Long waits for disability benefit claims unacceptable, MP...

What’s Happening

Not gonna lie, Some people are waiting more than a year to have their claims processed, the Public Accounts Committee says.

Long waits for disability benefit claims unacceptable, MPs say 20 hours ago Save Becky Morton Political reporter Save Some people are waiting more than a year to have their disability benefit claims processed, which risks pushing them into debt and poverty, MPs have warned. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) aims to process 75% of new claims for Personal Independence Payment (Pip) within 75 working days but in the last financial year only 51% of claims were processed within this timeframe. (it feels like chaos)

A report -party Public Accounts Committee (PAC) dropped the department was providing “unacceptably weak service levels”.

The Details

The DWP dropped that at the end of October, the average time taken for a Pip claim to be decided on was 16 weeks. A spokesperson dropped the department always aimed to process claims “as quickly as possible” and an ongoing review into Pip would make sure “it is fit and fair for the future”.

Pip - which is paid to people with a long-term physical or mental health condition - is the main disability benefit in England and Wales. It is not linked to someones income or whether they are in work and provides extra help with living costs.

Why This Matters

The number of people claiming Pip has been rising in recent years, with the benefit paid to around 3. What has been driving the rise in disability benefit claims? What is Personal Independence Payment?

Medical professionals are taking note of this development.

Key Takeaways

• The PAC report dropped the long waits for Pip claims to be processed were “unacceptable”, with some cases of people waiting for more than a year.
• The department is testing an online app process in a few postcodes, which it says has typically reduced processing time for claims by 20 days.

The Bottom Line

The DWP told the committee these experiences were not showing in its statistics but it acknowledged this was a genuine situation which needed to be addressed. The department is testing an online app process in a few postcodes, which it says has typically reduced processing time for claims by 20 days.

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