Our exceptional civil servants however have stepped up
to and met the challenges of this unprecedented time head
on.
"Last week, there was a significant moment in our fight against
this terrible virus, as the alert level was lowered by our
chief medical officers.
As they have said, this does not mean the pandemic is over –
far from it. But it is a welcome sign and shows that the
collective sacrifice you, the British people, have made and are
continuing to make is turning the tide on this assailant.
As such, this milestone lends itself to reflection – and I want
to take the opportunity to pay tribute to the fine work of my
Department in supporting those in need through these arduous
times, something that has been overlooked by many who have
criticised the Government’s, and in particular Civil Servants’,
response to Coronavirus.
Because it’s all too easy to fall into the trap of being
constantly critical, throwing stones from the outside and
casting aspersions on Civil Servants who cannot publicly answer
you back.
So let’s examine DWP’s response to the current pandemic. No
welfare system in the world is designed to cope with such a
seismic public health emergency, requiring the government to
introduce extensive restrictions in order to protect life.
A rapid response on a huge scale was required and the team
delivered. We continue to do so.
A crisis contingency plan – drawn up in anticipation of an
almost unimaginable scenario such as this - was swiftly
enacted. Systems were streamlined. Staff were redeployed. Ways
of working were overhauled. IT was dispatched. All within the
space of a few days. And thanks to dedicated civil servants
working day and night to make it possible.
So effective were the changes that, despite unprecedented
volumes, we were able to improve the service we were offering;
moving to a ‘don’t call us, we’ll call you’ model if we needed
further information to process a claim. We even increased the
number of claims we paid in full and on time - setting a new
record rate.
Thousands of my civil servants switched seamlessly from their
day jobs to entirely unfamiliar roles in order to make this
happen. Overwhelmingly, they did so without fuss, but with the
same solemn sense of duty that led them into public service in
the first place.
Their selfless, positive attitude has helped extend the welfare
safety net to many families since the start of lockdown, as
over 2.4 million households claimed benefits - many for the
first time. Almost a million advance payments have arrived in
the bank accounts of those in most urgent need within days of a
request, due to this dedication.
I know these Herculean efforts are far from unique to my
Department, but instead are a recognisable trait across
Whitehall. Look at the extraordinary effort to get the
Nightingale hospitals up and running in next to no time. Or
take HMRC designing an entirely new infrastructure to implement
the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and the Coronavirus
Job Retention Scheme – thought up and stood up in a matter of
weeks.
With the alert level moving in the right direction and lockdown
carefully, gradually easing, we are starting to think about the
next phase – about the invigorating challenge of getting
Britain back into work. Of helping those who have lost jobs or
hours to resume or revive their employment, and levelling up
across the country.
Like every other country experiencing this emergency, we will
look to learn from this experience. Our exceptional civil
servants however have stepped up to and met the challenges of
this unprecedented time head on, and I know we can all rely on
them to deliver as we rebuild and renew Britain."
Thérèse Coffey, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
This article was published in the Daily Telegraph on 22 June
2020.
