Claimants can finally make a comparison between the success rates for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and its Scottish counterpart Adult Disability Payment (ADP), as figures for both benefits were released this week. It’s clear that ADP claimants currently have a better chance of success, but the gap is narrowing month by month and there is a mystery about the very high proportion of withdrawn Scottish claims.
PIP v ADP comparison
The headline figures for success rates for new claims for the two benefits are:
ADP 59% successful (since September 2022)
PIP 40% successful (over last 5 years)
So, on the face of it, claimants in Scotland are much more likely to get an award than claimants in the rest of the UK.
A deeper dive into the figures suggest that whilst Scottish award rates are still higher, the difference is not as great as it seems.
For one thing, success rates for ADP are falling steadily and much more quickly than for PIP. ADP award rates have fallen from 69% in September 2022 to 56% in April 2023, that’s almost 2% a month.
In addition, if you look at PIP award rates for just the last quarter, 43% were successful. The gap between 43% and 56% is still large but definitely narrower.
And then there’s the mystery of the proportion of Scottish claims that are withdrawn
9% of all ADP claims were withdrawn. Over the last year, only 1.9% of PIP claims were withdrawn. So, almost 5 times as many Scottish claimants voluntarily decide to stop their claim.
Is that because the initial information provided in Scotland is much clearer and allows a higher proportion of claimants to decide they are definitely not eligible and so withdraw? Or is there something else about the process in Scotland that makes it harder for people to continue?
It’s definitely an issue that needs investigating.
In terms of the speed with which claims are processed, Scotland is definitely struggling.
Over the most recent quarter, the average time to process a claim has risen from 77 days in January 2023 to 96 days in April 2023.
For PIP, clearance times are currently 91 days, meaning it now takes longer to get an ADP decision than a PIP one.
More ADP statistics
42,425 decisions had been made on new ADP claims by 30 April 2023.
59% were successful
32% were refused
9% were withdrawn
There has been a month on month reduction in the rate of applications authorised since the peak of 69% in September 2022 to 56% in April 2023.
66% were given an initial award comprising of both daily living and mobility components, whilst 26% were for daily living only and 8% were for mobility only.
The proportion of cases awarded both components has been falling since the national launch of ADP, with 73% of awards in September 2022 being for both components compared with 60% of awards in April 2023.
The proportion of cases receiving the enhanced rates of both the daily living and mobility components has fallen since September 2022. The daily living component is down from 74% of awards in September 2022 being at the enhanced rate to 50% in April 2023, and the mobility component has gone from 69% to 52% over the same period
Over the most recent quarter, the median average processing time for applications awarded decisions has increased from 77 days in January 2023 to 96 days in April 2023
Read the full ADP full statistics
More PIP statistics
Latest figures for normal rules claims cleared in the quarter ending April 2023 show: 43% of all new claim clearances (excluding withdrawn) and 51% of those who were assessed received an award
Over the last five years, 40% of new claims received an award of PIP.
210,000 registrations and 160,000 clearances for new claims (the highest level of registrations since PIP began)
Registrations have risen over the last year, with the latest quarter’s registrations up by 20% for new claims, 9% for DLA reassessments, 11% for changes of circumstance and 27% for planned award reviews in the quarter ending April 2023 compared to the quarter ending April 2022
Clearance volumes for planned award reviews in the quarter ending April 2023 were more than double the level (104% higher) than in quarter ending April 2022, whereas new claims clearances were 14% lower, change of circumstance clearances were 1% lower and DLA reassessment clearances were 23% lower over the same period.
PIP award review figures for the last five years:
Award Increased 18%
Award Maintained 52%
Award Decreased 9%
Award Disallowed 21%
Read the PIP full statistics
