DWP in the High Court

A delay in paying welfare benefits to two disabled people was unlawful, the High Court has ruled. This ruling is the latest blow to Ian Duncan Smith’s credibility and that of the DWP.  Anne-Marie Irwin, the public lawyer leading the cases, according to the BBC, called the court's ruling "significant".

From April 2013, PIPs began replacing Disability Living Allowance.PIPs are benefit payments to help people aged 16-64 as disabled people frequently have extra costs of living.   They are available to employed and unemployed people, and claimants can receive £21.80 to £139.75 a week, depending on how their condition affects them.

Eligibility is determined by an assessment, and claimants are regularly reassessed, but government figures show more than 3,000 have been waiting an enormouse amount of time - for more than a year for their claims to be processed. This assesment process is ongoing and the government expects those who needs to switch to PIPs should have been contacted by late 2017.

There are currently 78,700 people waiting to hear if they can claim PIPs, of whom 3,200 have waited more than a year to have their claims processed, and 22,800 have waited more than 20 weeks.

Delays of at least nine months for Personal Independence Payments (PIPs) for these "most vulnerable" of people were unreasonable, a judge ruled.

The pair's lawyers said the ruling showed "clear failings" in the system, which ministers said it was improving.

The claimants, known only as Ms C and Mr W, said the delays meant they struggled to pay for food and fuel, and this caused their health to decline. They had to resort to the use of food banks and loan sharks.

Ms C, from Kent, who has ME, severe depression and other health problems, waited from September 2013 to October 2014 to have her eligibility assessed. The court heard she lived a "hand-to-mouth" existence, spending £8 per week on food, and only left her home once a week to visit the supermarket.

In her judgement, Mrs Justice Patterson said Ms C was required to travel some distance for face-to-face PIP assessments despite the fact she had "explained her difficulty in travelling". Ms C said she could not travel and was told her application would be cancelled, causing her "considerable stress and anxiety", but PIPs were eventually granted based on phone and paper evidence.

Mr W, who was a carpenter until he contracted ulcerative colitis in 2013 and had his colon removed, waited from February to December 2014 for a PIP decision. The court heard both claimants were struggling financially, with their only income being Employment Support Allowance and Housing Benefit

Their lawyers said they had a right to the benefits and should have received them within a "reasonable time". Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith has said PIP delays were unacceptable

But now the High Court has gone as far as to say these long delays are unlawful.

Justice Patterson refused to say this could have wider implications apart from for the two anonymous claimants. Their solicitor’s hope this case will lead to the thousands of others waiting to receive compensation.

But there may be many more legal challenges before that happens. However the fact this was a 'Test case' was rejected as each individuals circumstances can vary considerably. The pairs Human Rights were not breeched however.

According to the BBC a spokeswoman for Prime Minister David Cameron acknowledged there were problems in the original roll out of PIPs. He fully supports the approach of the DWP, which is looking at where it could learn lessons, she added.

All in all, this is another blow to the credibility of Ian Duncan Smith and the DWP under his leadership. It is another loss to the taxpayer it must be pointed out who is funding these expensive legal cases in the High Court. The door is now open for more claims of compensation.