The latest quarterly statistics from the DWP show that the number of personal independence payment (PIP) claims and the success rates have fallen in the last quarter. There has also been a fall in the number of planned award reviews that result in an increase.
PIP claims
The figures show that for the quarter to July there were 210,000 new PIP claims, down by 3%.
In addition, the success rate for new PIP claims was 41% (excluding withdrawn), a decrease from 46% in July 2024.
This means that over one in ten claimants who would have got an award based on last year’s statistics did not get one this year.
When only those claimants who got as far as an assessment are taken into account, the fall in success rates is very similar, 48% as opposed to 53% in July 2024.
PIP planned reviews
The official statistics only give a five year figure for PIP planned award reviews: over the last 5 years (August 2020 to July 2025) 76% of planned award reviews resulted in an increase or no change to the level of award received by the claimant.
However, examination of figures in statxplore shows that in the quarter to July 2025, 66.47% of awards stayed the same or increased compared to just 55.30% in the same period last year.
But, whilst there has been an increase of almost a third in the number of reviews where the award stayed the same, there has been a fall of almost a half where the award was increased.
The full figures are:
- Disallowed pre-assessment: 8.54% in three months to July 2024, as opposed to 4.79% in July 2025
- Failed assessment: 6.16% in three months to July 2024, as opposed to 4.38% in July 2025
- Award decreased: 6.48% in three months to July 2024, as opposed to 3.83% in July 2025
- Award increased: 15.41% in three months to July 2024, as opposed to 8.2% in July 2025
- Award the same: 39.89% in three months to July 2024, as opposed to 58.27% in July 2025
DLA to PIP reassessments
There were 23,000 DLA to PIP reassessments carried out in the quarter to July. The success rate was 72%, down from 76% last year.
When only those claimants who got as far as an assessment are taken into account, the fall in success rates is from 77% this July as opposed to 80% in July 2024.
Clearances
There have been some major shifts in which cases the DWP has focused on clearing.
Clearance for planned award reviews, changes of circumstance and DLA reassessments in the quarter ending July 2025 were 49%, 26% and 12% higher respectively than in quarter ending July 2024; while clearance volumes for new claims decreased by 7% over the same period.
What has changed?
It seems reasonable to ask why there has been a very marked change in the success rates for new PIP claims.
It seems unlikely that assessment companies have managed to ramp up face-to-face assessments, where the success rate is lower, to a sufficient degree to create such a fall.
But there have been no changes in the law that would account for such an alteration.
It may, of course, just be a blip. But we will be watching the next set of quarterly statistics very closely.
