Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 4
4
Accepted
Provide detailed data on PIP claim processing times, including breakdown by specific duration categories.
Recommendation
It is unacceptable how long some PIP claimants are having to wait for their claims to be processed, which can cause them to get into debt and push them into poverty. The Department does not have an adequate plan to improve this in the short term. The Department aims to process 75% of new PIP claims within 75 working days but, in 2024–25, only 51% of claims were processed within this timeframe. We have constituents who have waited a long time for their claims to be processed, in some cases over a year. As it has done previously, the Department pointed to its Health Transformation Programme as the long-term solution to improving the service it provides to PIP claimants. As part of this, the Department is testing in a few postcodes an online application process, which it says has typically reduced the time taken to process claims by 20 days and enabled it to achieve its target. In 2023, the Department told the previous Committee that it intended to process up to 20% of PIP claims using the new online service by 2026. We are concerned, however, that this timetable may not be achieved as the Department now says only that it believes it can reach the 20% target by 2029 when the programme is due to be completed. This is far too long for claimants to have to wait to get a better service. We note that the programme is likely to be used to apply a test and learn approach to the recommendations that come out of the Timms review of PIP, however, the Department should not allow this to result in further delays to improvements. recommendation Alongside its Treasury Minute response, the Department should write to the Committee to provide: • for 2024–25, more detailed data on the time taken to process new PIP claims, specifically a breakdown of the number and proportion of claims processed as follows: ○ within the target of 75 working days; ○ after the 75-day target but within six months; ○ after six months but within 12 months; and ○ after 12 months. The Department should also pro
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and will write to the Committee by the end of March 2026 to provide the requested detailed data breakdown on PIP claims processing times for 2024-25. It also notes current average processing times are 16 weeks and outlines other service improvements and increased staffing.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. New Claims stands at 16 weeks (October 2025) having not exceeded this level during any month since September 2022 and representing substantial improvement from a high of 26 weeks during August 2021. Further improvements in the longer-term will be delivered by the Health Transformation Programme. The department is also providing opportunities to reduce journey times through service improvements. For example, offering over 90% of customers facility to submit claims digitally after calling to register claims, reducing delays such as postage time. Recognising the Committee’s interest in tracking improvements, and as published within the 2024-25 Annual Report and Accounts (ARA), the department has reviewed its timeliness standards, which reflect current policy and drive correct outcomes. This will be included in the 2025-26 ARA. The department is standardising its measures across service lines to 90% of cases cleared format. The department will however write to the Committee to provide the information available as requested, by the end of March 2026, to close this recommendation. In addition to modernising the department’s services and improving baseline performance, an additional 200 staff have been deployed in the past year. This increased capacity has enabled 416,000 planned Award Reviews to be processed between April and October 2025, an increase of 162,000 compared to the previous year, reducing delays for changes of entitlement during planned reviews. PIP is not an income replacement benefit, as immediate support for people on low incomes with their living costs is available through Universal Credit. Successful PIP claims are backdated to the date of application.