The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced that changes to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) will exclude claimants under 24s.
DWP moving the goalposts again
In the past, PIP claims lasted for two years for new claims. However, new legislation will see them last for a minimum of three years for new claimants. This will increase to five years at their next review.
This is being touted as reducing the stress for claimants. In reality, the DWP can’t handle the amount of reassessments they have to do.
As the Canary previously shared, the DWP had such a big PIP reassessment backlog that it had to divert staff away from new claimants. This was so they could brag that they processed the highest number of reviews since the benefit began. As a result, 40,000 new claimants were left waiting. Even though the number of new claims was down by 6% from the same period in 2024, the backlog persisted.
This meant that the DWP had to move the goalposts for new claimant clearances. The department was slammed by Public Accounts Committee for not meeting their own target of processing just 75% of new claims in 75 days. They were only doing 51%. So they decided they would make it look like they were upping the targets by pledging to do 90% in 120 days. However, this means they’re giving themselves three-fifths more time. They are doing this to complete just one-fifth more work.
Young people screwed over again
However, as the Independent reports, the extended time between reassessments won’t apply to disabled people under 24.
The DWP told the Independent:
Claimants aged 16-24 are more likely to see an improvement in condition and functional capacity than the general PIP population. The purpose of excluding under 25s from these changes is to avoid keeping young people on PIP longer than necessary.
This ageist rhetoric is straight out of the ‘you’re too young to have arthritis or need a stick’ playbook that anyone who’s had a lifelong condition is used to.
They justified the move with:
This important step to reduce the frequency of reviews will make the system more efficient by freeing up the capacity of health professionals to tackle our inherited assessment backlog, while removing unnecessary pressure from disabled claimants whose conditions rarely change at each review.
What is missing from all of this, of course, is that the DWP aren’t providing extra support for under 24 year old’s to get off benefits. Aside from forcing them into work with no extra Access to Work provision.
It’s clear that whilst attacking disabled people, the latest tactic is pitting us against each other. We can’t let the DWP fuck over the next generation of disabled people. This would only benefit ourselves.
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