The DWP has dramatically increased its spending on fighting PIP and ESA appeals, whilst losing an ever higher proportion of cases. Spending is now at a record £121 million over the last two years.

The data, obtained through a freedom of information request by the Independent, shows the DWP spent £121m between 2017-18 and 2018-19, with £58m spent on mandatory reconsiderations and £63m spent on tribunal appeals.

When broken down annually over three years, it shows that the amount spent on mandatory reconsiderations increased by 19 per cent between 2016-17 and 2018-19, and the cost of tribunals surged by 64 per cent.

Yet the DWP is actually losing more and more appeals, with the success rate for PIP claimants now at 76%.

A DWP spokesperson told the Independent:

“ESA and PIP complaints have dropped by a quarter in the last two years, indicating increased satisfaction with our services. The data on expenditure has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics standards and should be treated with appropriate caution.”

You can read the full story in the Independent.

Comments

Write comments...
or post as a guest
Loading comment... The comment will be refreshed after 00:00.

Be the first to comment.

Free PIP, ESA & UC Updates!

Delivered Fortnightly

Over 110,000 claimants and professionals subscribe to the UK's leading source of benefits news.

 
iContact
We use cookies

We use cookies on our website. Some of them are essential for the operation of the site, while others help us to improve this site and the user experience (tracking cookies). You can decide for yourself whether you want to allow cookies or not. Please note that if you reject them, you may not be able to use all the functionalities of the site.