Benefit claimants, including pensioners seeking extra support, are being forced to wait over three months for reviews on decisions to refuse or reduce payments, according to official figures.
The time for reconsideration on benefit decisions rose to 71 working days in 2024, more than doubling between December 2023 and July 2024.
The delay means pensioners who are reliant on the winter fuel payment to heat their homes, or sick or disabled people assisted by benefits like PIP, face long waits where payments are disputed.
DWP minister Sir Stephen Timms has now told MPs that the department is aiming to address the backlog of claims by March 2025. However there is no target or time limit for dealing with each claim.
He said: “This reflects the overarching policy that the focus should be on making the right decision and not the speed of clearance.
“Decisions should always be made without delay, but if the decision maker considers that more time is needed to gather or consider evidence, then they will give themselves that time to ensure they are confident that the decision made is correct.”
Under current rules, the main way a benefit claimant can challenge a decision is by asking for a mandatory reconsideration. This can be sought within a one month deadline if the claimant feels there was an error in the way their claim was processed, or disagrees with the reasons given for the decision.
Decisions for most benefits can be challenged in this way, including personal independence payments (PIP), universal credit, and the winter fuel payment.
Where appeals against an original decision are upheld payments will be backdated, however people can suffer real hardship in the meantime.
Rachael Walker, research director at Policy in Practice, told the Independent: “It is essential that the government bring mandatory reconsideration processing times down – the longer mandatory reconsiderations take, the longer people are missing out on financial support they need and have a right to claim.
“While the government technically has no limit on these processing times, it is the personal cost to claimants that should be the focus of their responsibility when aiming to reduce backlogs – claimants who themselves are subject to strict time limits as part of the MR process.”
Ms Walker said any implemention of a fixed reconsideration target time period could be a “double edged sword” as it could lead to rushed decision making which would be liable to cause further errors.
She added: “The wider issue here is the number of MRs we see in benefits – using data and systems more proactively can help reduce error and rejection, as can giving people the tools and the support they need to claim in the first place.”
The success rate for mandatory reconsiderations varies between the benefit type claimed. In 2024, 52 percent of ESA work capability assessment decisions that went to mandatory consideration were revised. Meanwhile, just under a quarter of personal independence payment (PIP) claims were revised.
A DWP spokesperson said: “The focus of Mandatory Reconsideration is to ensure the right decision is reached, and we are clearing the backlog as well as recruiting additional staff to meet our aim of making decisions without delay.
“Reconsideration is a key element of the department’s decision-making process, and offers customers an opportunity to challenge decisions and provide any additional information which may be relevant to their claim.”
