Brits with eight diseases of the immune system may be able to claim the Personal Independence Payment (PIP), according to the latest official figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). PIP is a benefit that can help with extra living costs for people with a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability who have difficulty with certain everyday tasks or getting around.
How PIP is paid
The support comes in two parts: daily living and mobility. The daily living part is based on whether you can do household tasks like washing and cooking, while the mobility part is based on your mobility and travel needs. PIP is available to people aged 16 and over and under State Pension age. You can continue receiving it beyond that point if you have an approved claim, but you generally cannot make a new claim after reaching State Pension age.
For the daily living part, the lower rate is £76.70 per week and the enhanced rate is £114.60 per week. For the mobility part, the lower rate is £30.30 per week and the enhanced rate is £80. It means you can get £194.60 per week in total if you meet the eligibility for the higher rate in both England and Wales.
Conditions that qualify
You can be approved for PIP due to the impact of a wide range of health conditions, from infectious diseases to psychiatric disorders. The full list of immune system diseases identified in the last quarterly totals to July 2026 as the primary disabling condition on successful PIP claims includes allergy with no risk of anaphylaxis, allergy with risk of anaphylaxis unknown or not fully assessed, allergy with a risk of anaphylaxis, angioedema, food intolerance, hypersensitivity diseases (other or type not known), oral allergy syndrome, and immune system (other diseases of or type not known).
Many people were awarded the enhanced rate for both components. However, PIP is not given just for a specific diagnosis. Entitlement is decided based on how a long-term health condition or disability affects someone's ability to carry out specific daily living and mobility activities, as per The Daily Record.
How claims are assessed
This assessment is made by the DWP, informed by independent medical advice. People should not be put off from making a claim just because their condition does not feature on the list, which is not definitive. Northern Ireland has PIP, and though it is a devolved matter, the rules largely run in parallel with those in the rest of the UK. PIP has been replaced with the Adult Disability Payment (ADP) in Scotland, though it also has most of the same eligibility criteria.
