DWP blew tens of millions in taxpayer cash on fighting disability benefit claims

The government spent tens of millions of pounds fighting – and in many cases losing – appeals over disability benefit decisions last financial year, figures obtained by the Big Issue reveal.

More than £50m was forked out by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on staff costs in attempt to uphold decisions about personal independence payments (PIP), according to a freedom of information request.

This is enough to cover the full rate of PIP for more than 5,200 people for a year.

• How government blows tens of millions in taxpayer cash fighting disability benefit claims
• Disabled Brits suffering ‘unacceptably poor’ treatment at hands of the DWP, damning report finds

PIP is a benefit which is used to help people live independently and cover the extra costs of a disability or health condition. The standard rate is just over £100 a week and the full rate £184 a week, a lifeline for millions of disabled people in the UK.

A little more than half (56%) of people are awarded PIP after an assessment. If the decision is negative, claimants can appeal the decision.

Around 90% of initial challenges, known as mandatory reconsiderations, go in favour of the DWP. It spent £22.9m of taxpayers’ money on ensuring this in 2023/2024.

But the majority of appeals (69%) are won by the claimant when taken to tribunal. The DWP spent £28.1m on challenging PIP appeals at tribunal stage last financial year.

Ayla Ozmen, director of policy and campaigns at anti-poverty charity Z2K, said: “The government is continuing to spend tens of millions of pounds a year defending disability benefit appeals, despite the fact that it goes on to lose almost four in five cases.”

The government also spent a further £4.3m on staff costs relating to appeals and mandatory reconsiderations for employment and support allowance (ESA), and £4.9m on those related to disability living allowance (DLA).

It puts the total cost spent on challenging these disability benefit appeals at more than £60m. 

This is despite the rate of disability benefit fraud being extremely low. The fraud rate for PIP is 0.0%. For DLA, it is 0.1%. And for employment and support allowance, it is 1.5%.

Mikey Erhardt, campaigner at Disability Rights UK, said: “No matter your background, no one should be left without the support needed to live independently. These latest figures demonstrate how the little current assessment process properly considers disabled peoples’ own oral and written evidence. 

“The DWP’s focus on gatekeeping support has a clear financial impact on the public purse – it costs us all money while making the lives of disabled people much worse.”

Disabled people have told the Big Issue of significant challenges they have faced while going through the assessment and appeals process for PIP. One claimant who was waiting for more than two years for a tribunal date after the DWP withdrew her PIP said the appeals process is “traumatic”.

“The fact that so many disabled people have to go through a reconsideration process or appeals just to get the support we are entitled to is a damning indictment of how the current system works. Worse still, many disabled people wrongly denied PIP do not appeal due to ill health or worry and stress about the appeal process,” Erhardt said.

“Delays in support, which are caused by so many disabled people having to go to appeals to get what they deserve, not only undermine our right to a decent quality of life but also further entrench the barriers to access, employment and social inclusion that many disabled people face.”

Previous reporting by the Big Issue found that £350m was spent fighting PIP appeals between 2013, when the benefit was first introduced, and 2023. The latest figures put the total at more than £400m. 

Figures for the months in which Labour has been in power are not yet available. The government has promised to “work with disabled people” to “fix our broken benefits system”, although it has also pledged to slash the welfare bill and encourage more people with long-term sickness into work.

Charities are urging the government to reform the disability benefits system so that it is compassionate and supports claimants, among whom are some of the most vulnerable people in the country.

James Taylor, director of strategy at disability equality charity Scope, said: “It’s vital that the government gets assessments right. Disabled people are continually left out of pocket by a failing benefits system. 

“The system is rife with inaccuracies, distrust and misery. We need to see the DWP reforming the assessment process to one that is more tailored and compassionate. But it appears our government is determined to start with cuts instead.”

A DWP spokesperson said: “We support millions of people through our welfare system every year, and it is a priority people receive a supportive service and the benefits they are entitled to as quickly as possible. 

“We continue to learn from decisions overturned at appeal, and have already made improvements to our process – giving decision makers more time to speak with customers and gather relevant additional evidence – to make the right decision early in customer’s journey.”

The DWP is due to publish a health and disability green paper in the spring, which will have more detail of its plans for the disability benefits system. Ozmen said she hopes it “lives up to its vision for a system that gets decisions right the first time”. 

Taylor added: “Our welfare system is not working, but the worst thing the government could do is cut benefits for disabled people or make the system more punitive.”

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