Latest quarterly PIP stats still show under half of new claims are awarded
The Department for Work and Pensions has released new quarterly Personal Independence Payment (PIP) statistics up until July 2019, with data about registrations, clearances, awards, clearance times, mandatory reconsiderations and DLA claims.
PIP provides disabled people with a financial benefit to cover the costs associated with their long-term disability, ill-health or terminal ill-health. The payments can help people purchase vital mobility aids or fund housing adaptations to help with their mobility needs.
PIP began replacing the Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for working-age people in April 2013.
The latest figures reveal that 4.4 million claims to PIP have been cleared, which is up by 184,000 clearances from April 2019.
For claims cleared in July 2019, on average, it took 10 weeks to clear normal rules claims, seven weeks to clear reassessed claims for normal rules and six working days to clear new claims and reassessed claims for terminally ill people.
However, whilst nearly all special rules claims were awarded for PIP (terminally ill) in July 2019, only 43 percent of new normal rules claims for PIP were awarded between April 2013 and July 2019.
This builds on criticisms of PIP in the past, with the assessment system being called too harsh and strict, leaving people unfairly assessed and without vital support.
In response, the Government has looked to make PIP fairer by scrapping PIP reassessments for those with severe, long-term conditions and for disabled pensioners.
Although, more promisingly, average clearance times for those awarded PIP have reduced since its peak in July 2014.
On average, for new claims cleared under normal rules, the average PIP claim took 16 weeks from the point of registration to a decision being made on the claim and 10 weeks from the point of referral to the Assessment Provider to a decision being made on the claim.
For reassessed claims cleared under normal rules, the average PIP claim took 13 weeks from the point of registration to a decision being made on the claim and seven weeks from the point of referral to the Assessment Provider to a decision being made on the claim.
These figures are similar to those in the previous quarterly statistics, with an average clearance time of nine weeks for normal rules claims, seven weeks for reassessed claims and six days for people who are terminally ill.
