Minister of State at the DWP (): Today the department will publish the latest
update on progress on making backdated payments to Personal
Independence Payment claimants who are affected by the MH and RJ
decisions of the Upper Tribunal (UT). The release will be
published at: PIP administrative exercise:
progress on cases cleared - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new
tab).
The MH decision changed how overwhelming psychological distress
is considered when assessing someone’s ability to plan and follow
a journey. The RJ decision changed how we decide whether someone
can carry out an activity safely and if they need supervision.
As at the end of November 2022, we have reviewed around 990,000
cases against the MH decision. This includes cases where
claimants have previously been assessed as having ‘overwhelming
psychological distress’ or who have a ‘psychiatric disorder’ as
one of their health conditions. We have also reviewed around
1,100,000 cases against the RJ decision. This includes cases
where claimants have a ‘neurological disease’ as one of their
health conditions. All reviews will have been carried out by a
Case Manager within the department.
Around 8,400 arrears payments, totalling around £44 million, have
been made. No one should have seen their PIP reduced because of
this exercise.
In addition, we will continue to review any case for any claimant
who asks us to.
This has been a complex and substantial exercise, involving over
2,090,000 reviews against two UT decisions. Our approach
demonstrates that we have prioritised claimants who are most
likely to benefit, to make backdated payments as quickly as
possible.
We have set out further background to this release in an updated
‘Frequently Asked Questions’. I will deposit a copy of this
document and the statistical release in the House Library.
