Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his department is taking to reduce waiting times for Personal Independent Payment following an unsuccessful Mandatory Reconsideration.

Following an unsuccessful Mandatory Reconsideration, a claimant may appeal to the first-tier tribunal.

The Department for Work and Pensions and His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) have been working together to reduce delays in appeals being processed and heard.

For its part, the DWP has: (i) recruited additional appeals staff; and (ii) reviewed its approach to drafting appeal responses, which has improved productivity. We recognise the importance of getting appeals processed and back to HMCTS without delay. At the same time, HMCTS is developing a new digital system with a view to enabling faster processing of appeals and thereby offering a better service to appellants.