The latest figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) show that at the end of October 2022, claims for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) were taking 16 weeks to process from point of registration to the decision being made. The statistics also indicate that it is taking 11 weeks from the time of the assessment provider’s referral to the decision being made.
While waiting four months for a new claim to be processed may seem like a long time, it has actually come down from 24 weeks for the end-to-end journey recorded in October 2021. Similarly, the 11-week wait from assessment to decision is a reduction of five weeks from the 16 weeks recorded in 2021.
In November 2022, DWP said that reducing customer journey times for PIP claimants is a “priority for the department and we are working constantly to make improvements to our service”. While an 16-week wait may provide little comfort for anyone considering making a new claim for the benefit - or those already midway through the journey - it’s worth keeping in mind that successful claims are backdated to the point of application.
