Disability claims system ‘must be reformed’

A TORY MP has joined calls to change the assessments for disability benefits, amid warnings people are having their payments withdrawn incorrectly and are being forced to use food banks.

Heidi Allen said claimants faced “inherent stress and financial difficulty” if they appealed a decision to reject them for personal independence payments (PIP).

It comes as Frank Field, chairman of the Work and Pensions select committee, wrote to Ministers calling for an urgent review of the assessment process over concerns about its links to food bank use.

Fellow Labour MP Neil Coyle also said the system “has failed on every measure”.

Thousands of people have had claims rejected only to have the decision reversed as the Government moves people over to PIP from disability living allowance (DLA).

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said it welcomed scrutiny of the PIP process, adding that only a small percentage of decisions were overturned at appeal.

Mrs Allen, a member of the Work and Pensions select committee, said she was keen for the committee to review PIP and the work capability assessment “to identify opportunities to improve and streamline the two systems”.

“People with disabilities and health conditions already face challenges in life, so we must not add to them,” she added.

“I believe the department understands there are some weaknesses in the PIP system and will fully consider the recommendations made in March 2017 by Paul Gray, in his second independent assessment of PIP.

“Appeals and the inherent stress and financial difficulty they bring could be significantly reduced by better initial data gathering of the claimant’s health condition.

“Appeals are often overturned because further medical evidence is presented, so we need to get better at collating this information and providing easier ways for health professionals to contribute to the claimant’s application.”