Benefit backlog costing disabled people £24m a month, says Citizens Advice | Benefits

Disabled people in England and Wales are missing out on an estimated £24m a month as record numbers wait for their personal independence payments (Pip) review, according to Citizens Advice.

More than 430,000 people are awaiting a Pip review as the benefit backlog deepens, with some facing delays of more than two years, the charity network’s report says.

In the last six months, the number of people seeking support from Citizens Advice for Pip review-related issues rose by 19% compared with the same period last year, and Citizens Advice says delays to payments worth up to £172 a week are causing widespread hardship and distress.

While someone waiting for their Pip review still receives financial support, it is only their initial award amount, meaning that if their health needs have increased since they were last assessed, the payments will not cover their growing costs.

Delays can disrupt access to other related benefits such as the warm home discount, a Blue Badge and an accessible Motability car.

Matthew Upton, of Citizens Advice, said: “Pip can act as a lifeline for so many people with extra living costs linked to their health condition. But right now, hundreds of thousands are being left in limbo while they wait for a health assessment with little clarity as to when their claim will be reviewed.

“At a time when rising prices are putting immense pressure on disabled people’s budgets, we need a system that efficiently and effectively helps people with extra living costs – not one that causes more harm.”

Shirley Gibson* waited two and half years before her Pip was reviewed and increased in May. Three hospital stays and a bout of coronavirus meant her long-term disability had worsened but she was stuck for years on the lower benefit rate, she said.

It meant Gibson had to cut back on food and transport and could not afford the medical supplies she needed. “My physio kept telling me to buy a sling to help my arm. But I didn’t have the funds,” she said. With energy bills spiralling, she struggled to keep warm. “Last Christmas, I didn’t even have a pound to put on my gas and electric.”

Citizens Advice said the record backlog was caused by workforce shortages at a time of growing demand from pandemic-related ill health and the rising cost of living. Between January and April 2023, 210,000 people made a new claim for Pip.

Pip has faced problems since it was introduced in 2013 by the coalition government in an attempt to reduce the number of benefits claimants. In recent years, the benefit has become increasingly hard to claim.

The success rate of applications in England and Wales has fallen from more than 70% to barely half in the last five years, with tens of thousands of disabled people wrongly rejected for benefits.

Jenny Evans*, who has multiple sclerosis, relies on a Motability car, and benefits to pay for it, in order to leave the house. She said the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) contacted her for a review in the spring but three months and “many, many messages” later she had been told it would be at least another eight weeks and “probably longer”.

Since Evans’ award in 2019, her health has deteriorated to the extent she can no longer live independently or work, she said. Her old car is too small to fit the walker or wheelchair that she now needs to go out and she is largely housebound. “I’m paying all my mobility [part of] Pip for a vehicle that I can’t utilise,” she said. “I’m in total limbo. The stress of waiting is awful.”

A DWP spokesperson said: “We support millions of people every year and our top priority is they get the benefits to which they are entitled as soon as possible. We are recruiting more staff, increasing resourcing and making constant improvements to deliver a more efficient Pip service, and no one will miss out on money they are owed as any arrears are paid once their review has been concluded.”

* Some names have been changed