The DWP is facing heavy criticism over huge waits faced by PIP claimants. Some are waiting more than nine months, new figures show.
And a benefits specialist has blamed the Department for Work and Pensions for the enormous waits claimants are facing.
Personal Independence Payments (PIP) is the primary benefit provided to disabled Brits to assist with disability-related costs and is known for its rigorous assessment process.
This process is typically repeated when a person’s benefit amount needs reviewing. This can be due to changes in circumstances, the end of a fixed term, or random checks by the DWP for fraud and currently has an eight month backlog consisting of hundreds of thousands of reviews still needing a decision.
Since the General Election, Labour has expressed intentions to tackle these delays and other backlogs within the PIP system by employing more health professionals and case managers. However, recent statistics may suggest that the real issues causing these backlogs lie elsewhere.
In response to a written parliamentary question from fellow Labour MP Mary Glindon, Disability Minister Stephen Timms disclosed that the median wait for a DWP-initiated review is 290 days, just over nine months, if referred to an assessment provider. Those not referred to an assessment provider face a similar 252-day, or eight-month, wait despite fewer steps in the review decision process.
Benefits and Work highlighted this last figure, suggesting that eight months of the waiting time is solely down to the DWP.
They stated: “It is the department, rather than assessment providers who are largely to blame for the huge delays in PIP review decisions.”
The new data also found that claimants who reported a change in circumstances, prompting a review themselves, had a median wait time of just 69 days. In his written response, the minister reassured: “We make every effort to conduct award reviews as soon as possible. Most decisions are made without the need for an assessment by a Healthcare Professional.”
However, the benefits guidance platform remains sceptical about these claims as there were 392,000 outstanding PIP award reviews as of May 2024 and the DWP has other pressing tasks.
The benefits system is set to undergo numerous changes in the coming months, prompted by both the change in government and legacy changes such as the migration to Universal Credit which has been ongoing since 2022.
Benefits and Work observed: “With all their other projects, it seems unlikely that urgently tackling the delays in planned PIP reviews will be much of a priority, in spite of the difficulties and uncertainty that it causes to hundreds of thousands of claimants.”
Minister Timms also said in his note that any claimants with outstanding reviews will continue to claim their existing payments and if they are due an increase, this will be backdated appropriately.
The DWP has been approached for comment.
