Investigations into complaints about the Department for Work and Pensions are being hit by 18 months of delay, Freedom of Information (FoI) data has revealed.
Official figures also show that about two thirds of investigations are then not being cleared within a 20-week target.
Complaints to Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) organisations can cover issues around poor customer service, excessive delays or a failure to follow proper procedures.
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The Independent Case Examiner (ICE) acts as an impartial referee for people who feel they have been treated unfairly or who are unhappy with how a complaint has been dealt with by a DWP business or agency.
This includes the Child Support Agency, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS), Jobcentre Plus, the Disability and Carers Service or the Pension Service.
1/50 1 February 2020
Activists attend an anti-Conservative government, pro-Scottish independence, and anti-Brexit demonstration outside Holyrood, the seat of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh
AFP via Getty
2/50 31 January 2020
Pro EU supporters display a banner ‘ Here to Stay, Here to Fight, Migrants In, Tories Out’ from Westminster bridge in front of the Houses of Parliament in London. Britain officially exits the EU on 31 January, beginning an eleven month transition period
EPA
3/50 30 January 2020
Kiko the 2-year-old British Bulldog skateboarding with his owner, Ebel Perez, from Shiremoor, North Tyneside
PA
4/50 29 January 2020
British MEP’s and their assistants along with members of the political group Socialist and Democrats at a ceremony prior to the vote on the UK’s withdrawal from the EU at the European Parliament in Brussels
AP
5/50 28 January 2020
Torches are lit using a flare ahead of the Up Helly Aa Viking festival. Originating in the 1880s, the festival celebrates Shetland’s Norse heritage
PA
6/50 27 January 2020
England bowler Mark Wood is lifted aloft by Joe Root after taking the final wicket of South Africa to win the match and series during day four of the Fourth Test at Wanderers in Johannesburg
Getty
7/50 26 January 2020
Performers taking part in a parade involving costumes, lion dances and floats, during Chinese New Year celebrations in central London, which marks the Year of the Rat
PA
8/50 25 January 2020
A couple walks along the Basingstoke canal near to Dogmersfield in Hampshire
PA
9/50 24 January 2020
Boris Johnson gestures as he watches a performance during celebrations for Chinese Lunar New Year at Downing Street in London
Reuters
10/50 23 January 2020
Gabriella Zaghari-Ratcliffe stands next to her father Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and his mother Barbara, as they address the media in Downing Street following a meeting with Prime Minister Boris Johnson
PA
11/50 22 January 2020
Rosa Connolly takes a close look during a preview of the Tyrannosaurs exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh
PA
12/50 21 January 2020
The sun sets behind tower cranes and the London skyline in the city financial district
PA
13/50 20 January 2020
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, speaks with Prime Minister Boris Johnson as they attend the UK-Africa Investment Summit at the Intercontinental Hotel in London. Johnson is hosting African leaders and senior government representatives along with British and African businesses during the UK-Africa Investment Summit, aimed at strengthening the UKs economic partnership with African nations
Getty
14/50 19 January 2020
Joe Root celebrates with his England team mates after taking the wicket of Rassie van der Dussen during day four of the third Test against South Africa in Port Elizabeth. He took a career-best four wickets during the day’s play, which saw the home side follow on in their second innings. They trail England by 188 runs going into day five
Getty
15/50 18 January 2020
Drag queens pose on the pink carpet as they participate in the “Queen’s Walk” during RuPaul’s DragCon UK at Kensington Olympia
AFP via Getty
16/50 17 January 2020
Kitty Ross, curator of social history, is pictured reflected in a display cabinet while holding a skeleton violin from the 1880s that forms part of the Sounds of our City exhibition at the Abbey House Museum in Leeds
PA
17/50 16 January 2020
Britain’s Harry, Duke of Sussex (C), hosts the Rugby League World Cup 2021 draw in the gardens of Buckingham Palace in London, Britain, 16 Ja​nuary 2020. The Duke, who is expected to step back from senior Royal duties, spoke with Ruby League ambassadors and children from St Vincent de Paul Catholic Primary School in London
EPA
18/50 15 January 2020
Vehicles negotiate the flooded B4069 road at Christian Malford in Wiltshire after the river Avon burst its banks
PA
19/50 14 January 2020
Huge waves hit the sea wall in Porthcawl, Wales, as gales of up to 80mph from Storm Brendan caused disruption around the UK
PA
20/50 13 January 2020
Puppeteers from Vision Mechanic rehearsing with Scotland’s largest puppet, a ten-metre tall sea goddess called Storm, in the grounds of the Museum of Flight, East Lothian. Made entirely from recycled materials, it was unveiled ahead of its debut at the Celtic Connections Costal Day celebrations in Glasgow this weekend
PA
21/50 12 January 2020
A windsurfer jumps in the air after hitting a wave in the sea off of West Wittering beach in West Sussex
PA
22/50 11 January 2020
Mikuru Suzuki celebrates winning the women’s championship of the BDO World Professional Darts Championships 2020 in London
PA
23/50 10 January 2020
One of seven new lion cubs at the West Midlands Safari Park in Kidderminster
PA
24/50 9 January 2020
Rawson Robinson, from Nenthead, on the Cumbria and Northumberland border clears snow from the model village he has built in his garden
PA
25/50 8 January 2020
People read messages written on the David Bowie mural in Brixton, south London, on what would have been the singer’s 73rd birthday
PA
26/50 7 January 2020
England’s Stuart Broad celebrates with teammate Ben Stokes after the dismissal of South Africa’s Rassie van der Dussen during the fifth day of the second Test cricket match in Cape Town. Stokes claimed the last three wickets in the space of 14 deliveries to wrap up a 189-run win
AFP via Getty
27/50 6 January 2020
Protesters in London take part in a demonstration in support of a British woman found guilty of lying about being gang raped in Cyprus
AP
28/50 5 January 2020
Protesters demonstrate outside the US Embassy in London, after America killed Iran’s general Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike at Baghdad’s international airport
PA
29/50 4 January 2020
Metropolitan police cordon off Charteris Road close to the junction with Lennox Road in Finsbury Park in north London, after a man was stabbed to death on Friday evening, the first murder in London in 2020
PA
30/50 3 January 2020
Protesters, holding a photograph of the leader of the People’s Mujahedin of Iran Massoud Rajavi, outside Downing Street in London after the US killed General Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike at Baghdad’s international airport. Soleimani was head of Tehran’s elite Quds Force and Iran’s top general
PA
31/50 2 January 2020
A keeper counts squirrel-monkeys at London Zoo during the annual stocktake. Caring for more than 500 different species, ZSL London Zoo’s keepers face the challenging task of tallying up every mammal, bird, reptile, fish and invertebrate at the Zoo
AP
32/50 1 January 2020
Peter Wright celebrates winning with the Sid Waddell trophy at the Darts World Championships in London. He stunned Michael van Gerwen to clinch his first title 7-3
PA
33/50 31 December 2019
Surfers at Tynemouth on the north east coast
PA
34/50 30 December 2019
Deer graze in the morning mist as cyclists ride by in Richmond Park, London
Reuters
35/50 29 December 2019
Night sky after the sunset at Whitley Bay in Northumberland
PA
36/50 28 December 2019
The Harlequins players arrive at the stadium prior to the Gallagher Premiership Rugby Big Game 12 match between Harlequins and Leicester Tigers at Twickenahm Stadium
Getty Images for Harlequins
37/50 27 December 2019
A car drives through floodwater near Harbridge, north of Ringwood in Hampshire, after the river Avon burst its banks
PA
38/50 26 December 2019
Participants in the Old Surrey and West Kent Boxing Day Hunt in Chiddingstone. Hunting with horses and hounds is a Boxing Day tradition. Since the fox hunting ban in 2004, modified hunts take place using scented trails for the animals to follow
EPA
39/50 25 December 2019
Swimmers of the Serpentine Swimming Club take part in the Peter Pan Cup race, which is held every Christmas Day at the Serpentine, in central London
PA
40/50 24 December 2019
Shoppers bid for cuts of meat during a Christmas Eve auction in Smithfield market in London
EPA
41/50 23 December 2019
Reggie the dog is rescued with a boat from flooding at the Little Venice Country Park and Marina in Maidstone
AFP via Getty
42/50 22 December 2019
People gather at Stonehenge in Wiltshire to mark the winter solstice, and to witness the sunrise after the longest night of the year
PA
43/50 21 December 2019
Southampton’s Jack Stephens scores their second goal against Aston Villa
Reuters
44/50 20 December 2019
The coffin arrives for the funeral of London Bridge terror attack victim Jack Merritt at Great St Mary’s Church in Cambridge
PA
45/50 19 December 2019
Queen Elizabeth II and her son Prince Charles walk behind the Imperial State Crown as they proccess through the Royal Gallery, before the Queen’s Speech, during the State Opening of Parliament
AFP via Getty
46/50 18 December 2019
Luke Jerram’s art installation ‘Gaia’, a replica of planet earth created using detailed Nasa imagery of the Earth’s surface, hangs on display at the Eden Project in St Austell, Cornwall
PA
47/50 17 December 2019
A surfer gets into the festive spirit at the inland surfing lagoon at The Wave, near Bristol
PA
48/50 16 December 2019
Snowy conditions near Deepdale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park as snow hits parts of the UK
PA
49/50 15 December 2019
Oisin Carson, 5, picks a Christmas tree at Wicklow Way Christmas tree farm in Roundwood
PA
50/50 14 December 2019
First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, takes a selfie as she joins the SNPs newly elected MPs for a group photo outside the V&A Museum in Dundee, Scotland
Getty Images
1/50 1 February 2020
Activists attend an anti-Conservative government, pro-Scottish independence, and anti-Brexit demonstration outside Holyrood, the seat of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh
AFP via Getty
2/50 31 January 2020
Pro EU supporters display a banner ‘ Here to Stay, Here to Fight, Migrants In, Tories Out’ from Westminster bridge in front of the Houses of Parliament in London. Britain officially exits the EU on 31 January, beginning an eleven month transition period
EPA
3/50 30 January 2020
Kiko the 2-year-old British Bulldog skateboarding with his owner, Ebel Perez, from Shiremoor, North Tyneside
PA
4/50 29 January 2020
British MEP’s and their assistants along with members of the political group Socialist and Democrats at a ceremony prior to the vote on the UK’s withdrawal from the EU at the European Parliament in Brussels
AP
5/50 28 January 2020
Torches are lit using a flare ahead of the Up Helly Aa Viking festival. Originating in the 1880s, the festival celebrates Shetland’s Norse heritage
PA
6/50 27 January 2020
England bowler Mark Wood is lifted aloft by Joe Root after taking the final wicket of South Africa to win the match and series during day four of the Fourth Test at Wanderers in Johannesburg
Getty
7/50 26 January 2020
Performers taking part in a parade involving costumes, lion dances and floats, during Chinese New Year celebrations in central London, which marks the Year of the Rat
PA
8/50 25 January 2020
A couple walks along the Basingstoke canal near to Dogmersfield in Hampshire
PA
9/50 24 January 2020
Boris Johnson gestures as he watches a performance during celebrations for Chinese Lunar New Year at Downing Street in London
Reuters
10/50 23 January 2020
Gabriella Zaghari-Ratcliffe stands next to her father Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and his mother Barbara, as they address the media in Downing Street following a meeting with Prime Minister Boris Johnson
PA
11/50 22 January 2020
Rosa Connolly takes a close look during a preview of the Tyrannosaurs exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh
PA
12/50 21 January 2020
The sun sets behind tower cranes and the London skyline in the city financial district
PA
13/50 20 January 2020
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, speaks with Prime Minister Boris Johnson as they attend the UK-Africa Investment Summit at the Intercontinental Hotel in London. Johnson is hosting African leaders and senior government representatives along with British and African businesses during the UK-Africa Investment Summit, aimed at strengthening the UKs economic partnership with African nations
Getty
14/50 19 January 2020
Joe Root celebrates with his England team mates after taking the wicket of Rassie van der Dussen during day four of the third Test against South Africa in Port Elizabeth. He took a career-best four wickets during the day’s play, which saw the home side follow on in their second innings. They trail England by 188 runs going into day five
Getty
15/50 18 January 2020
Drag queens pose on the pink carpet as they participate in the “Queen’s Walk” during RuPaul’s DragCon UK at Kensington Olympia
AFP via Getty
16/50 17 January 2020
Kitty Ross, curator of social history, is pictured reflected in a display cabinet while holding a skeleton violin from the 1880s that forms part of the Sounds of our City exhibition at the Abbey House Museum in Leeds
PA
17/50 16 January 2020
Britain’s Harry, Duke of Sussex (C), hosts the Rugby League World Cup 2021 draw in the gardens of Buckingham Palace in London, Britain, 16 Ja​nuary 2020. The Duke, who is expected to step back from senior Royal duties, spoke with Ruby League ambassadors and children from St Vincent de Paul Catholic Primary School in London
EPA
18/50 15 January 2020
Vehicles negotiate the flooded B4069 road at Christian Malford in Wiltshire after the river Avon burst its banks
PA
19/50 14 January 2020
Huge waves hit the sea wall in Porthcawl, Wales, as gales of up to 80mph from Storm Brendan caused disruption around the UK
PA
20/50 13 January 2020
Puppeteers from Vision Mechanic rehearsing with Scotland’s largest puppet, a ten-metre tall sea goddess called Storm, in the grounds of the Museum of Flight, East Lothian. Made entirely from recycled materials, it was unveiled ahead of its debut at the Celtic Connections Costal Day celebrations in Glasgow this weekend
PA
21/50 12 January 2020
A windsurfer jumps in the air after hitting a wave in the sea off of West Wittering beach in West Sussex
PA
22/50 11 January 2020
Mikuru Suzuki celebrates winning the women’s championship of the BDO World Professional Darts Championships 2020 in London
PA
23/50 10 January 2020
One of seven new lion cubs at the West Midlands Safari Park in Kidderminster
PA
24/50 9 January 2020
Rawson Robinson, from Nenthead, on the Cumbria and Northumberland border clears snow from the model village he has built in his garden
PA
25/50 8 January 2020
People read messages written on the David Bowie mural in Brixton, south London, on what would have been the singer’s 73rd birthday
PA
26/50 7 January 2020
England’s Stuart Broad celebrates with teammate Ben Stokes after the dismissal of South Africa’s Rassie van der Dussen during the fifth day of the second Test cricket match in Cape Town. Stokes claimed the last three wickets in the space of 14 deliveries to wrap up a 189-run win
AFP via Getty
27/50 6 January 2020
Protesters in London take part in a demonstration in support of a British woman found guilty of lying about being gang raped in Cyprus
AP
28/50 5 January 2020
Protesters demonstrate outside the US Embassy in London, after America killed Iran’s general Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike at Baghdad’s international airport
PA
29/50 4 January 2020
Metropolitan police cordon off Charteris Road close to the junction with Lennox Road in Finsbury Park in north London, after a man was stabbed to death on Friday evening, the first murder in London in 2020
PA
30/50 3 January 2020
Protesters, holding a photograph of the leader of the People’s Mujahedin of Iran Massoud Rajavi, outside Downing Street in London after the US killed General Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike at Baghdad’s international airport. Soleimani was head of Tehran’s elite Quds Force and Iran’s top general
PA
31/50 2 January 2020
A keeper counts squirrel-monkeys at London Zoo during the annual stocktake. Caring for more than 500 different species, ZSL London Zoo’s keepers face the challenging task of tallying up every mammal, bird, reptile, fish and invertebrate at the Zoo
AP
32/50 1 January 2020
Peter Wright celebrates winning with the Sid Waddell trophy at the Darts World Championships in London. He stunned Michael van Gerwen to clinch his first title 7-3
PA
33/50 31 December 2019
Surfers at Tynemouth on the north east coast
PA
34/50 30 December 2019
Deer graze in the morning mist as cyclists ride by in Richmond Park, London
Reuters
35/50 29 December 2019
Night sky after the sunset at Whitley Bay in Northumberland
PA
36/50 28 December 2019
The Harlequins players arrive at the stadium prior to the Gallagher Premiership Rugby Big Game 12 match between Harlequins and Leicester Tigers at Twickenahm Stadium
Getty Images for Harlequins
37/50 27 December 2019
A car drives through floodwater near Harbridge, north of Ringwood in Hampshire, after the river Avon burst its banks
PA
38/50 26 December 2019
Participants in the Old Surrey and West Kent Boxing Day Hunt in Chiddingstone. Hunting with horses and hounds is a Boxing Day tradition. Since the fox hunting ban in 2004, modified hunts take place using scented trails for the animals to follow
EPA
39/50 25 December 2019
Swimmers of the Serpentine Swimming Club take part in the Peter Pan Cup race, which is held every Christmas Day at the Serpentine, in central London
PA
40/50 24 December 2019
Shoppers bid for cuts of meat during a Christmas Eve auction in Smithfield market in London
EPA
41/50 23 December 2019
Reggie the dog is rescued with a boat from flooding at the Little Venice Country Park and Marina in Maidstone
AFP via Getty
42/50 22 December 2019
People gather at Stonehenge in Wiltshire to mark the winter solstice, and to witness the sunrise after the longest night of the year
PA
43/50 21 December 2019
Southampton’s Jack Stephens scores their second goal against Aston Villa
Reuters
44/50 20 December 2019
The coffin arrives for the funeral of London Bridge terror attack victim Jack Merritt at Great St Mary’s Church in Cambridge
PA
45/50 19 December 2019
Queen Elizabeth II and her son Prince Charles walk behind the Imperial State Crown as they proccess through the Royal Gallery, before the Queen’s Speech, during the State Opening of Parliament
AFP via Getty
46/50 18 December 2019
Luke Jerram’s art installation ‘Gaia’, a replica of planet earth created using detailed Nasa imagery of the Earth’s surface, hangs on display at the Eden Project in St Austell, Cornwall
PA
47/50 17 December 2019
A surfer gets into the festive spirit at the inland surfing lagoon at The Wave, near Bristol
PA
48/50 16 December 2019
Snowy conditions near Deepdale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park as snow hits parts of the UK
PA
49/50 15 December 2019
Oisin Carson, 5, picks a Christmas tree at Wicklow Way Christmas tree farm in Roundwood
PA
50/50 14 December 2019
First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, takes a selfie as she joins the SNPs newly elected MPs for a group photo outside the V&A Museum in Dundee, Scotland
Getty Images
ICE, a free service, will only consider a complaint once the complaints procedure has concluded with the original organisation.
But FoI data requested by BBC Radio 4’s Money Box programme has revealed that there is a delay of 18 months between an ICE investigation being accepted and subsequently opened.
According to ICE standards data published online, only around a third of cases (35 per cent) from 1 April to 31 December last year were cleared within 20 weeks of an investigation being started.
The BBC reported that one man, named as Alan, was still waiting for a complaint about CMS that he first lodged in November 2017 to be resolved.
He claimed the CMS took thousands of pounds of a redundancy payment from his bank account, with the subsequent dispute, which he expects to take nearly four years in total to resolve, impacting on his mental health.
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Alan branded the delays as “atrocious” and “symptomatic of a department that doesn’t take its obligations to people it is dealing with seriously”.
A DWP spokesman said: “We want to make sure people can get the support they are entitled to if they have been treated unfairly, and understand the impact that waiting for an investigation can have on people and their families.
“We are hiring and training new staff as quickly as we can, and cleared more complaints last year than in 2017/18.
“The vast majority of complainants are satisfied with the service they receive.”
Press Association
