DWP issues new PIP guidance after court ruling as 1000s due payments | Personal Finance | Finance
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has updated its Personal Independence Payment (PIP) guidance following a landmark Supreme Court ruling. The judgment, known as MM, changed how the Government department assesses the “social support” needed when claimants engage with others face-to-face.
As a result, the DWP has revised the PIP handbook, adding new sections MM9a and updating MM9b on Wednesday (June 3). The changes affect claimants whose previous awards may have been underestimated due to the prior interpretation of social support. The department began reviewing relevant cases in September 2021, with around 326,000 claims assessed so far. This exercise has led to 47,000 claimants receiving additional payments, totalling approximately £266million. A further 2,400 claimants have now been identified as eligible for back payments following review.
The updated guidance primarily affects those who were not previously recognised as needing help to engage with others, as any support they received occurred before the activity. These claimants may now receive points for Activity 9, which could materially increase their PIP award.
The DWP is urging anyone who believes their claim could be affected by the timing of support to contact the department.
To prioritise urgent cases, the DWP fast-tracked claims involving terminally ill individuals and recently deceased claimants to ensure backdated payments were processed quickly.
A DWP spokesperson said: “The department prioritised checking the claims of individuals known from our systems to be terminally ill and cases where the claimant was recently deceased, to ensure that they, or their representatives, received any backdated entitlement as quickly as possible.”
According to BirminghamLive, data shows that 275,000 cases received a letter, with around 4,800 cases requesting a review and around 31,000 deceased or Special Rules cases reviewed. Around 220 payments have been made to qualifying claimants, and the total amount of additional payments the department has paid out is around £1.3million.
Fewer than 100 further claimants have been identified as benefitting from the exercise and are due a back payment following a review of their claim.
