The average waiting time for callers to the PIP helpline has risen from 25 minutes in January to over 40 minutes from March onwards, according to official statistics.
Tom Pursglove, minister for disabled people was answering a written question from Labour MP Jon Tricket about the average time it takes the DWP to respond to enquiries about PIP.
In his reply, Pursglove revealed that the ‘average speed of answer’ for the PIP helpline is:
Jan 25:14
Feb 34:50
March 40:22
April 43:59
May 40:43
Pursglove went on to claim that “Personal Independence Payment (PIP) has experienced unprecedented levels of new claims from customers in recent months and, as a result, we have seen increased call traffic.”
However, claims are only up 20% on the same period last year and, by itself, this doesn’t seem to explain the huge increase in call numbers and waiting times.
Pursglove’s answer also fails to reveal that almost half a million callers to the PIP helpline in April didn’t even get to wait in the queue, because their call was deliberately disconnected by the DWP.
You can read the full answer on PIP helpline waiting times here.
