To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) Personal Independent Payment and (b) Disability Living Allowance claims were ended due to non-return of the re-assessment form in each year since 2015, for recipients who his Department had identified as vulnerable.
Answered on
6 February 2023
The information requested for both questions in relation to Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and on vulnerable claimants for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
There is no set definition of vulnerable claimants used by the department. Claimants with serious mental health, or cognitive conditions who have difficulty communicating or engaging with the process, are marked as Additional Support (AS). This group are not classed as vulnerable; however, the DWP recognises that safeguards are needed to prevent claims falling out of payment so these claimants will automatically progress to the provider for an assessment, whether they complete a review form or not, and will not be disallowed pre-assessment.
Claimants who are identified or deemed as vulnerable, are annotated with an Additional Customer Support (ACS) marker which is applied as a ‘watermark’ on their PIP record. This group will include those who may be vulnerable due to their circumstances, not just their condition. Whilst some claimants will fit into both categories, and have both markers applied, claimants in this category would also be afforded additional sensitivity and protection at all stages of their claim, not just at the point of disallowance for failing to return a claim form.
The table below shows the total number of PIP claimants disallowed due to non-return of the AR1 (Award Review 1) form, regardless of whether an AS marker is present.
Table (a): Claimants disallowed by year for non-return of the AR1 form.
2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | |
Disallowed for non-return of AR1 | 7500 | 15800 | 14100 | 25400 | 42100 |
Source: PIP Atomic Data Store (ADS)
Notes:
- This is unpublished data. It should be used with caution and it may be subject to future revision;
- This data includes initial decisions only, and does not include mandatory reconsiderations or appeals;
- Figures are for England and Wales only;
- Figures include planned award reviews and unplanned change of circumstances;
- Figures are rounded to the nearest 100;
- Data before 2017 are unavailable due to changes in the way award reviews were recorded.