Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 21
21
Acknowledged
Health Transformation Programme progress on PIP claims is too slow for claimants.
Conclusion
As it has done previously, the Department pointed to the work it was doing to transform the PIP service through its Health Transformation Programme. It explained that, as part of this programme, it was testing an online application form which took claimants to the questions that related to their situation, making it quicker to complete. The Department said it was testing the full online process in only a few postcodes, but in those places it had, on average, reduced the time taken to process claims by 20 days, and enabled it to achieve its target to process 75% of PIP claims in 75 days.31 In 2023, the Department told the previous Committee that it had started to process applications from claimants living in specific postcodes in London and Birmingham and that it intended to process up to 20% of PIP claims using the new online service by 2026.32 However, during our evidence session, two years later, the Department 25 Committee of Public Accounts, DWP Customer Service and Accounts 2023–24, Sixth Report of Session 2024–25, HC 354, 23 January 2025, p 1 26 The Department for Work and Pensions, Annual Report and Accounts 2024–25, HC 995, July 2025, p 72 27 Qq 26-27 28 Qq 25-26 29 Q 30 30 Q 28 31 Qq 29, 40 32 Committee of Public Accounts, Revising health assessments for disability benefits, Third Report of Session 2023–24, HC 79, 29 November 2023, pp 7-8 and 10 13 said only that it believed it could reach the 20% target by 2029, when the programme is due to be completed.33 We think that this is far too long for claimants to have to wait to see an improvement in how their claims are processed.
Government Response Summary
The department has reviewed its timeliness standards, which reflect current policy and drive correct outcomes and will include this in the 2025-26 ARA. 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.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
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.