The Department for Work and Pensions' bland response to my colleague Gary Vaux's claims about young people being misinformed about benefits by Jobcentre staff cannot go unanswered (CYP Now, 14-20 November). To claim that the correct guidance is being followed is a fantasy.
I sit on a Jobcentre Plus customer representative forum in my capacity as a social security adviser to the Local Government Association and these issues have been raised at every meeting for the past 18 months.
The problem is much wider than just severe hardship payments, however. Young people are routinely misadvised about their entitlement to mainstream income support.
Advisers are told interim payments cannot be claimed where benefit is delayed more than 14 days and that advance claims don't exist.
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