More than half of DLA claimants in receipt of the mobility component lose out on reassessment for PIP

The Minister for Disabled People Justin Tomlinson has said that More than half of DLA claimants receiving its mobility component had the amount reduced or stopped on reassessment to PIP.

More than 1.1 million disabled people had been reassessed from DLA with a mobility component to PIP and that, of these, 52% had the amount either reduced or stopped, the Minister said in a reply to a House of Commons question on 23 May.

The following table below published by www.parliament.uk shows the number and proportion of DLA claimants who were in receipt of the DLA mobility component and whom on reassessment PIP received:

• a reduced mobility element; or
• a zero-mobility element at the first DWP decision.

The figures also show that only 12% of DLA claimants were ‘better off’ in terms of their mobility award on moving to PIP.

The above figures are before any mandatory reconsideration, appeal or award review.

The new figures given by theMinister show almost the same loss of mobility entitlement to the FoI response DR UK obtained in 2017 and in a similar 2018 FOI response.

DR UK's Welfare Rights and Policty Adviser  Ken Butler said:

“While the DWP does publish some PIP statistics it does not publish information that shows the actual effect of PIP 20 metre rule.

It should not take a concerned MP to ask a parliamentary question for this information to be made public."

He added:

"The rule that confines higher PIP mobility awards only to those who can walk up to 20 metres must be scrapped.

Instead, those awards must, as with DLA, include those disabled people who can only walk up to 50 metres who are likely to have exactly the same extra costs.

The effect of reducing or removing disabled people's mobility awards - on their independence, health or employment - has never been researched by the DWP. After 5 years of PIP its more than about time that it was.”

The Minister's answer is available @ www.parliament.uk.