DWP delays leave tens of thousands of PIP claimants facing potential 10-year wait for pay rise

Tens of thousands of personal independence payment claimants could be waiting up to 10 years to have their awards reviewed and potentially uplifted. This is due to a severe delay in the Department for Work and Pensions and there is reportedly no clear timeline to address this backlog due to an unprecedented surge in new claims.

Benefits and Work revealed the staggering 74,000 claimants are currently receiving a lower amount of PIP than they’re entitled to but face a nearly 10-year-long wait to get their award reviewed and uplifted, with a total of 392,000 outstanding PIP reviews in England and Wales

A Freedom of Information request revealed that the DWP managed to reduce the backlog by only 10,000 reviews over the last quarter. However, a total of 130,000 reviews were cleared in that time with 120,000 being new reviews. The advisory site noted that continuing at this pace would take nearly 10 years to clear the entire backlog.

In the FOI, a department spokesperson noted: “The main reason for the length of time to complete PIP award reviews is very high demand for PIP. We are seeing unprecedented numbers of new claims being made. To manage this demand and ensure cases are put into payment as soon as possible, we are prioritising these claims."

It also revealed some steps it is putting in place to try to resolve the backlog, including increasing the number of healthcare professionals, case managers and assessment providers they employ. Over the past five years, DWP statistics revealed that award reviews resulted in 19% receiving an increase, 54% staying at the same level and 7% decreasing the award amount while 20% were disallowed.

Using these percentages, the current 392,000 backlog would see 74,480 people getting an uplift when their awards are eventually reviewed, 27,440 currently receiving higher awards than they are entitled to and 78,400 having their PIP benefit taken away.

The delay will not see any recipient’s benefits going out of payment while waiting for a review and awards will be extended where necessary to ensure claimants don’t find themselves out of pocket. During the review, claimants are able to use a blend of assessment methods, such as phone, video and face-to-face, for a more efficient process.

PIP offers two different parts each with two different rates. Which parts, rates and total amount a claimant gets depends on how their disability affects which is reviewed over the years as their conditions may change. The benefit aims to help cover the extra costs of living with a long-term disability, illness or mental health condition. The first part is related to day-to-day living costs while the second provides for mobility and each offers a standard and enhanced rate.