Thousands of people claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP) benefits are having their payments stopped because they are not submitting their review forms. The DWP said 42,000 claimants had their PIP award stopped in 2021 due to this reason.
The figure is a 300% increase in just two years. 25,400 claims were disallowed in 2020.
The shocking figures were revealed by DWP minister Tom Pursglove in response to a written parliamentary question. The stats reflect those who allegedly failed to return their AR1 PIP review form but it is unknown if it also includes people who turned in their forms late.
An advice website called Benefits and Work has said it is concerned about the figures. A spokesperson said: "At Benefits and Work our concern is that the number of claimants allegedly failing to return their forms seems to be far outstripping any rises in awards that had taken place at the time. We know that the DWP’s post-handling and call management is dire and getting ever worse.
"It seems very possible that many disallowed claimants are returning their forms on time, but the DWP is either losing them or taking far too long before recording that they have been received. We have no way of knowing how many of the 42,000 claimants appealed or how many simply gave up in despair, even though they knew they had returned their form on time. Other claimants may have failed to return the review form because of the effects of a physical or mental health condition," Chronicle Live reports.
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Meanwhile, a DWP spokesperson said: “We support millions of people every year and our priority is they get the benefits to which they are entitled to as soon as possible, and to ensure they receive a supportive and compassionate service. For anyone with a disability or long-term health condition, there is a strong financial safety net, including Statutory Sick Pay, Employment and Support Allowance and Universal Credit.
"Only a small proportion of PIP claims are disallowed for non-return of the AR1 form and safeguards are in place to prevent vulnerable claimants’ claims falling out of payment.”
According to Pursglove, claimants with serious mental health or cognitive conditions who have difficulty communicating or engaging with the process, have their files ‘watermarked’ as Additional Support (AS), although they are not classed as vulnerable. These claimants will be asked to attend a PIP assessment even if they fail to return their form. Figures published by the DWP show that the total number of current PIP recipients with an AS marker is 422,200.
Claimants who are identified or deemed as vulnerable, are annotated with an Additional Customer Support (ACS) marker which is applied as a ‘watermark’ on their PIP record. This group will include those who may be vulnerable due to their circumstances, not just their condition. Whilst some claimants will fit into both categories, and have both markers applied, claimants in this category would also be afforded additional sensitivity and protection at all stages of their claim, not just at the point of disallowance for failing to return a claim form.
