THOUSANDS of households eligible for Universal Credit and PIP will be able to get payments quicker under new rules.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has revealed draft guidance explaining exactly who will be able to use a new fast-tracked application process.
AlamyThe DWP is testing a new scheme to make it quicker for those with severe disability to apply for benefits[/caption]
The severe disability group (SDG) is being set up to help identify claimants with the most severe and permanently disabling conditions.
If you’re found to be eligible and selected for the group, you’ll be able to go through a fast-track application process for Universal Credit, PIP, and employment and support allowance (ESA).
You’ll get the highest rate of disability benefit available to you without having to go through the usual application and assessment process.
Universal Credit is a payment to help with your living costs if you’re out of work or on a low income.
Claimants get a standard allowance worth up to £578.82 and then extra elements, for example, to help with the costs of a disability.
Households suffering from a long-term illness, disability or mental health condition can get up to £172.75 more in extra help through personal independence payments (PIP) too.
Under the SDG process, a doctor or nurse who identifies that a patient meets the criteria must fill out a short form to confirm the patient’s eligibility.
Forms should be completed and returned to [email protected] within 15 working days.
If the form confirms that the SDG criteria have been met, the DWP can make a longer enhanced award for Universal Credit or PIP.
The SDG was first introduced in the Health and Disability Green Paper in 2021.
The resulting Health and Disability white paper published in 2023 revealed that the design and testing of the Severe Disability Group had already begun in Autumn of 2022.
Now, the DWP has confirmed that it is extending the testing phase to include a larger number of claimants for PIP.
It’s asking a selected group of clinicians to identify patients they believe are suitable or contacting claimants they think are eligible directly to take part in the testing phase.
To meet the SDG criteria, the DWP say claimants must :
Have an irreversible or progressive condition, confirmed or managed by a secondary care specialist, with no realistic prospect of improvement
Have had no significant response to treatment, or treatment will not improve function, or no further treatment is planned
Have a severe impairment of physical or mental function (or likely to develop this within six months) such that they need assistance from another person to complete two or more activities of daily living
For the moment, there is no published guidance on how to interpret these criteria, so it’s expected that clinicians will be able to take it in view quite widely.
While the focus of the SDG’s testing revolves around PIP for now, the DWP will roll it out to those eligible for Universal Credit and employment and support allowance (ESA) in the future.
What is PIP?
HOUSEHOLDS suffering from a long-term illness, disability or mental health condition can get extra help through personal independence payments (PIP).
The maximum you can receive from the Government benefit is £172.75 a week.
PIP is for those over 16 and under the state pension age, currently 66.
Crucially, you must also have a health condition or disability where you either have had difficulties with daily living or getting around – or both- for three months, and you expect these difficulties to continue for at least nine months (unless you’re terminally ill with less than 12 months to live).
You can also claim PIP if you’re in or out of work and if you’re already getting limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA) payments if you claim Universal Credit.
PIP is made up of two parts and whether you get one or both of these depends on how severely your condition affects you.
You may get the mobility part of PIP if you need help going out or moving around. The weekly rate for this is either £26.90 or £71.
While on the daily living part of PIP, the weekly rate is either £68.10 or £101.75 – and you could get both elements, so up to £172.75 in total.
You can claim PIP at the same time as other benefits, except the armed forces independence payment.
Make a claim by calling the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on 0800 917 2222.
In other news, around 326,000 PIP claimants could be due back pay and the DWP is urging those affected to come forward.
It comes after a Supreme Court judgment in July 2019, following an Upper Tribunal decision, changed the way the DWP defines ‘social support’ in one of the assessed PIP categories.
Dubbed the “MM” judgement, the DWP realised that hundreds of thousands could now be due additional support.
It means that people may not have been given one of the two elements of PIP when they were actually entitled to it.
Others may have been awarded the standard rate but should have received the enhanced rate, which is a higher amount.
In response, the DWP began an administrative exercise in 2021, looking at PIP claims since April 6, 2016 to check whether claimants may be eligible for more support.
In its latest update, the DWP says it identified around 326,000 cases to be reviewed.
Around 79,000 cases reflecting MM judgement have been reviewed so far and arrears totalling around £74 million have been paid out to 14,000 people.
The exact amount of backdated PIP payments you could be eligible for will depend on your own circumstances – but the average payout works out at around £5,285 per claim.