Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 19
19
Accepted in Part
Rising Personal Independence Payment caseload complicates existing multi-step application process.
Recommendation
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
Government Response Summary
The Department will write to the Committee to provide the requested data on PIP claim processing times by the end of March 2026, while standardising measures to 90% of cases cleared format; however, they will include it in the 2025-26 ARA.
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
4. PAC conclusion: 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. 4. PAC 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 provide details of the longest waiting time recorded in 2024–25. - an update on its expected trajectory for when more PIP claimants can expect to receive a faster claim processing service as a result of the Health Transformation Programme, up to the programme’s completion in 2029. 4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: end of March 2026 4.2 The current average (median) duration for a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) 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 19 weeks during August 2021. Further improvements in the longer-term will be delivered by the Health Transformation Programme. 4.3 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. 4.4 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. 4.5 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. 4.6 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.