Independent Case Examiner for the Department of Communities (NI): annual report 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026
Published 24 September 2026
Applies to Northern Ireland
© Crown copyright 2026
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-for-communities-ni-complaints-annual-report-by-the-independent-case-examiner-2025-to-2026/independent-case-examiner-for-the-department-of-communities-ni-annual-report-1-april-2025-to-31-march-2026
The Department for Communities (DfC) administers and provides guidance on a range of social security benefits and pensions to the people of Northern Ireland and has contracts with private organisations to deliver some services on their behalf, most notably health assessments. In the event that the customer is dissatisfied, the DfC will provide a final response, and then the customer can bring their complaint to my office.
This reporting year, we completed work on 6 cases of varying nature, including delays in taking appropriate actions, evidence not being considered and correspondence or complaint handling.
Statistical Information 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026
Complaints received
The number of complaints received and accepted for examination, during the reporting period are detailed below:
| Outcome | Number of cases |
|---|---|
| Received | 11 |
| Accepted | 7 |
Case clearances
The table below details the number of cases cleared during the reporting period.
| Outcome | Number of cases |
|---|---|
| Withdrawn | 2 |
| Settlement | 0 |
| Investigation Report from the ICE | 6 |
| Total | 8 |
Outcomes
ICE investigation report findings are detailed below.
| Outcome | Number of cases |
|---|---|
| Fully upheld | 1 |
| Partially upheld | 1 |
| Not upheld | 4 |
| Total | 6 |
Live caseload
As at 31 March 2026 there were 3 cases outstanding (2 awaiting a gateway decision and 1 awaiting investigation).
Child Maintenance Service
Context
The CMS (formerly known as the Child Support Agency and latterly the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Division) operates within the same legislative framework as the Child Maintenance Group in other parts of the United Kingdom. It also administers Child Support applications originating from some parts of England.
The 2012 Child Maintenance scheme was introduced in November 2013 – there are differences in the administration of this scheme to earlier versions, most notably the introduction of charges for both parties if the collection service is used – paying parents pay an amount in addition to their maintenance liability and receiving parents receive a reduced amount of maintenance.
This reporting year, we completed work on 6 cases of varying nature, including delays in taking appropriate actions and correspondence / complaint handling.
Statistical Information 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026
Complaints Received
Complaints received and accepted during the period are given in the table below:
| Outcome | Number of cases |
|---|---|
| Received | 7 |
| Accepted | 4 |
Case Clearances
The table below details the number of cases cleared during the reporting period.
| Outcome | Number of cases |
|---|---|
| Settlement | 1 |
| Investigation Report from the ICE | 5 |
| Total | 6 |
Outcomes
ICE investigation report findings are detailed below.
| Outcome | Number of cases |
|---|---|
| Fully upheld | 2 |
| Partially upheld | 2 |
| Not upheld | 1 |
| Total | 5 |
Live caseload:
As at 31 March 2026, there was 1 case outstanding which was in investigation.
The Independent Case Examiner (ICE) Service
Our Purpose
We provide an independent review service for customers of the DfC and organisations delivering contracted DfC services (for example those providing work programmes or health assessments).
Our main objectives are:
-
to deliver a tailored service to people bringing complaints to us and make fair evidence-based decisions
-
to influence DfC service improvements by providing valuable insight from what we see
Our Mission
To investigate complaints thoroughly ensuring rules, guidance, and standards have been applied correctly and fairly, based on evidence from both sides. We explain things clearly, so people understand our decisions.
Our Vision
To continue delivering a high-quality complaint handling service which adapts and improves and which shapes DfC services improvements by helping them learn from complaints.
Our approach to Casework in 2025 to 2026
When we receive a complaint, we first establish if we can accept it for examination; the complaint must be about maladministration (service failure) and the customer must have had a final response to their complaint from the relevant DWP business within the last 6 months.
Withdrawn Cases
Complaints can be withdrawn for several reasons. For example, some customers decide to withdraw their complaint when we explain the appeal route for legislative decisions. Occasionally people also withdraw their complaint because the business addresses their concerns after they came to us.
Investigations
The complaint is allocated to an investigator who examines the facts of the case and establishes if the business complained about fairly and consistently applied its published standards. During their examination the investigator will contact customers to ask for information.
If a complaint could be settled
After reviewing the evidence, the Investigator may have been able to agree actions between the customer and the business that satisfied the customer that their complaint had been settled. We would only settle a complaint with a customer’s full agreement. Once they’ve given that, the Investigator would confirm the agreed action in writing and explain when that would be completed.
If a complaint could not be settled
If the Investigator was unable to settle the complaint, they would conduct an investigation and reach a decision on the complaint. There are a number of possible outcomes from an investigation. Where we find that the complaint has merit which wasn’t properly recognised before it was escalated to the Independent Case Examiner’s Office, we’ll recommend appropriate redress (for example an apology, corrective actions and/or a consolatory payment).
If we find there were service failures or errors by the Business which were put right before the complaint was brought to us, we’ll explain what went wrong and how we have seen things were put right.
Where we find that the Business handled a case as we would expect to see, we’ll explain why no fault or error was found.
We will send the customer a report which tells them the outcome, timescales for any recommended actions, and what to do next.