Tories’ £200m bill to fight claims for disability benefit
THE Government has spent nearly £200million in five years trying to stop people claiming sickness and disability benefits, the Mirror can reveal.
Welfare chiefs clocked up the sum fighting appeals over Personal Independence Payments and Employment and Support Allowance.
Since 2013, over 400,000 people have been denied PIP and ESA after a medical assessment by a private outsourced company – only to be awarded them after an appeal. More than two-thirds of appeals succeed. The figures from the Department for Work and Pensions sparked calls to reform the “flawed” assessments. James Taylor, of disability charity Scope, said: “The system isn’t just failing disabled people, it’s failing the taxpayer.” The DWP said findings were a snapshot, not official, and “should be treated with caution”.