Government may charge those who appeal against decision to cut their benefits

People who have been stripped of benefits could be charged by the government if they appeal against the decision to an independent judge, according to an internal Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) document leaked to The Guardian.

In the document about the department’s internal finances, officials say the “introduction of a charge for people making appeals against [DWP] decisions to social security tribunals” would raise money.

Earlier this week figures showed that in the past year nearly 900,000 people have had their benefits stopped, the highest figure for any 12-month period since jobseeker’s allowance was introduced in 1996. In recent months, however, more than half (58 per cent) of those who wanted to overturn DWP sanction decisions in independent tribunals have been successful.

The justice minister, Shailesh Vara, said: “The government has made clear that reducing the deficit is our top priority. It is right that the Ministry of Justice looks at all opportunities to bring down the cost of our services to the taxpayer. We believe that it is right to consider whether those who use tribunals should make a greater contribution to their costs, where they can afford to do so.”

Rachel Reeves, shadow work and pensions secretary, said: “When the government’s own figures show a staggering 58 per cent of appeals against Department for Work and Pensions decisions to dock jobseeker's allowance are upheld, it’s clear the system is broken.

“Rather than penalising thousands of people by charging them to appeal, ministers need to ask why they are presiding over a broken system which is making so many bad decisions, which are overturned on appeal.”

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