. Many of the people we spoke to had received these calls directly from DWP and were offered lower amounts than they were legally entitled to, with many feeling huge pressure to accept the offered amount.

“We are pleased that the DWP has agreed to re-write their policies and guidance, and will retrain DWP officials. We hope that this will go some way to improving the benefit claiming process for blind and partially sighted people.”