DWP PIP change 'recipe for disaster' campaigners say as new system trialled

DWP PIP change 'recipe for disaster' campaigners say as new system trialled A test has begun with 150,000 claimants and the system could be rolled out further The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has started testing a new way to assess people claiming Personal Independence Payments (PIP). The current system sees medics carrying out assessments and awarding claimants points which can allow people to claim up to £194.60 a week. The new system will see Department for Work and Pensions case managers decide how many points people with disabilities get, based on the assessments by nurses, physiotherapists and others. A trial has started with 150,000 claimants and could be rolled out to the assessment used to test eligibility for the health-related element of Universal Credit. Disability campaigners say the new system will result in 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, Disability Rights UK’s head of policy, said: “Stopping health professionals from making recommendations on the basis of their assessment and requiring them to solely pass information to DWP case managers to make the determination, is a recipe for disaster, which will result in thousands of poorly informed and inaccurate decisions. “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 said: “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 told The Independent it is changing PIP assessments to set all award reviews at a minimum of three years for new claims, rising to five years at their next review if the claimant remains entitled. This will increase the amount of time between reviews in most cases. The change does not include claimants aged 24 and under.