Government Will Review More Than 1.5 MILLION Disability Benefit Claims

The Government is to review all 1.6 million claims for a disability benefit after it decided not to contest a High Court ruling.

Ministers previously said accepting the decision over claims by those with mental health conditions could see up to 220,000 personal independence payment (PIP) claimants awarded higher payments.

In a written parliamentary question, shadow work and pensions secretary Debbie Abrahams asked if there was a timetable for when claimants will be told if they will get their payments backdated.

Disabilities minister Sarah Newton said: “We are working with stakeholders to change the PIP assessment guide so that we can implement the judgment.

Image: Disabilities minister Sarah Newton

“Once we have completed this exercise we will be carrying out an administrative exercise to review cases that may be eligible and ensure that claimants receive the correct award.

“This will be a complex exercise and of considerable scale, as we will be reconsidering approximately 1.6 million claims.

“Whilst we will be working at pace to complete this exercise it is important that we get it right.”

The changes will not affect all PIP claims but they will all be reviewed as an administrative exercise.

Ms Abrahams said: “Today’s admission that the department will have to reconsider 1.6 million PIP claims to ensure that all claimants receive the correct award is shocking.

“The disabilities minister has refused to publish a timetable of how many months or even years it will take for this ‘complex exercise’ to be completed.

“The Government was wrong to cut PIP benefits in the first place, wrong to bring in the PIP regulations last year and it was wrong to repeatedly ignore the views of the courts.”