An important change has been made to the disability benefit ran by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) this week.
As reported by The Express, Personal Independence Payment (PIP) awards will be extended by 12 months. This news means that PIP claimants will be given a longer time to reclaim their award.
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The change was put into place on Tuesday, September 6, and will result in current PIP claimants being entitled to the benefit for an extra year. The PIP process is a long application to go through and includes being assessed by a health professional, as well as constant reviews of their condition by the DWP.
This process is as lengthy to make sure people are given the correct amount of money to support them. As a result, there is a long waiting list for people to get reviewed for the payment, which is now being addressed by the Government’s latest intervention.
A DWP spokesperson said: "We will automatically be extending existing claims awaiting review by up to 12 months and will do this 35 days before their end date.
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"The longer extension provides greater certainty for claimants and in particular helps with continuing to access other support, for example, a blue badge."
A blue badge allows those with disabilities to park in bays closer to their destination. This change will allow people to avoid the process of renewing their PIP application which can often be time-consuming.
As a result, existing claimants are likely to be better off as they will avoid this common hurdle to getting payments.
For more information, visit the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) website for further details.
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