Introduction

Local Citizens Advice offices from across Surrey had identified a problem with the appeals process for Personal Independence Payments (PIP) from client evidence. PIP is a benefit to support people of working age that suffer from long-term ill-health or disability.

Dealing with PIP-related issues is an increasingly important part of the work of Citizens Advice, particularly in  Surrey Heath where we helped with 200 PIP applications, 52 Mandatory Reconsiderations and 67 Appeals last year alone.

Surrey Citizens Advice offices worked together to publish a report on failings within the PIP application process, in particular problems in the Mandatory Reconsideration process. This is where a PIP claimant has to request that the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) reconsider its original decision on their claim before they are able to go to an appeals tribunal.

The stated aim of the Mandatory Reconsideration process is to resolve issues more quickly, but in reality many PIP claimants, appeal tribunal judges and several independent bodies like Citizens Advice Surrey Heath have long had doubts about the process. In our report we aimed to investigate how independent it really is, how well the process works, the quality of the DWP’s decision-making and the effect of the Mandatory Reconsideration process on our client’s lives.

Our Conclusions

The findings of our report show that the above doubts are backed up by the data. We found that, at the Mandatory Reconsideration stage of PIP, the DWP upheld 81% of decisions on new claims and 76% of decisions on reassessments, but when issues reached an appeal tribunal judges overturned 73% of DWP decisions. These figures indicate a significant issue in the decision-making of the DWP at the Mandatory Reconsideration stage.

Our report made five key findings:

1. MR is delaying the amendment of what are likely to be inaccurate initial decisions on PIP awards by the DWP.
2. We have seen delays caused by Mandatory Reconsideration leave people in financial difficulty or worsen already difficult financial circumstances.
3. We have seen the Mandatory Reconsideration process as a whole increase stress and worsen health conditions.
4. The MR process is often confusing and poorly understood.
5. The introduction of MR provides the opportunity to slow down or even stall the PIP appeals process.

And four key recommendations:

1. MR should be amended to an efficient, independent check that occurs automatically should a claimant apply for appeal, to rule out administrative or other obvious errors.
2. The PIP assessment process should be improved and brought in line with decisions made by tribunal judges, especially with regard to fluctuating physical and mental health conditions, in order to reduce the need for MR in its current form and potentially relieve pressure on Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS).
3. Clarification should be provided by the government regarding the provision of medical evidence.
4. Further research should be conducted into the reasons behind the delays in receiving MR decision notices, as well as other forms of delay detailed in the full report.

Overall, our findings are critical of the Mandatory Reconsideration process and the DWP’s handling of PIP claims more generally, to the point that we are asking for the Mandatory Reconsideration process to be completely overhauled.

Impact of our work

Following the publication of our report we contacted various officials, both locally and nationally, to let them know our findings and lobby for changes to be made.

Citizens Advice Surrey Heath sent it to Michael Gove, the MP for Surrey Heath, alongside a more general letter on the harshness of PIP assessments. Mr Gove raised the issue with the then-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Amber Rudd, who acknowledged that there was work to be done and said that significant effort was going into reviewing the Mandatory Reconsideration process. The combined advocacy efforts of the Citizens Advice offices that put together the report also resulted in the issue of PIP assessment and the Mandatory Reconsideration process being raised in the House of Lords.

Citizens Advice Surrey Heath welcomes the engagement of Mr Gove, Mrs Rudd and other government officials with our work and we are pleased to see that the concerns of our clients are being heard. We continue to advocate for changes to the benefits system to improve the lives of all claimants of all benefits, not just PIP.

Links to the report – ‘A Rubber Stamp? Mandatory Reconsideration in the Personal Independence Payment application process’

If you would like to see a summary of our report’s findings you can do so here. Alternatively, you can find the full report here.