Personal Independence Payment: Take-up

(asked on 18th December 2023) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the document entitled Personal Independence Payment: Official Statistics to July 2023, published on 19 September 2023, what steps his Department is taking to manage increases in the number of new PIP applications.


Answered by
Mims Davies Portrait
Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
This question was answered on 8th January 2024

Despite the increase in new claims, we have seen a decrease in PIP clearance times since August 2021 with the latest statistics showing that the average end-to-end journey has reduced from 26 weeks in August 2021 to 15 weeks at the end of October. This means that we’re clearing claims faster than we were prior to the pandemic.

This is because we are:

  • using a blend of phone, video and face-to-face assessments to support customers and deliver a more efficient and user-centred service.
  • increasing case manager and assessment provider health professional resource.
  • prioritising new claims, whilst safeguarding claimants awaiting award reviews, who have returned their information as required, to ensure their payments continue until their review can be completed.

In addition, the Health Transformation Programme (HTP) is modernising Health and Disability benefit services to create a more efficient service, to reduce processing times and improving trust in our services and decisions. As part of this, from July 2023, a limited number of claimants have been able to begin their claim for PIP entirely online.

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