Problems with PIP



Around 1.7 million people in receipt of DLA are due to be assessed for PIP, along with 1.9 million new PIP claimants, by the end of 2018. The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee branded the implementation of PIP a fiasco in 2014. And in June 2016, a report by the Muscular Dystrophy Society showed that there were ongoing problems with both PIP and Employment and Support Allowance. 


Key findings from the charity’s survey of 300 disabled people included the following:

• more than 30% of individuals felt they were not treated with dignity or respect by benefits assessors;

• between 400 and 500 adapted vehicles are being handed back each week;


• nearly 40% of people experienced delays in the process, some as a result of application papers being lost by assessment companies;


• more than 30% of people with muscle-wasting conditions have encountered financial hardship as a result of delays in receiving a disability benefit;


• around 40% of respondents had an assessment for a disability benefit at a centre that was not accessible for people with limited mobility; and


• nearly 20% had to wait over six months for an appointment to assess their eligibility for a benefit.