New claims for PIP have plummeted by more than half since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, the work and pensions committee was told yesterday.
At the committee session, Justin Tomlinson, minister for disabled people, stated:
“We have seen a significant drop in the number of new claimants.
“We’re not totally sure why.
“But in January 51,000 new claimants in the month. At the beginning of March it was around about 12,000 a week, that’s now down to 5,000 a week as of last week.
Tomlinson also stated that although there were fewer staff now available to deal with disability benefits, new claims for PIP were actually going through more quickly, partly as a result of a switch away from face-to-face assessments and partly due to a drop in the number of claims.
The average length of time from the beginning to end of the process has actually improved.
