There are now 3 million people in the UK people claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP). The official figures issued by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) show 35% of those claiming receive the highest award of £627 a month.
PIP is designed to provide help with extra living costs if you have a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability and therefore have difficulty doing certain everyday tasks or getting around because of your condition. Various conditions mean you qualify to apply for the award and beneath the main disability categories, there are 547 conditions that apply.
The new quarterly figures, which take us up to April 2022, indicates a significant increase in the number of people claiming for psychiatric disorders, which includes autism spectrum disorders, mood disorders and learning disorders - April saw the UK-wide number of claimants for these types of conditions rise by 36,980 to 1,082,483.
