One of the major changes in the workforce over the past few years has been the dramatic increase in sickness and disability that has rendered millions of people unable to work and dependent on the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) benefit.
PIP is worth up to £737 per month for those with the most severe disabilities and mobility problems. Over 3.6 million Brits are now reliant on this Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) disability benefit, a surge of 50 per cent since February 2020, largely due to a rise in poor mental health with approximately half a million PIP claimants citing anxiety or depression.
After the pandemic halted all in-person disability assessments, most PIP claims started being evaluated remotely or through paper application. According to the latest DWP data, released in response to a House of Lords query, this trend has persisted, with only two to four per cent of assessments now conducted face-to-face.
Meanwhile, 77 per cent of claims are now assessed remotely via video or telephone interview, and 18 per cent are submitting paper applications. This is happening while the DWP is dealing with an increasing pile of PIP applications, processing up to 100,000 each month in 2024, compared to just 29,000 assessed in March 2020.
Due to the high volume of applications, many individuals are waiting months for an assessment, while some existing claimants are waiting over a year for their benefit award to be reviewed. However, around half of applicants are successful in claiming PIP, with just over a third receiving the higher award, which can amount to £737 per month in financial support.
To address the backlog, the Labour Government has pledged to reform disability benefits by supporting more people in returning to work, hiring additional assessors, and engaging outside contractors. Notably, Labour has rejected Conservative proposals to replace the cash benefit with a voucher-based system, with Debbie Abrahams dismissing the idea as “nonsense.”
She emphasized the importance of keeping social security out of politics, stating: “It shouldn’t be a political football. This is something we should hopefully come together around. I think this is really, really important so it’s not used as a political football – who can outdo anyone else about how harsh you’re going to be for social security.
“It’s there for all of us. Most disabilities are acquired. Any one of us could walk across the road and have an accident and find themselves on hard times.”
The latest DWP data breakdown of the top five reasons cited to make a PIP claim are:
- Psychiatric disorder (39%)
- Musculoskeletal disease (general) (19%)
- Neurological disease (13%)
- Musculoskeletal disease (regional) (12%)
- Respiratory disease (4%)
