DWP targeting strategy exposed - when scaring the innocent becomes the easy option

And so we discover that the Department of Work and Pensions had secret targets for the number of benefits claimants to be referred for sanctions, after the issuance of denials that such targets existed. Of course, the Department is run by evil Conservatives, under the leadership of Iain Duncan-Smith, so naturally such behaviour would be encouraged. Except that the targeting started in 2009, when the Government was run by the Labour Party...

I have been consistent in my view that targets distort behaviour, and if ever there was an example that proves the rule, this is it. If staff are instructed that there are targets, and that they risk sanctions if they don't meet them, they will obviously look to protect themselves first, and pick the 'low-hanging fruit'. That means finding those who are most easily dissuaded from claiming, often the most vulnerable because, after all, if you're improperly claiming benefits, there is an element of subterfuge in place already.

I was talking to someone yesterday, who takes a keen interest in issues surrounding the mandatory medical assessment of incapacity benefit claimants. He pointed out that for those who would like to work but genuinely can't, the idea of being told that they might risk losing the very benefits that enable them to live with a little dignity generates real fear. And yet, if you genuinely want to remove illegitimate claims from the system, you do need to be a little more assertive.

As a result, in theory the public want to see 'benefit scroungers' caught and punished, yet they are squeamish about the notion that genuinely ill people might suffer from intrusive and undignified examinations. After all, we probably all know someone who is a legitimate claimant, a friend, a family member, perhaps. We wouldn't want them to experience that fear of being falsely accused of fraud.

I have noticed that there are those who attack this Government for wanting to crack down on the vulnerable and the disabled, yet the current policy is a leftover from the dying convulsions of a Labour administration. Right concern, wrong scapegoat.

There is no doubt that this Government needs to wear its compassion on its sleeve, and a good place to start would be to make the medical assessment more transparent and better resourced. Yes, we need to catch the benefit cheats, but we need to ensure that, in a hurry to do so, that we don't sweep up the innocent with the guilty. That means no rushed assessments, it means that those assessments are genuinely independent.

So, I urge Iain Duncan-Smith to announce that the targets will be dropped, and that he will personally ensure that those responsible for setting them are exposed and, if appropriate, punished. A little less rhetoric in terms of intended savings might help too...