Recommendation 19

The Department told us that it was important to take into account that, since the 75% target was set, the PIP caseload had gone up by more than 50%. In addition, it highlighted that the process of applying for PIP involved a number of steps which all took time. The traditional process was that a customer would telephone to make a claim and the Department would send them a long, detailed paper application form in the post. Once the customer had completed and returned the form, the Department would refer it to an outsourced health assessor who would carry out and write up the health assessment, before a departmental official would decide on the customer’s entitlement to the benefit.27