The DWP reveals that only a small fraction of PIP assessments are face-to-face, with most done remotely.
London: The pandemic really shook things up, didn’t it? A lot of folks are now dealing with sickness and disability, which has pushed millions of Brits to rely on the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) benefit.
Right now, over 3.6 million people are depending on this support from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). That’s a huge jump of 50% since February 2020. A lot of it has to do with mental health issues, with many claiming anxiety or depression.
With the pandemic making in-person assessments tricky, most PIP claims have been handled remotely or through paper applications. The latest DWP data shows that only about two to four percent of assessments are now done face-to-face.
Meanwhile, a whopping 77% of claims are being assessed through video or phone interviews, and 18% are still using paper applications. The DWP is swamped with PIP applications, processing around 100,000 each month in 2024, compared to just 29,000 back in March 2020.
In fact, only two percent of PIP claims were assessed in person as of October 2024. With so many applications piling up, people are waiting months for their assessments, and some are stuck waiting over a year for their benefit reviews. But once they do get assessed, about half of the applicants are successful in getting PIP, and just over a third receive the higher award, which can be as much as £737 a month.
To help with the backlog, the Labour Government has promised to reform disability benefits, aiming to get more people back to work and hiring more assessors and contractors.
Importantly, Labour has dismissed the Conservative idea of turning cash benefits into vouchers, with Debbie Abrahams calling it “nonsense.” She emphasized that this shouldn’t be a political issue and that it’s crucial for everyone, as disabilities can happen to anyone at any time.
According to the latest DWP data, the top reasons for PIP claims include psychiatric disorders, musculoskeletal diseases, neurological diseases, and respiratory diseases.
