The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has begun testing a new method for assessing Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claims, moving decision-making away from health professionals to case managers. Under the current system, medics assess claimants and award points that can lead to up to £194.60 per week. The new trial, involving 150,000 claimants, will see DWP case managers determine points based on assessments by nurses, physiotherapists, and others.
Disability campaigners have criticised the change, warning it will lead to inaccurate decisions. A DWP whistleblower told Disability Rights UK: “Removing health professionals from the decision-making process will strip out essential medical nuance, leading to poorer quality, less accurate, and less fair outcomes. Many vulnerable claimants will face wrong decisions, increased stress, financial hardship, and unnecessary appeals.”
Fazilet Hadi, head of policy at Disability Rights UK, described the move as a “recipe for disaster”, stating it would result in “thousands of poorly informed and inaccurate decisions”. She added: “Claiming PIP is intensely personal; we have to talk about the impacts of our impairments and health conditions, in ways many of us find emotionally and practically difficult. At least we have some chance of our individual needs and circumstances being understood, when the recommendations are being made by the people we have actually spoken to.”
A DWP spokesperson defended the trial, saying: “Case managers already make all final PIP decisions - that has not changed. This small-scale trial is about re-balancing roles so that assessors focus on what they do best, freeing up capacity by reducing duplication, and empowering case managers to apply their own judgement based on all the evidence.” The DWP also announced that PIP award reviews will be set at a minimum of three years for new claims, rising to five years at the next review if the claimant remains entitled, though this does not apply to claimants aged 24 and under.
