A squabble that only hurts the vulnerable

THAT people in need of illness benefit should be deprived of their vital payments due to a bureaucratic spat between GPs and the Department for Social Protection is frankly outrageous.

That the hiatus in payments has been going on since the beginning of this month and looks set to continue, at a time when parents are already stretched financially with additional back-to-school costs, suggests a need for greater urgency, at the very least.

Worryingly, the row seems to be over new illness benefit claim forms, which some GPs are refusing to use, resorting instead to the original forms that have been in existence for some years. While the department is validating payments claimed by way of the old forms, their continued usage is, officials say, causing significant delays in the payment process.

Adding more fuel to the flames is the fact that the civil servants who deal with this particular benefits area are threatening industrial action, saying they have suffered abuse from distressed claimants.

The GPs in question may well have valid concerns over the specifics of this operational change but the reality is that the old forms are not compatible with the department’s new operation – and so any claims presented in that format have to be entered manually into the system.

People who have been assessed and judged to be valid recipients of illness benefit are entitled to be paid the benefit that they are due.

Moreover, they are entitled to be paid it on time.

This spat between the department and the GPs has the potential for hugely negative knock-on effects for many people. Most financial outgoings are not moveable payments – the money goes out on the same date every week or every month. So when vital money is not coming in on the due date, financial mayhem may well ensue.

That people are continuing to suffer because this dispute is dragging on is simply not acceptable. It needs to be sorted out immediately.