The Minister for Disabled People (Justin Tomlinson MP) has made the following Written Statement:

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is a major reform which is transforming the way we support disabled people to live independently.

PIP replaces the outdated Disability Living Allowance (DLA). PIP focuses support on those who need it most and, unlike DLA, a significant majority of claimants will have a face-to-face assessment as part of the application process. It is a more dynamic benefit with regular reviews to check entitlement remains correct – payments can increase as well as decrease – whereas 70% of those receiving DLA were on indefinite awards. And PIP is a more modern benefit which takes better account of mental health conditions.

I now intend to roll out the final phase of this vital reform, that of the reassessment of all remaining people on DLA for PIP. We have already rolled out PIP across GB for new claimants and for individuals who choose to claim PIP or whose circumstances change or where their DLA award comes to an end, including for children when they reach 16.

My original intention was to start this final phase in October 2015 GB wide. In May Departmental statistics confirmed that average reassessment claims for PIP were waiting only 4 weeks from returning their PIP forms until an assessment, which is in line with our expectations. This improved performance means I am pleased to announce that we are now in a position to begin the final phase in July, initially at small volumes and in a limited number of areas. We recognise that this will result in some claimants being invited to reassessment earlier than they might have expected. But by operating at a smaller scale initially, this will enable us to monitor the system closely in small volumes to ensure an efficient reassessment process is in place.

It will also provide us with an opportunity to test key parts of the PIP process, such as the way in which we communicate with claimants. This is in line with the previous Government’s response to recommendations in the independent review of PIP carried out by Paul Gray in December 2014. My priority remains safe and secure delivery of PIP and we will use evidence from this early roll out to ensure we are continuously improving the way in which we deliver PIP, offering the best claimant experience possible.

Steve Donnison of Benefits & Works comments:

The DWP has brought forward the date when claimants with an ‘indefinite’ or ‘lifetime’ award of disability living allowance (DLA) will be forced to claim personal independence payment (PIP).

The decision is a deliberate snub to campaigners, and to the courts, after delays in processing PIP claims were found to be unlawful just last month.

1,800 assessments a day
3,000 claimants will now start being assessed for PIP from 13 July 2015, instead of from October, to allow the DWP to test the reassessment process, including letters and phone call scripts.

The number being tested is then intended to rise massively, to an average of around 1,800 reassessments every day throughout 2016. All working age DLA claimants will have been assessed for PIP by late 2017, if things go according to plan.

Over half will lose out
More than half of all existing DLA claimants are expected to lose out under PIP, getting a lower award or nothing at all.

In their original estimates made in 2012, the DWP expected:

29% of reassessed claimants to end up with an increase in their award
16% of reassessed claimants to stay the same
29% of reassessed claimants to end up with a decreased award
26% of reassessed claimants to end up with no award at all
At present, the award rate for DLA to PIP reassessments has fallen from a high of 79% last November, down to a current low of 72%. This means that currently 28% of DLA claimants do not get an award of PIP.

Fiddled figures
Even if the 2012 estimates end up being correct overall, they make a mockery of minister for disabled people, Justin Tomlinson’s claim to the house earlier this month that:

“. . . under the PIP system 22% of claimants will end up getting the highest rate of support, which is higher than the 16% under the DLA. We are doing more to help the most vulnerable in society.

We are clear that we will protect the disabled and vulnerable. Let us remember that.”

In fact, because 22% of a smaller number of successful PIP claimants are expected to get the highest rate, it works out as almost exactly the same as 16% of the larger number of DLA claimants who get the highest rate.

So . . . not doing more after all.

But it has already become apparent in a few short weeks, that the new minister for disabled people acts solely as a cheerleader for the DWP, with not a shred of interest in fighting for the rights of those he is supposed to champion.

Meanwhile IDS has sparked incredulity and scorn following his claim last week that the Tories will “ensure that those who cannot manage and have disabilities are treated with the utmost kindness”.