People on Personal Independence Payments (PIP) could be due £5,000 back pay after a recent rule change by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). The DWP is now urging around 284,000 existing claimants to contact them, if they think they may have been affected.
In July 2019, the Supreme Court made a decision that changed how the DWP defines ‘social support’ for Daily Living activity number nine. This decision, known as the ‘MM’ judgment, concerns when ‘prompting’ should be considered ‘social support’ in the PIP assessment, and how far in advance social support can be provided.
In September 2016, the DWP began checking PIP claims since April 6, 2016 to see whether claimants may be eligible for more support. In a recent update published online, the DWP says it has identified around 326,000 cases to be reviewed.
The former Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work, Tom Pursglove MP, recently told Parliament: “Due to the complexity of the exercise we started at a relatively small scale, prioritising terminally ill and recently deceased claimants, testing our processes and communications with claimants, to ensure they are effective before ramping up”. He also said: “We are monitoring the numbers of, and reasons for, revised awards closely and making regular quality checks to ensure our decision-making is accurate and fair. We have listened to feedback and engaged with disability organisations, to develop our processes and communications, being sensitive to claimants who need help to provide any further information we need to decide if they are affected.”
A new report reveals that by the end of August 2023, the DWP had reviewed about 79,000 cases in light of the MM judgment. This includes cases where claimants were previously assessed as needing ‘prompting’. Around 14,000 arrears payments, totalling roughly £74 million, have been made. The amount each person receives may vary, but on average, it’s about £5,285 per PIP claim.
Mr Pursglove added: “Confident that reviews are achieving the right outcomes for claimants, we have completed upskilling additional staff available for this exercise and expect to complete the review of all cases available to the exercise by the end of 2025.”
He said: “We are committed to making backdated payments to all claimants affected by this judgment as quickly as possible. So, as well as continuing to review claims affected by the definition of ‘social support’, we are also testing a more proportionate approach for claimants who might be affected by the timing element only.”
“We will be inviting around 284,000 claimants in this group to contact the department, if they think their claim is affected by this judgment and they were not previously identified as needing help to engage with other people face to face because any help they received was in advance.”
He also mentioned: “I believe that prioritising cases where claimants are more likely to be entitled to more support is the correct approach.”
