Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to support disabled claimants through the Personal Independence Payment review process.

We recognise the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) review process can be unsettling for some claimants. There are a number of ways in which we provide support:

In order to speed up the review process, DWP Case Managers can now undertake PIP reviews in-house, removing the need for a consultation, in cases where sufficient evidence is provided by the claimant. This takes away the stress of a consultation and enables a decision to be made more quickly for the majority of claimants.

For those cases that do need to be reviewed by a Healthcare Professional, different types of assessment types are available depending on claimant circumstances. Providers can offer telephony, video or face-to-face assessments or reviews can again be undertaken, in some cases, using information provided without the need for a consultation.

For claimants who have severe mental health or cognitive impairments we apply an Additional Support marker to the case which protects the claimant from falling out of payment where they struggle to complete forms or engage in the process. This means that the case will progress to a review even where a review form cannot be completed.

Where there are delays for claimants awaiting a review of their PIP award, we have taken steps to keep claimants informed and updated via text messages. In such cases, we routinely extend awards to ensure continuity of payments, enabling claimants (where appropriate) to retain eligibility for Motability vehicles and Blue Badges.

To help claimants understand the process, information is provided on Gov.UK, which also includes the telephone number to call if more time is needed to complete the review form. This can be found at Personal Independence Payment (PIP): If your PIP claim is reviewed - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) . Gov.UK also signposts claimants to information from Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) about what claimants need to include when completing the PIP review form. Further details can be found at Help with your PIP review form - Citizens Advice.