The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has shared an update regarding changes to the Personal Independence Payments (PIP) amid a rise in benefit fraud. A recent Commons discussion saw Work and Pensions ministers address MPs’ questions about the battle against benefit cheats, as new measures come in to tackle fraudulent claims.
Among these changes are enhanced powers for officials to request bank statements and to retrieve money directly from accounts if fraudulent behaviour is detected. Labour ministers faced a grilling for further particulars on their anti-fraud schemes, during which MP Damien Egan put forward a query.
He asked: “During Covid, assessments for Personal Independence Payments were either moved online or to over the phone. Today less than 5% of those assessments have returned to face-to-face, so what assessment have ministers made of that change and are there any links with the rise in fraud?”
In reply, DWP parliamentary under-secretary Andrew Western set out the Government’s approach for PIP assessments. He confirmed there is currently a “blend “of telephone, video, and in-person assessments, to try and make the service as efficient as possible for users. Addressing concerns about an increase in fraud, he said: “Since telephone and video assessments have been introduced there has been no evidence to suggest that these delivery channels are less effective than face-to-face assessments in detecting fraudulent claims.
“In 2023-24, PIP overpayments accounted for just 0.4% of the DWP’s overall spend on PIP but this is something that I can assure my honourable friend that we will be keeping a close eye on.” The department is also working towards updating the PIP assessment process.
DWP minister Sir Stephen Timms recently detailed the Government’s plans in a statement that said: “The Health Transformation Programme is modernising health and disability benefit services, to improve people’s experience of applying for PIP. The Programme will transform the entire PIP service, from finding out about benefits through to decisions, eligibility, and payments.”
PIP assessments are used to determine a claimant’s needs and consequently, the amount they should receive. Payments comprise a daily living component and a mobility component, each with its own set of higher and lower rates.
The current weekly payment rates for PIP are:
Daily living part
- Lower rate – £72.65
- Higher rate – £108.55
Mobility part
- Lower rate – £28.70
- Higher rate – £75.75.
Benefit claimants will get a 1.7% pay rise from April, including PIP, Universal Credit and Pension Credit. Under the new rates, PIP will go up to:
Daily living part
- Lower rate – £73.90
- Higher rate – £110.40
Mobility part
- Lower rate – £29.20
- Higher rate – £77.05.
You can view the new benefit rates coming in from April here.