A scathing new report by the Public Accounts Committee has criticised the Department for Work and Pensions over “unacceptable” waiting times for PIP applications, cautioning that such delays risk plunging claimants into debt and poverty whilst they await support.
The report revealed that some people have endured waits exceeding a year for their claims to be dealt with, despite the government’s target of processing three quarters of PIP claims within 75 working days. Between 2024 and 2025, just 51% of claims met this 75-working-day threshold.
The committee declared: “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.”
The DWP has been trialling an online application system in select postcodes, designed to address these backlogs. It claims this could cut processing times by 20 days.
In 2023, the Department informed the Committee that up to 20% of PIP claims would be handled through this system by 2026. Yet it has now indicated this target won’t be achieved until 2029.
The Committee stated: “This is far too long for claimants to have to wait for improvements, and the DWP must now say when more PIP claimants can expect a better service.”
The report called on the government to publish more comprehensive data on processing times for new PIP claims and provide an update on its anticipated timeline for when more PIP claimants can expect swifter claim handling as a result of the Health Transformation Programme.
A DWP spokesperson responded: “We’re fixing the broken welfare system we inherited by giving claimants the support they need to move into good, secure jobs and out of poverty.
“We’ve redeployed around 1,000 work coaches to help sick or disabled people who have been left behind, alongside the most ambitious employment reforms for a generation.
“These reforms are being delivered as we replace outdated systems through our ambitious £647 million modernisation programme.
“We always aim to make Pip award decisions as quickly as possible, and the Timms Review is looking at Pip as a whole to make sure it is fit and fair for the future.”
