Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether people in receipt of a letter notifying them of a postponed PIP reassessment are counted as awaiting a PIP (a) assessment and (b) reassessment.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
There are still some claimants in receipt of Adult DLA who are yet to be reassessed. These cases are classed as awaiting PIP ‘reassessment’. DLA payments will continue until they are invited to claim PIP, and we have not contacted anyone on DLA to inform them of any postponement.
There are claimants who have made a new claim to PIP but not yet received a decision. A proportion of these will be with the Assessment Provider and counted as awaiting ‘assessment’. No one in this category would receive a letter indicating their assessments is postponed, unless there are unusual circumstances, and the Provider needs to re-arrange a specific appointment for example.
There are claimants already in receipt of PIP whose award is due to end (or has ended). Some cases are yet to be reviewed and would be counted as awaiting ‘review’. Some cases have been referred to the Assessment Provider and would therefore be counted as awaiting ‘assessment’. Where appropriate, we write to claimants to let them know the process is ongoing and we are extending their award, but we do not inform claimants that their review or assessment is postponed.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Departments consultation outcome entitled Work Capability Assessment: activities and descriptors, published 5 September 2023, for what reason the results of the research exercise have not been published.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
In November 2023, we announced changes to the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) criteria. The full response to the public consultation on these changes can be found here.
We do not know what “research exercise” the questions are referring to but have interpreted these questions to be about internal policy development undertaken before and during the consultation exercise on changes to the WCA. This work was undertaken by a variety of staff from a mix of grades and job titles, including Senior Civil Servants. We will publish an Impact Assessment in due course.
We undertook considerable engagement during the consultation period and received over 1300 written responses. We listened carefully to what people told us and took their views into account when deciding which changes to take forward. We took care to ensure the views of disabled people and people with health conditions, as well as the views of the charities, groups and organisations representing and supporting them, were considered. We also engaged directly with external clinical experts and employers.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were awaiting a decision on their Personal Independence Payment application on the first day of each month in 2022.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The table below gives the number of outstanding PIP cases on the first of each month from 2021 to 2023. Claims are considered outstanding when the claim has been registered but a decision has not yet been made by a Case Manager on whether to award PIP.
Month | Outstanding cases |
Jan-21 | 220,000 |
Feb-21 | 233,000 |
Mar-21 | 237,000 |
Apr-21 | 252,000 |
May-21 | 265,000 |
Jun-21 | 281,000 |
Jul-21 | 296,000 |
Aug-21 | 297,000 |
Sep-21 | 302,000 |
Oct-21 | 308,000 |
Nov-21 | 316,000 |
Dec-21 | 312,000 |
Jan-22 | 301,000 |
Feb-22 | 308,000 |
Mar-22 | 307,000 |
Apr-22 | 303,000 |
May-22 | 295,000 |
Jun-22 | 300,000 |
Jul-22 | 299,000 |
Aug-22 | 284,000 |
Sep-22 | 282,000 |
Oct-22 | 284,000 |
Nov-22 | 275,000 |
Dec-22 | 259,000 |
Jan-23 | 237,000 |
Feb-23 | 232,000 |
Mar-23 | 245,000 |
Apr-23 | 273,000 |
May-23 | 286,000 |
Jun-23 | 301,000 |
Jul-23 | 298,000 |
Aug-23 | 286,000 |
Sep-23 | 281,000 |
Oct-23 | 291,000 |
Nov-23 | 287,000 |
Dec-23 | 276,000 |
Notes:
- Source: PIP Atomic Data Store;
- Figures are rounded to the nearest 1,000;
- Figures are for England and Wales only;
- These figures include claims made under normal rules and special rules for terminal illness and include both new claims and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to PIP reassessment claims.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people were awaiting a decision on their Personal Independence Payment application on the first day of each month in 2021.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The table below gives the number of outstanding PIP cases on the first of each month from 2021 to 2023. Claims are considered outstanding when the claim has been registered but a decision has not yet been made by a Case Manager on whether to award PIP.
Month | Outstanding cases |
Jan-21 | 220,000 |
Feb-21 | 233,000 |
Mar-21 | 237,000 |
Apr-21 | 252,000 |
May-21 | 265,000 |
Jun-21 | 281,000 |
Jul-21 | 296,000 |
Aug-21 | 297,000 |
Sep-21 | 302,000 |
Oct-21 | 308,000 |
Nov-21 | 316,000 |
Dec-21 | 312,000 |
Jan-22 | 301,000 |
Feb-22 | 308,000 |
Mar-22 | 307,000 |
Apr-22 | 303,000 |
May-22 | 295,000 |
Jun-22 | 300,000 |
Jul-22 | 299,000 |
Aug-22 | 284,000 |
Sep-22 | 282,000 |
Oct-22 | 284,000 |
Nov-22 | 275,000 |
Dec-22 | 259,000 |
Jan-23 | 237,000 |
Feb-23 | 232,000 |
Mar-23 | 245,000 |
Apr-23 | 273,000 |
May-23 | 286,000 |
Jun-23 | 301,000 |
Jul-23 | 298,000 |
Aug-23 | 286,000 |
Sep-23 | 281,000 |
Oct-23 | 291,000 |
Nov-23 | 287,000 |
Dec-23 | 276,000 |
Notes:
- Source: PIP Atomic Data Store;
- Figures are rounded to the nearest 1,000;
- Figures are for England and Wales only;
- These figures include claims made under normal rules and special rules for terminal illness and include both new claims and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to PIP reassessment claims.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applicants for Personal Independence Payment had not received a decision on the first day of each month in 2023.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The table below gives the number of outstanding PIP cases on the first of each month from 2021 to 2023. Claims are considered outstanding when the claim has been registered but a decision has not yet been made by a Case Manager on whether to award PIP.
Month | Outstanding cases |
Jan-21 | 220,000 |
Feb-21 | 233,000 |
Mar-21 | 237,000 |
Apr-21 | 252,000 |
May-21 | 265,000 |
Jun-21 | 281,000 |
Jul-21 | 296,000 |
Aug-21 | 297,000 |
Sep-21 | 302,000 |
Oct-21 | 308,000 |
Nov-21 | 316,000 |
Dec-21 | 312,000 |
Jan-22 | 301,000 |
Feb-22 | 308,000 |
Mar-22 | 307,000 |
Apr-22 | 303,000 |
May-22 | 295,000 |
Jun-22 | 300,000 |
Jul-22 | 299,000 |
Aug-22 | 284,000 |
Sep-22 | 282,000 |
Oct-22 | 284,000 |
Nov-22 | 275,000 |
Dec-22 | 259,000 |
Jan-23 | 237,000 |
Feb-23 | 232,000 |
Mar-23 | 245,000 |
Apr-23 | 273,000 |
May-23 | 286,000 |
Jun-23 | 301,000 |
Jul-23 | 298,000 |
Aug-23 | 286,000 |
Sep-23 | 281,000 |
Oct-23 | 291,000 |
Nov-23 | 287,000 |
Dec-23 | 276,000 |
Notes:
- Source: PIP Atomic Data Store;
- Figures are rounded to the nearest 1,000;
- Figures are for England and Wales only;
- These figures include claims made under normal rules and special rules for terminal illness and include both new claims and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to PIP reassessment claims.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applicants for Access to Work support had not received a decision on (a) 1 January, (b) 1 February and (c) 1 March 2024.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The number of applications awaiting a decision for Access to Work on the requested dates were as follows. Figures have been steadily increasing due to the rise in the volume of application received.
As of 1st January 2024 – 24,874
As of 1st February 2024 – 26,812
As of 1st March 2024 – 29,864
There were 25,292 Access to Work applications awaiting a decision as of 1st December 2022.
Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. They should therefore be treated with caution.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applicants for Access to Work support had not received an assessment on 1 December 2022.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The number of applications awaiting a decision for Access to Work on the requested dates were as follows. Figures have been steadily increasing due to the rise in the volume of application received.
As of 1st January 2024 – 24,874
As of 1st February 2024 – 26,812
As of 1st March 2024 – 29,864
There were 25,292 Access to Work applications awaiting a decision as of 1st December 2022.
Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and have not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. They should therefore be treated with caution.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Departments consultation outcome entitled Work Capability Assessment: activities and descriptors, published 5 September 2023, what the (a) grade and (b) job titles were of the staff who undertook the research exercise.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
In November 2023, we announced changes to the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) criteria. The full response to the public consultation on these changes can be found here.
We do not know what “research exercise” the questions are referring to but have interpreted these questions to be about internal policy development undertaken before and during the consultation exercise on changes to the WCA. This work was undertaken by a variety of staff from a mix of grades and job titles, including Senior Civil Servants. We will publish an Impact Assessment in due course.
We undertook considerable engagement during the consultation period and received over 1300 written responses. We listened carefully to what people told us and took their views into account when deciding which changes to take forward. We took care to ensure the views of disabled people and people with health conditions, as well as the views of the charities, groups and organisations representing and supporting them, were considered. We also engaged directly with external clinical experts and employers.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Departments consultation outcome entitled Work Capability Assessment: activities and descriptors, published 5 September 2023, how many cases were reviewed as part of the research.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
In November 2023, we announced changes to the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) criteria. The full response to the public consultation on these changes can be found here.
We do not know what “research exercise” the questions are referring to but have interpreted these questions to be about internal policy development undertaken before and during the consultation exercise on changes to the WCA. This work was undertaken by a variety of staff from a mix of grades and job titles, including Senior Civil Servants. We will publish an Impact Assessment in due course.
We undertook considerable engagement during the consultation period and received over 1300 written responses. We listened carefully to what people told us and took their views into account when deciding which changes to take forward. We took care to ensure the views of disabled people and people with health conditions, as well as the views of the charities, groups and organisations representing and supporting them, were considered. We also engaged directly with external clinical experts and employers.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his Departments consultation outcome entitled Work Capability Assessment: activities and descriptors, published 5 September 2023, how his Department selected the cases to be reviewed.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
In November 2023, we announced changes to the Work Capability Assessment (WCA) criteria. The full response to the public consultation on these changes can be found here.
We do not know what “research exercise” the questions are referring to but have interpreted these questions to be about internal policy development undertaken before and during the consultation exercise on changes to the WCA. This work was undertaken by a variety of staff from a mix of grades and job titles, including Senior Civil Servants. We will publish an Impact Assessment in due course.
We undertook considerable engagement during the consultation period and received over 1300 written responses. We listened carefully to what people told us and took their views into account when deciding which changes to take forward. We took care to ensure the views of disabled people and people with health conditions, as well as the views of the charities, groups and organisations representing and supporting them, were considered. We also engaged directly with external clinical experts and employers.