PIP Review Timescales (now becoming backpay issues)

Hi all,

I contacted DWP requesting a review of my PIP award, in November, as my condition has worsened since my last assessment in 2020, and I believe I should now be getting HR mobility (current SR on both Mobility and Care). When I contacted them the guy I spoke to said once they've had the form back it should take 4-8 weeks for it to be sorted out.

After the first form not reaching me, I finally got the second one (form AR1), completed it, and sent it back. I then got a text from DWP on 20/12/23 telling me they had received it, followed by a text from IAS on 22/12/23 telling me that it had been passed to them for review, so I at least thought the ball had started to move, even if it may not exactly be rolling yet.

However looking at posts on here some people are only just having assessments now, based on reviews they submitted 1yr+ ago, so my questions are, do the timescales for reviews differ by region a lot? if not, have DWP just got their waiting times down a lot in the last few months? or, was the agent I spoke to just talking out of their backside, and I'm going to be waiting a lot longer than 8 weeks?

Thanks

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the info. 2 Years! that is outrageous! It's as if these "people" (a term I use loosely to describe any of this shower that are currently running the country) don't realise that people need this support, this isn't just some extra pocket money, it's vital support for people in real need. Makes my blood boil!

I think what I'm going to do is give them the 8 weeks I was originally told, then call them to find out what is going on. And then, if I get no joy, or told that it's going to take as long as it takes, I'll give them another 6 weeks after that and then get my MP involved. He's fairly high profile (speaker of the house) so sometimes just mentioning his name get's things done.

I can't wait for a year or more to get the help I need, I have a degenerative condition, and with those sort of timescales, and the progress of my condition, my award would be permanently under review if every time something changed it took a couple of years to sort. It was bad enough when this all first started and they would only give me awards of 1-2 years in length, meaning I was almost permanently dealing with the reclaims procedure (and so many tribunals!), but now I finally got an ongoing award with a 10 year light touch review planned, but my condition has worsened so I'm back on the treadmill of dealing with this all again.

This just seems to never end

Hi,
I sent my review form in March 2023 and I have just had my award letter through a few days ago. The only contact I had in that time was the 3 monthly text to say they are still processing it. I'd settle yourself in for a potentially long wait. It might well be that different regions have different wait times or it could be the method of assessment. I had a paper based review (thankfully) which you would think would be quicker but still took them a year. They do send you a text to say a decision has been made though, so you know when to wait for the dreaded letter to arrive which will save you pensively awaiting the post arriving each day.
Christina

Just a quick update, for others who are looking into timescales at the moment. Just had a text message from IAS, and they've got me booked in for a telephone consultation on 22/2, so it looks like things may in fact be getting handled a little quicker than previously.