People from ethnic minorities are being denied benefits because of culturally insensitive procedures and inadequate language services, according to the work and pensions select committee.
However, in a report last week, it said there was no way of measuring discrimination because of the failure of the Department for Work and Pensions to monitor services in line with the Race Relations (Amendment) Act.
The telephone-based nature of the pension service deters people who do not speak English as a first language, while interpreter services are thin on the ground, the report says.
It says residence and identification requirements for benefits are likely to exclude people from ethnic minorities because they may have to spend longer periods out of the UK and may lack birth or marriage certificates.
It urges the DWP to implement ethnic monitoring across its services, bring in experts to assess race awareness training, and review processes to tackle clients' language needs.
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