• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • About DNS
  • Subscribe to DNS
  • Advertise with DNS
  • Support DNS
  • Contact DNS

Disability News Service

the country's only news agency specialising in disability issues

  • Home
  • Independent Living
    • Arts, Culture and Sport
    • Crime
    • Education
    • Employment
    • Housing
    • Transport
  • Activism & Campaigning
  • Benefits & Poverty
  • Politics
  • Human Rights
You are here: Home / Benefits and Poverty / Two claimants take legal action over their months in the PIP queue
Entrance to DWP's Caxton House HQ

Two claimants take legal action over their months in the PIP queue

By John Pring on 28th February 2015 Category: Benefits and Poverty

Listen

Two disabled people who spent months waiting to be assessed for the new disability benefit have secured the chance to take legal action against the government over the delays they and thousands of others have faced.

Lawyers have been granted permission for a judicial review of the system introduced by the coalition to assess claimants for personal independence payment (PIP).

Disability News Service (DNS) first began reporting on delays and backlogs in the system in late 2013.

Only last month one disabled woman told DNS how she had been forced to wait more than 14 months to be assessed for PIP which is gradually replacing working-age disability living allowance.

Now lawyers Irwin Mitchell have secured permission to take legal action on behalf of two disabled people who were “left in the lurch” by the new system.

They hope to force the government to make improvements to the assessment system, after hearing “numerous” first-hand accounts from disabled people who have faced “serious financial hardship” after experiencing delays in receiving their PIP payments.

The company has already helped seven people obtain decisions on their PIP claims after launching legal actions on their behalf, but is now launching a judicial review on behalf of two of the seven to try to improve the system for others affected by the delays.

They say that having to wait more than six months amounts to a failure to reach a decision in reasonable time.

One of the two claimants taking the legal action, Ms C, from Kent, applied for PIP in January 2014 after her health condition worsened and she had to leave her job, but she did not receive the benefit until October, just one day after court proceedings were originally issued on her behalf by Irwin Mitchell.

She said: “The delay had a massive impact on my life. I applied for PIP so I could look after myself, but without it I could barely eat and only ever left my house for a weekly trip to a supermarket.

“I was completely isolated during the nine months I was waiting for my payments. While my wait came to an end, it is worrying that many, many others have still not received a decision.”

Anne-Marie Irwin, a public law specialist with Irwin Mitchell, said: “While we have helped a number of clients obtain decisions on PIP, it is worrying that the DWP’s approach has been to fast-track those who are taking legal action but not address the situation for the many people who continue to face delays and – as a result – are unable to pay for essentials such as food and heating.

“This has left our clients struggling to cope financially, with the strain and stress of these issues having a significant impact on their health and wellbeing.

“Simply too many people have been left in the lurch as a result of these issues and we hope that our legal challenge will lead to the vital improvements that are needed to ensure that disabled people up and down the country can get the support they need.”

A Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) spokesman said he was unable to comment on ongoing legal proceedings.

Last month, work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith and disabled people’s minister Mark Harper refused to comment after it emerged that they had broken their high-profile promise to slash all waiting-times for a PIP assessment to less than four months.

DWP figures showed instead that one in 11 of those who had lodged a new PIP claim since the benefit’s launch in April 2013 was still waiting to be assessed, and had been waiting longer than 16 weeks.

This suggested that, by 25 January, just under 50,000 claimants (49,545) had been waiting longer than 16 weeks for an assessment.

The DWP spokesman said: “Our performance has improved significantly and the latest stats show that the average claimant now waits 14 weeks for an assessment.

“Furthermore, the number of cases dealt with by the assessment providers has quadrupled in the last year.

“We are committed to building on this progress and achieving further reductions in claimant waiting times.”

Share this post:

Share on X (Twitter)Share on FacebookShare on WhatsAppShare on RedditShare on LinkedIn

Tags: DWP Irwin Mitchell PIP delays

A photograph shows an audience raising their hands in a BSL sign. The words say: 'BSL Conference 2025. The future starts with us. Leeds 17-18 July. Be part of shaping the future of Deaf cultures and identities. Get 10% off with BDA10'

Related

‘Disastrous’ cuts bill that leaves legacy of distrust and distress ‘must be dropped’
3rd July 2025
Silence from MP sister of Rachel Reeves over suicide linked to PIP flaws, just as government was seeking cuts
3rd July 2025
Disabled activists warn Labour MPs who vote for cuts: ‘The gloves will be off’
3rd July 2025

Primary Sidebar

On the left of the image are multiple heads of different colours - white, aqua, red, light brown, and dark green - all grouped together, then the words ‘Campaign for Disability Justice. Sign up to support. #OpportunitySecurityRespect’
A photograph shows an audience raising their hands in a BSL sign. The words say: 'BSL Conference 2025. The future starts with us. Leeds 17-18 July. Be part of shaping the future of Deaf cultures and identities. Get 10% off with BDA10'

Access

Latest Stories

‘Disastrous’ cuts bill that leaves legacy of distrust and distress ‘must be dropped’

Four disabled Labour MPs stand up to government over cuts to disability benefits

Silence from MP sister of Rachel Reeves over suicide linked to PIP flaws, just as government was seeking cuts

Disabled people receiving care were ‘ignored by design’ during the pandemic, Covid inquiry hears

Disabled activists warn Labour MPs who vote for cuts: ‘The gloves will be off’

GB News says it has nothing to apologise for, after guest suggests starving disabled benefit claimants

SEND inspections find services in just one in four areas usually lead to ‘positive’ outcomes for disabled children

Disabled MP who quit government over benefit cuts tells DNS: ‘The consequences will be devastating’

Disabled peers plan to ‘amend, amend, amend, amend, amend’ after assisted dying bill reaches Lords

Minister finally admits that working-age benefits spending is stable, despite months of ‘spiralling’ claims

Advice and Information

Readspeaker
A photograph shows an audience raising their hands in a BSL sign. The words say: 'BSL Conference 2025. The future starts with us. Leeds 17-18 July. Be part of shaping the future of Deaf cultures and identities. Get 10% off with BDA10'

Footer

The International Standard Serial Number for Disability News Service is: ISSN 2398-8924

  • Accessibility Statement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Site map
  • Bluesky
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Threads
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2025 Disability News Service

Site development by A Bright Clear Web