Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) shortest, (b) median and (c) longest waiting times are among Personal Independence Payment applicants who are awaiting an assessment as of 28 June 2022.

Time waiting for assessment is defined as the time from the date an application was referred to the provider from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to the date the assessment was completed and referred back to DWP. Where claimants are outstanding, the assessment is not yet complete.

Shortest waiting times:

Shortest waiting times relate to Special rules for Terminal Illness (SRTI) cases where claimants have a terminal diagnosis.

As of May 2022 (the latest available data), the average time for an SRTI case to be returned to DWP after referral to a provider (i.e., assessment is complete) was 1.61 working days.

Median waiting times:

Median waiting times for each stage of the claimant process can be found in published stats.

Median time waiting for an assessment as of April 2022 (the latest available data) was 12 weeks for new claims and 11 weeks for reassessments.

Longest waiting time:

Latest data from 20 June 2022 shows the oldest case was referred in July 2021.