universal credit journal explicit consent

Date: 1 March 2017

Dear Glenys Harriman,

Thank you for your Freedom of Information request received on 10 February
2017. You asked:

1. Can you provide the guidance and/or legislation that allows the claimant to give explicit consent in their journal for a specific representative to help them
with a specific matter without the need for the claimant to be present when that representative then contacts the service centre regarding that matter.

2. We have heard that some service centre staff are refusing to look on the claimant's journal without verbal consent from the claimant at the time of request - please provide the guidance that confirms that such verbal consent from the claimant is required. Alternatively, if this does not exist please could you provide the guidance and/or legislation that states DWP staff CAN check for explicit consent in the claimant's journal without their verbal consent.

3. Where the claimant has given explicit consent for a matter to be discussed with a representative who works for their social landlord, we are assuming
that there will be no restriction on what this matter is - ie that it is not restricted to just housing related issues. Please provide the guidance and/or legislation
that states if there are any matters that can only be discussed with certain representatives even where the claimant has provided explicit consent for this
matter to be discussed with them; alternatively provide the guidance that confirms that there are no such restrictions.