Sky has become the first national broadband provider to join an initiative making it easier for people who claim benefits to get discounted tariffs. Switching to a "social tariff" could save claimants up to £180 a year, the DWP says.
The scheme gives automatic verification - meaning claimants do not have to repeatedly prove their benefit claim status to access discounted broadband and mobile tariffs. It was introduced last summer and lets internet service providers – with claimants’ permission – to ask the DWP to automatically verify their customers’ benefit entitlement.
It means customers do not need to actively prove they claim benefits while on a tariff designed for those on low incomes, as they did previously. Before the new system was introduced, people were regularly required to verify their entitlement to providers with Jobcentre letters or screenshots of their Universal Credit account.
