From stigma to support: rebuilding trust in our social security system

During hard times, we would all want to be treated with dignity and respect. Like our NHS, our social security system was set up to be there for all of us. It should give us security when we're not well and confidence to find our next career move.

But Turn2us research shows that stigma embedded in our social security system is harming people’s confidence and wellbeing and pushing them towards financial crisis. It lays bare the urgent need for reform built on dignity, fairness and trust.

That’s why we’ve launched a new campaign, ‘Stop the stigma. Fix the system.’, to make sure our social security system is always there for us when we need it.

About the research

The Stigma in the System research, commissioned by Turn2us with the University of Bristol and funded by Royal London, explores how stigma (distrust and negative views of benefits and those who claim them) shapes our experiences of the UK social security system.

Using secondary data analysis, qualitative interviews and a nationally representative YouGov survey of 4,000 people, the research examines:

• how stigma is produced, reinforced and experienced in the UK social security system;
• how stigma shapes perceptions and behaviours and what this means for financial security and wellbeing;
• the impact on people who are claiming support and on those who aren’t;
• the changes needed to create a system that supports people with dignity and fairness.

Stigma in the system

Almost all of us will need the social security system at some point in our lives. It was designed to be our safety net if we become unwell, lose our jobs or face additional costs, such as when we have children. It’s there when we retire and should ensure we’re still able to meet rising living costs, support our families and live independently.

However, currently, rather than providing the support people need to get back on track, it often makes difficult times even harder.

• A culture of surveillance and the threat of sanctions are eroding trust in Jobcentre work coaches. 64 per cent of people claiming support felt the system was trying to catch them out.
• ‘Soul destroying’ personal independence payment (PIP) assessments are worsening people’s mental health and 80 per cent of PIP claimants regularly fear their vital support will be taken away.
• Frustrating processes leave people feeling ‘hopeless’. Being spoken ‘down to’ means people leave the Jobcentre feeling like children.
• Headlines of politicians describing the system as ‘unsustainable’ and talking of ‘spiralling economic inactivity’1 to justify major cuts is reducing people’s trust in the government’s intentions, deepening shame and increasing fears that support will be taken away.

Turn2us research shows how our society’s stigma has been baked into the design of the system. This means at the point when we most need support we are instead treated with suspicion and contempt. Not only is this hugely harmful to us as individuals, it also makes the system error‐prone, inefficient and ineffective.

Stigma can have a significant impact on the lives of people who do or should claim support. It may mean that people either don’t claim at all or delay making a claim because they feel ashamed, which can increase financial insecurity.

Applying for benefits can have a negative emotional impact on self‐esteem and affect both mental and physical health. 51 per cent of current claimants agreed that applying for benefits made their mental health worse.

Despite this, public attitudes show support for a fairer approach. The majority (71 per cent) believe claiming benefits should not be shameful, and 79 per cent would encourage a loved one to apply if they needed support.

What needs to change

To fix the system, we need to start with the stigma that exists throughout it.

The government has set out plans to reform employment support and health and disability benefits. And it has committed to co‐produce a review of PIP.

However, there is a real risk that the government fails to recognise the extent to which stigma is breaking down trust and pushing people further from employment and independence. And without this, reforms will fail.

Rebuilding trust, boosting confidence and treating people with dignity and respect will be critical to delivering a sustainable system that helps more people to progress and move into work.

Transforming PIP: from interrogation to dignified support

Our Stigma in the System research found the process of accessing PIP to be ‘the most problematic and unhappy part of applying for benefits’, with 64 per cent of current PIP claimants saying that the process made their mental health worse.

The application and assessment are difficult and emotionally draining. The points‐based system requires people to focus on their worst days and the most debilitating parts of their conditions. People often have extensive medical evidence, only for that to be dismissed by assessors.

This experience of suspicion and mistrust is both cruel and ineffective. 67 per cent of unsuccessful PIP claims taken to tribunal are overturned in favour of the claimant, and these delays to accessing support often lead to significant financial hardship and debt.

The government’s overarching ambition – supporting people to work – is being held back by an inefficient and unfair PIP assessment that makes people sicker and is entirely focused on proving what people cannot do.

Over the next year, the Timms Review will consider the role, criteria and scope of the PIP assessment. Turn2us has welcomed the government’s commitment to co‐producing the review with disabled people, and organisations that represent them, and we look forward to engaging in this process.

However, based on our insights from the Turn2us PIP Helper (our step‐by‐step guide to applying) and our research, there are specific issues that we recommend the Timms Review considers.

Turn2us recommends that the Timms Review considers:

• learning from Social Security Scotland and exploring where PIP can replicate the adult disability payment system, particularly around reducing the number of assessments and, where assessments are necessary, improving their quality;
• as a critical aspect of an effective assessment, how the PIP application can be made easier to complete;
• training for PIP assessors that gives them a deeper understanding of the complex interactions between disability and ill health. This would allow them to be less rigid in their assessment and make more nuanced judgements rather than being prescriptive.

Building trust in the DWP: a foundation for effective engagement

Our research shows that most people approach the DWP with significant levels of shame due to societal stigma around people claiming benefits. The language used by work coaches and assessors, and their actions, can either help overcome this internalised stigma or reinforce it. They can build confidence and allow people to succeed or contribute to worsening mental health, reduced confidence and disempowerment.

Many people – for example, those who have lost a job or those who have grown up in deep poverty – approach services carrying significant trauma. Trauma and stigma are closely interlinked. Stigma amplifies the harm of trauma and, in some cases, leads individuals to internalise negative stereotypes. This makes engaging with the DWP, as well as finding and sustaining work, significantly more challenging.

Effectively assessing the support someone needs to navigate life with a disability or health condition depends on building an understanding of their unique circumstances, support networks, goals and the barriers they face.

But right now, the lack of trust in assessors and the wider process makes open and trusting conversations impossible. People feel their assessors are trying to catch them out and actively misrepresent what happens in assessments. Security guards at Jobcentre doors, a lack of privacy, and screens between claimants and work coaches make the space feel unwelcoming and controlling.

To help people to return to employment after a setback, or progress in work, work coaches need to build people’s confidence and self‐esteem and support their future goals. The government needs to address the shortage of work coaches, as brief appointments and high workloads make it impossible to build trusting relationships with claimants.

Turn2us recommends that the DWP:

• turbocharges its Trauma‐Informed Approach Integration Programme, including rolling out in‐depth, comprehensive training for all work coaches and PIP assessors in trauma‐informed conversations by the end of 2026.
• reforms Jobcentres and delivers wider employment support in welcoming, community‐oriented spaces that prioritise personal support and build trust.
• increases the duration of work coach appointments to allow meaningful relationships to be built, and to give work coaches the time to understand individual barriers to work and provide tailored support.

Ending surveillance: boosting confidence and hope

A constant focus on surveillance and threat of punishment in our benefits system has not worked. Prescriptive conditionality (what individuals need to do as a condition of receiving their benefit) and sanctions treat people like children, reducing confidence and pushing people into financial crisis.

Furthermore, this approach does not lead to better employment outcomes. The number of people moving into employment does not increase as a result of sanctions, which tend to push people towards lower‐paying work.

While there should be consequences for completely refusing to engage, most people want to work. There is no evidence that people who can work don't want to, and the assumption that they don't is unhelpful to building trust and confidence.

The Jobcentre’s constant focus on checking that people are meeting conditionality means the threat of financial sanctions hangs over every engagement. This is demoralising, increases people’s fear of the DWP and reduces their trust in work coaches.

As the government rolls out more employment support, it risks failing to learn from the mistakes of past governments by relying on infantilising and prescriptive conditionality. Instead, we urge the government to focus on voluntary engagement by promoting genuinely useful employment support and rebuilding trust.

Turn2us recommends that the DWP:

• adopts the New Economic Foundation’s proposal to promote voluntary engagement for the first three months of a new claim, with the focus on building relationships and co‐producing a plan. After that initial period, if there is no evidence of a claimant’s activity or process, a review should take place to explore barriers and decide if more prescriptive conditionality is required. If these requirements are still not met, a warning and a final review should take place before financial sanctions are imposed.

How we talk about our social security system

Politicians, the government and the media need to change the way they talk about our social security system. Almost all of us will need the system at some point in our lives, and our research found that 71 per cent of the public agrees that no one should feel ashamed for accessing the support they need.2 Yet, 68 per cent of claimants do.

This deeply embedded view comes from the narratives driven by politicians that demonise any spending on social security. Talk of ‘cracking down’ on inactivity and ‘benefit cheats’ pushes harmful misconceptions of widespread fraud or laziness. This not only leads to isolating shame but also drives mistrust in the DWP and undermines the government’s intentions for reform.

We urge parliamentarians to ensure the language they choose helps to build understanding about the role of our social security system and avoids fuelling harmful misconceptions and stigma. We recommend they refer to our Talking About Social Security guide.3

Building a system we can all be proud of

Stigma towards people claiming support and distrust of the DWP make it impossible for our social security system to operate effectively or efficiently.

Cuts to an already inadequate system, or combining increased employment support with prescriptive conditionality, would ignore the lessons of the last 15 years. When the government justifies cuts by speaking of ‘spiralling inactivity’ and ‘fairness to taxpayers’, it risks further embedding the stigma, distrust and fear that has broken our system.

In contrast, by investing in frontline staff, Jobcentres and assessments, the system can be transformed into one that supports and enables people to get on with their lives.

This will mean the system is able to both properly protect those who are unable to work and ensure those who can work are more quickly supported into careers that meet their individual goals and ambitions.

By centring reforms around building trust and treating people with dignity and respect, the government has an opportunity to build a system we can all be proud of.