The DWP has entered a legally binding agreement with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to improve support for deaf claimants accessing its services by telephone.
In the agreement, the DWP has committed to an action plan to address the problems these complaints identified.
The action plan commits DWP to:
Provide a Video Relay Service (VRS) across telephony services for all benefits and services. VRS enables deaf users to contact DWP via video relay using an interpreter;
Ensure customers can easily locate what they need in order to request information in alternative accessible formats;
Improve their customer information system so disabled people’s communication needs are recorded and shared;
Improve the use of Equality Analysis in the design and delivery of all changes.
The EHRC will monitor DWP’s action plan on a monthly basis to ensure the agreed steps have been completed.
For more information see - https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/our-work/news/dwp-enters-legal-agreement-improve-services-deaf-customers