The DWP have recruited additional PIP case managers and are now aiming to increase the number of PIP review decisions made without the need for the claimant to attend an assessment. But detailed “evidence/information”, though not necessarily medical evidence, will be vital for claimants who wish to be spared an assessment.

The move to catch up on the massive backlog of PIP reviews was revealed by the minister for disabled people, Stephen Timms, in a parliamentary written answer this week.

Asked about what steps the DWP are taking to improve the length of time taken for a PIP review, Timms stated:

“We have been actively recruiting additional Case Managers to meet increased demand for PIP, which means we are now in a position to begin to deploy additional resource onto award reviews. This will increase the number of review cases we can complete ‘in house’.”

 He went on to say that the new health assessment providers who began work this month will “be taking steps to ensure they have sufficient capacity to deliver the required volume of assessments” but that it will take time to train new healthcare professionals.

In the meantime, the DWP hopes to move cases through the system more quickly because:

“Where sufficient evidence/information is available, Case Managers can make decisions on reviews, avoiding the need for a functional assessment, which means many customers receive a decision faster.”

In other words, DWP staff will be making more decisions on reviews without the need for the claimant to be assessed by a healthcare professional, even on paper.

Benefits and Work can also reveal that the DWP carried out pilots in February and June of this year in which DWP case managers made decisions on fresh claims without the claimant having to attend an assessment.

In the first pilot the case managers only contacted a health professional for advice about a claim if they felt they needed to.

In the second pilot the case manager had to consult with a health professional in every case.

The claimant was not involved in the consultation in either pilot.

As a result of the pilots, the DWP concluded that the system worked best if consultation with a health professional took place in every case.

They also concluded that case managers “could potentially make more decisions without a health assessment if they had more information.”

The next step in the project, which may be happening now, was to look at allowing case managers to also contact claimants to gather more information.

The news underlines the importance of giving detailed information when making a fresh claim or a review claim, especially if you hope to avoid having an assessment. 

In relation to reviews, in particular, it seem less likely that claimants who simply tick the ‘No change’ boxes and do not provide further up-to-date information about the difficulties they experience will avoid an assessment.

But it is also unlikely that case managers will only look at review cases where there is new medical evidence, as this is not available to the vast majority of claimants.  Instead, current information including recent examples of difficulties that you have experienced is likely to be of considerable importance.

We have updated our members’ “Guide to PIP Claims and Reviews” to highlight the planned increase in decisions without assessments.

You can read the full response by Stephen Timms here.

 

Comments

Write comments...
or post as a guest
People in conversation:
Loading comment... The comment will be refreshed after 00:00.
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    Clare · 7 days ago
    Well I am waiting for my review to be completed With no clear label put on my latest symptoms Apart from a steady decline in my health Which now means I am housebound With more tests booked for Dec and Jan and waiting for further appointments to be sent My GP seems most likely is a syndrome of illnesses and disabilities All effecting each other As the list of symptoms is very long  So giving detailed up to date information for this review is difficult I was assessed last time for higher care and mobility after a long fight I just cross my fingers all will go well for this review As I need my strength to cope with my health problems right now I could do with a light touch assessment 
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    Stephen Greenwood · 8 days ago
    My wife has been awarded high rate mobility and middle rate care components of PIP. Every four years they reassess her for PIP, yet her condition is a life long condition, there is no known cure for it.   April 2022 the department of work and pensions decided my wife doesn't need a carer around, yet she can't go out on her own, or cook a meal as breathlessness and heat triggers fits in her. She is still waiting for the court to overturn the decision the DWP gave her to this day October 2024. What kind of society do we live in, if they don't seem to care for disabled people.
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      The Dogmother · 5 days ago
      @Stephen Greenwood @Stephen Greenwood I've decades long health concerns and at least one life long. Still I'm reassessed since going over from indefinite dla after being through at least six assessments to get indefinite.  It's a joke, they want us living on tender hooks all the time, and by God did they get their wish. 
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    Tracy · 11 days ago
    I have been waiting 11 months for a response to my PIP review form. I have received a text message with an appointment for a 'telephone consultation'. I have no idea what to expect, after reading the newsletter. Does anyone know if it will be like the telephone assessment I had for my PIP claim?
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      snuggles59 · 5 days ago
      @Tracy My friend had a telephone assessment. Do you realise that as well as the assessor there is a manager listening in and also someone from the DWP that really shocked me. The assessor was so arrogant and very rude that the manager had to take over the call. It's bloody disgusting how we the disabled are made to jump through hoops to get what we are entitled to. Best of luck in your review.
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    Helen Fisher, Signs of a Rain · 11 days ago
    I had a profoundly Deaf client who had to have a PIP Review. We had had no response after 9 months, so we contacted her MP who in turn contacted the DWP.  The DWP then arranged for her to have a TELEPHONE assessment, until we pointed out the fact that she is Deaf. A face to face assessment was arranged with a BSL interpreter, the result was ......... she's still entitled to PIP as a result of her deafness.   

    So much stress and a waste of tax payers' money
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    anon · 11 days ago
    im 57 and was awarded high for both components with no end date.does this mean i will be ok for a while? im confused
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      Catriona · 11 days ago
      @anon Light touch review 10 years relax unless labour axe pip you're grand.
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      Celine@Dion50 · 11 days ago
      @anon Hi Anon.
      It means you could get a light touch review at any point during that time. I am 59 and got high rate for both care and mobility. I was given a 10 year date end, but by then I will be nearly 70 and will probably be much worse therefore, I could even get a light touch review during that 10 year period.
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    Janice Johnson · 11 days ago
    I have no experience of a voucher system. Do you have any idea how this will work?  Where can we use vouchers?  What can we buy with them?  Disabled people have many and varied needs. 
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      Clare · 7 days ago
      @Janice Johnson I think it will turn out to cost far to much to administer A nightmare waiting to happen With people with such varied needs on PIP
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      Celine@Dion50 · 11 days ago
      @Janice Johnson Hi Janice.
      I don't really think the voucher system is going to work because everyone has different needs, some more than others. I am also quite sure that the car motability scheme will not accept vouchers for leasing their cars for 3 years. All this is just not practical or logistically viable.
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    DM · 11 days ago
    Hopefully it’s a positive move , I had my pip assessment last Friday 2.5 hours long , I was mentally and physically exhausted by the end of it. 
    I’m waiting for the results, it’s very stressful and the waiting is very stressful.
    So it would be good to get things done quicker, if your honest and give as much evidence as possible, you shouldn’t hopefully have anything to worry about.
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    D · 12 days ago
    This sounds encouraging and perhaps a smarter way of working. 
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    Elizabeth Vidler · 12 days ago
    Is there any update on what Liz Kendall/Stephen Timms have said about the future of those with disabilites, whether we are getting vouchers etc, what if any help we will get to return and stay in work, if that is what we want and are capable of.
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      Andy · 11 days ago
      @Matt Same here Matt
      Thank you for the dates,will watch bbcs parliament channel on these dates with interest.
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      Tracy · 11 days ago
      @Celine@Dion50 Agreed!
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      Celine@Dion50 · 11 days ago
      @Elizabeth Vidler Hi Elizabeth.
      Getting disabled people back into work is a smokescreen. If the government want disabled people back in work then, they should be tackling all those employers who do not or will not employ people with disabilities. I went to a council meeting over 20 years ago ant they admitted then that their quota for employing disabled people was very low. I know that they only had one disabled person working for them, who was in a wheelchair. It has not changed much since then. Employers only see how much money it is going to cost them to put reasonable adjustments in place, not the abilities of the disabled person. This is what the government should be focusing on, not penalising those who do want to work, but employers do not want to employ them.
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      Matt · 12 days ago
      @Elizabeth Vidler Not as far as I'm aware. Two dates in October will give a clearer idea of what is afoot: October 7th when Kendall takes ministerial questions and October 30th when her boss delivers the Budget.

      Given the announcement by the Government are going to pass very similar legislation to the Tories in relation to DWP surveillance, I'm far from hopeful....
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    jlee · 12 days ago
    Labour benefit news a bit worrying,,,
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      Matt · 12 days ago
      @jlee Yes, just seen the front page of the I. At least we'll know come October 30th. I am in the process of trying to get a better paid job on the basis that I won't be getting PIP in approx two years time, or if I do it will be severely reduced. And The Times states "a crackdown on benefits fraud ' meaning DWP will be snooping into people's private lives ...
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    Henry · 13 days ago
    I'm 66 and two years into a ten award. Are they likely to assess pensioners first as it seems that's who they are after.
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      Henry · 11 days ago
      @Michael How can you be so certain?
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      B · 13 days ago
      @Henry I don't believe they bother to do any more than a light touch once you're past retirement.
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      Michael · 13 days ago
      @Henry Hello Henry.

      Nope, you have nothing to worry about. You'll be the last to be affected.
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    Julie T · 16 days ago
    This was how my PIP review was determined earlier this year - purely on information and no in-person or phone assessment. I did send in a huge amount of information though which I had been preparing for several months before it was due to go in.

    To send a lot of info, it needs a lot of thinking about and you have to be careful to actually provide the answers from the point of view of their questions. I found I needed to be careful not just to send a massive load of information about how my condition currently is, but to make sure it was the right information and focused on exactly what they were asking.
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    MJ · 17 days ago
    If that is true with all assessor companies then that gives a little more peace of mind.

  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    Chenners · 17 days ago
    Sounds positive 
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      Mr B · 16 days ago
      @Bud Hi Bud

      As I said I don't think a voucher system  will be introduced however if it was presumably some sort of assessment system would be needed to see who qualified for them and what type etc.  As with many other things in life we don't yet know and will just have to wait and see i'm afraid!

      Kind regards

      Mr B
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      Bud · 16 days ago
      @Mr B Mr B, Would we need an assessment for our vouchers though?  

      It does sound good, & I’d rather they called me & asked me for further info, than do an assessment.  But if it sounds too good to be true ….  
    • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
      Mr B · 17 days ago
      @Chenners I agree and it may also be a good sign that the Government is not looking to replace PIP by vouchers etc because if they were I can't see why they'd bother with this new measure!  
  • Thank you for your comment. Comments are moderated before being published.
    SEdwards · 17 days ago
    A bit of good news!

Free PIP, ESA & UC Updates!

Delivered Fortnightly

Over 110,000 claimants and professionals subscribe to the UK's leading source of benefits news.

 
iContact
We use cookies

We use cookies on our website. Some of them are essential for the operation of the site, while others help us to improve this site and the user experience (tracking cookies). You can decide for yourself whether you want to allow cookies or not. Please note that if you reject them, you may not be able to use all the functionalities of the site.