PIP timescales at present

SlimmingSusan

I attended an ATOS assessment, after applying for PIP last August, 5 weeks ago, accompanied by my MH support worker.It was an NHS nurse who did the assessment, and she said the timescale is 4 weeks at present for a decision.
They had evidence from my support worker and my GP already.

I had a letter 2 weeks ago from DWP stating they had my information and would send a decision soon.

Is this normal, and how long is it taking for others please?

Mr_Lawnmower

Once DWP have all the information, a decision seems to follow fairly quickly - typically between a few days and three weeks.

However, DWP seem to send this letter automatically when they receive initial notification of the assessment report. If DWP go back to the assessment provider for clarification or there is something wrong with the report, it can be much longer than three weeks. These cases are rare, but they have happened. The most extreme case mentioned on the Youreable forums was someone where half the report was lost somehow and a second face to face assessment was required.


It is difficult to get an accurate picture of what is happening where, because PIP decision making takes place at several centres, each of which will have different delays.

SlimmingSusan

Thanks Mr Lawnmower, love your name, can you come to my house please :-)

Gosh I need to realise there are forums other than this, will go look at that one.

Mr_Lawnmower

If you head over to Youreable, there's a detailed timeline of my PIP claim (decided just over two months ago) towards the end of the sticky thread on PIP. I have a slightly different user name there that would break the rules on this forum.

I'm not trying to send traffic there - it's just that I can't post links here yet, so I have to post descriptions.

SlimmingSusan

I've just had a think, and am not comfortable going to any other forums, as I have had massive support from this forum over a long time regarding many issues.If I get no response then will head over there, but my loyalties lie with this forum at this moment.

Confuseddot

There is a huge thread on pip under disability and dosh the wait time for Pip does seem to be extremely long drawn out process at the moment.


Hopefully you will get a positive response soon.

Mr_Lawnmower

SlimmingSusan wrote: »

I've just had a think, and am not comfortable going to any other forums, as I have had massive support from this forum over a long time regarding many issues.If I get no response then will head over there, but my loyalties lie with this forum at this moment.

I wasn't trying in any way to "steal" members nor suggesting transferring your posting allegiance. I was merely suggesting reading one thread posted elsewhere as an unregistered guest. I thought for some time about where to post all that PIP information, and had to choose somewhere. If it was on a blog, others wouldn't have been able to interact with and challenge it to the same extent. Having chosen one forum, it makes no sense to maintain substantially similar material in more than one place.

You should remain posting here, as this is the group of people that you're comfortable with. As I said in my initial reply, you've reached the stage that tends to be fairly quick, so long as DWP are satisfied the report contains everything they need.


PIP is in the process of moving over to a computerised system of sending reports between the assessment providers and DWP. My claim was decided under the earlier system that appeared to involve electronic notification of the key details followed by the full report being posted to DWP.

Had you read the post I was pointing you to (which gave much more detail), you would have read that the initial decision in my case was made two days after DWP received the full report. Four days later, this decision failed the management check over the length of award, which was corrected by the decision maker within hours. The revised decision passed its management check three days later, and the decision letter was printed one day later. It took, in total, ten days from the report arriving at DWP to the decision letter being printed.

The money owed up to the day before the decision letter was paid into my account early morning six days after the decision letter was printed, with the letter arriving later that morning (they're only sent second class).

Overall, it took sixteen days from the report arriving at DWP to the decision letter dropping through my door and the back money being in my account. Other reports I have read suggested a similar two to three week timescale, but this assumes DWP can make the decision on the information they now have. There is no guarantee over the time it will take for a decision to be made in any particular case.


As confuseddot says, there is a lengthy PIP timescales thread in the Disability and Dosh forum here, though I've not seen another detailed breakdown of the time taken for the various steps. (I know the details in my case because I obtained a full copy of my PIP records from DWP via a subject access request under the Data Protection Act 1998 - a "how to" is in the aforementioned thread in the other place).

Morglin

As the DWP have suspended all ESA reviews for the time being, it is hoped that only having to deal with new ESA claims and PIP claims will soon cut the backlogs and delays.....we can but hope!

Lin

Morglin

SlimmingSusan wrote: »

I've just had a think, and am not comfortable going to any other forums, as I have had massive support from this forum over a long time regarding many issues.If I get no response then will head over there, but my loyalties lie with this forum at this moment.

YA is ok, although very quiet (to what it used to be), and not a lot on it, but there is a very long thread on here about different people's experiences and waits with PIP:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4741436

Lin

Mr_Lawnmower

Morglin wrote: »

As the DWP have suspended all ESA reviews for the time being, it is hoped that only having to deal with new ESA claims and PIP claims will soon cut the backlogs and delays.....we can but hope!

A fairly senior ATOS manager has said to me that they are required to keep their ESA and PIP systems completely separate - different centres and assessors. However, I cannot be certain whether this is actually the case and, if it is, who imposed this requirement - ATOS or DWP.


As you say, Lin, the key thing is that ESA reassessments have been suspended. If I understand the memo accurately, it is only referrals for reassessment that have been stopped, though it is possible that some or all of the reassessments that were underway will be discontinued.

With PIP, the launch of "natural reassessment" from DLA to PIP (change of circumstances, expiring fixed-term award, claimant reaching 16, volunteers) in October was stopped, and is only being rolled out on an area by area basis. This should mean that the PIP system is only dealing with new claims in the areas experiencing the worst assessment delays.

I join you in hoping that these and other measures ensure the backlogs in both systems reduce over the coming months.

Morglin

Ah, I don't know about separate centres, one of us ours appears to be doing ESA, DLA and PIP - same centre, but I don't know if different assessors are doing different things.

I suspect that the whole assessment process, around disability and sickness benefits, is in such chaos, they are just doing things all ways!

Because of working for the DWP and then becoming disabled myself, I have been involved in benefits for a very long time, and I can honestly say that I have never known such a foul up of it all, in those years.

The whole reform idea, especially if you include UC, and the thousands of scams on the government's UJM job site, is swiftly collapsing into too expensive and unachievable.

Well done to Dismal Duncan Smith! :doh:

Lin