MPs have highlighted continuing problems with the way the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) processes Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claims, warning that long waiting times are leaving some claimants in financial difficulty.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) heard evidence of people waiting more than a year for their PIP applications to be decided. Although the DWP told the inquiry that such cases do not appear in its official statistics, it acknowledged that delays of this length are happening and need to be addressed.
The Government’s stated aim is to process 75% of new PIP claims within 75 working days, but in 2024–25 only a little over half were completed within this target.
The DWP is testing a new online application system in a small number of postcodes to try to make the process more efficient. However, it now expects to meet its goal of handling 20% of claims digitally by 2029, several years later than previously planned.
A DWP spokesperson said: ‘We always aim to make PIP award decisions as quickly as possible, and the Timms Review is looking at PIP as a whole to make sure it is fit and fair for the future.’
