Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she made of the change in average waiting time for decision on personal independence payments (a) applications and (b) appeals.

We are committed to ensuring that people can access financial support through Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in a timely manner and reducing customer journey times for PIP claimants is a priority for the Department. We always aim to make an award decision as quickly as possible, taking into account the need to review all available evidence.

Processing times can vary reflecting factors including customer demand, operational resource and timescales for different parts of the process. In particular, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused distortion and work is ongoing to manage the recovery. This includes allowing a longer deadline for return of the PIP2 questionnaire for claims made between late February and late May 2021; these claims have now started to reach clearance.

Processing times for new PIP claims in July 2021 (most recent data available) are similar to levels a year ago.

The latest published statistics show that the waiting time for PIP appeals has come down: the average waiting time for PIP Tribunals in April to June 2021 was 27 weeks, a decrease of 4 weeks compared to the same quarter in the previous year.

In the vast majority of PIP cases DWP makes the right decision, meaning they never go to appeal, and through recent improvements to our decision-making we are ensuring that disabled people get all the support they are entitled to as quickly as possible. DWP and HMCTS, who administer social security appeals, continue to work together to reduce the length of time it takes for appeals to be heard. Where appeals are made, waiting times generally can fluctuate temporarily and geographically, owing to a number of variable factors, including volumes of benefit decisions made locally, availability of medical/disability members, venue capacity and the complexity of the issue in dispute. Any disparity in waiting times is monitored and investigated locally.