Just fill in the form

I picked up the latest publication from the Institute of Fiscal Studies this morning. It is a look at how we might best measure the cost of claiming benefits to help policy makers design a better benefit system (in other words one which helps claimants without giving them vast costs in making the claim in the first place).

But what interested me most were some of the appendices.

Annex 2 is a report by a CAB adviser in 2008 about how to claim a crisis loan if, for example, your only form of household heating breaks down.

In a nutshell, you go to any of the local offices you might think of (Job centre, DWP offices or websites) and they give you an 0800 number to call.

If you persist long enough (the adviser had to call 18 times in succession before getting through and was cut off on the previous 17 calls because there was no-one available to answer the call), you are told that the claim form will be sent to you in the post.

There is a happier end to the story. If you go to http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/JCP/Customers/WorkingAgeBenefits/Dev_013949.xml.html , you can now download a form directly, without sitting on the phone for days waiting to get through.

I have not tried the other methods to find out if you get help straight away or are still put through this sort of ordeal.