Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the effect on claimants of having to proactively reapply for personal independence payments as opposed to having an integrated process of automatic renewal of those payments.

On Personal Independence Payment (PIP), we do not have an integrated process of automatic renewals but review claimants to ensure their award reflects their needs. Once someone has been awarded PIP, which can be paid at one of eight rates, that award will be reviewed. Award rates and their durations are set on an individual basis, based on the claimant’s needs and the likelihood of those needs changing. Regular reviews are a key feature of the benefit and ensure that payments accurately match the current needs of claimants, something fundamentally missing from Disability Living Allowance, which PIP began to replace in 2013. Award durations are based on an individual’s circumstances and can vary from nine months to an on-going award, with a light touch review at the ten-year point.

Some claimants can be given a shorter, fixed-term award which isn’t subject to a review on the basis that the individual’s needs will improve to the point they are not entitled by the end of their award. Claimants subject to such an award are free to make a new claim before their award ends if they consider they may still be entitled.

Since PIP was introduced we have implemented changes and improved guidance which reduces the frequency of reviews for most pensioners and those with the highest needs and where those needs will not improve or will deteriorate.