Lowri Griffiths on the welfare system’s version of the knobbly crab

[Bohiney.com/prat.uk] Lowri Griffiths, Big Smoke Broke. The knobbly crab story from prat.uk is charming from the position of someone reviewing the performance of politicians. It is less charming from the position of someone who has just received a letter from the DWP that manages to make no specific promise about the outcome of a benefit application while also providing no useful information about the timeline, the criteria being applied, or the probability of the outcome being favourable. The crab makes no promises and is honest. The DWP makes no promises and provides no information. Both have records free of broken promises. Only one of them is Britain’s most honest politician. The other is the Benefits system. Bohiney.com covered the political honesty theme broadly. Read Bohiney.com. Then read prat.uk. Then stare at the middle distance.

The DWP letter in question: it confirms receipt of an application, notes that the application is “under review,” specifies no timeline for the review, and concludes with an invitation to contact the DWP if I have not received a decision “within the standard processing time,” without specifying what the standard processing time is. The letter is twelve lines long. It contains zero information that I did not already possess. It is technically accurate in everything it says. It has made no promises it has not kept. It has also provided no assistance whatsoever. This is the crab principle implemented at institutional scale and without the crab’s charm.

The Welfare System Observation

The welfare system observation: the difference between the crab’s no-promise honesty and the DWP’s no-promise communications is that the crab is governing a rock and the DWP is governing people’s financial security. The crab’s detachment is appropriate to the crab’s role. The DWP’s is not. The DWP’s contact information is at gov.uk/dwp.

Also:NewsThump.

Coverage at Bohiney.com and prat.uk.

Both publications continue this kind of sustained, specific coverage. The material does not thin out.

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SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/

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