Disability benefit mistakes are overturned every minute of the working day, analysis shows

Work and pensions secretary Therese Coffey has been warned the ‘stressful and degrading’ assessment system is failing people, Andy Gregory reports

Therese Coffey is facing calls to give disabled people the right to request an appropriate benefits assessor (Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)

The number of mistaken disability benefit decisions successfully appealed in the past two years equates to one for every minute of the working day, analysis suggests, prompting a warning that disabled people are being “systematically failed” by the current process.

In the 24 months to July, a total of 301,899 decisions about people’s Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claims were overturned, according to analysis of government data by the disability charity, Scope – which amounts to an average of more than 12,000 per month.

The number of successful appeals has soared by more than 30 per cent over the past five years, analysis shared exclusively with The Independent suggests, amid warnings that these mistaken decisions create “enormous anxiety” for disabled people forced to fight for the correct support, often in the face of poverty.

In a petition to work and pensions secretary Therese Coffey, multiple charities and more than 10,000 campaigners warn that – with 72 per cent of assessments that make it to a tribunal being overturned – the current process for assessing disability claims is “getting it wrong far too many times”.

The campaign, led by Scope, urges the government to give disabled people the right to request an assessor who is a specialist in their condition, arguing that the current system means those with a mental health condition could be assessed by a physiotherapist.

“Behind these huge numbers are the many difficult stories from disabled people and families who’ve had to face months of unbearable stress, fear, and the anxiety of not being believed, in order to access financial support to enable them to live independently,” said James Taylor, executive director of strategy at Scope.

“A wrong decision about disability benefits is being overturned every minute. These wrong decisions throw a person’s life into turmoil. Having to fight for financial support puts a huge toll on disabled people’s mental and physical health and can plunge families into poverty.

He added: “We’ve heard from huge numbers of disabled people who felt their assessors did not understand their condition or how it affects their life. The system is getting it wrong far too many times.”

PIP is a non-means tested benefit to help people with the extra living costs associated with their long-term condition, which is split into two parts – mobility and daily living.

Disabled people who have had their PIP claim rejected or have been offered less financial support than expected first go through an initial internal appeal with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), called mandatory reconsideration. If this is unsuccessful, they are able to take their case to an independent tribunal, where the government can challenge their case.

In their analysis, Scope looked at quarterly tribunals data published by the Ministry of Justice and monthly figures relating to mandatory reconsiderations published by the DWP, finding the equivalent of 1.3 successful appeals for each hour of a five-day working week.

The process of fighting disability benefit appeals appears to have cost the taxpayer hundreds of millions of pounds in recent years, with The Independent previously revealing that the DWP spent £121m fighting appeals relating to PIP and Employment and Support Allowance between 2017-18 and 2018-19.

“At a time of the spiralling cost of living, the government has promised to help level up society. But instead of helping to lift disabled people and their families out of poverty, millions of pounds are being wasted on fixing assessors’ wrong decisions,” Mr Taylor said.

“It’s crucial that disabled people are assessed by someone who understands them, so they can access the right financial support the first time around,” he said, adding: “An assessor with specialist knowledge will be able to understand the true impact of someone’s condition and how it might fluctuate, as well as giving disabled people confidence they will get a fair assessment and the right decision first time round.”

While the government did not dispute the figures, it said that of the 4.4 million initial decisions made following an assessment in the eight years to March, nine per cent were appealed and five per cent overturned at a tribunal hearing.

A DWP spokesperson said: “For the majority of PIP claims, we get decisions right and all assessments are carried out by healthcare professionals trained to consider the impact of someone’s health condition or disability, but we are exploring what more we can do so the welfare system better meets the needs of disabled people through our Health and Disability Green Paper.”

But in their petition, campaigners warned the appeals process is “stressful and degrading”, while one woman at the sharp end of the system described her disputed assessment as “incredibly distressing when you’re somebody who’s proud that they try so hard to overcome all the barriers they face on a daily basis”.

Carol Vickers, from Leeds, has multiple health conditions including the connective tissue disorder hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS), osteoarthritis, reactive gastritis and ADHD.

The 44-year-old, who said that her left hip is crumbled and she has difficulty walking even small distances without experiencing severe pain and tiredness, has been claiming PIP for several years. But at her latest reassessment the mobility element was removed.

Believing the resulting assessment report to be “wildly inaccurate”, she challenged it via the DWP’s mandatory reconsideration process, but was unsuccessful.

“I didn’t go for a full appeal because I was exhausted after the process. I was so distressed by the whole reassessment experience and so angry and tired,” she said. “I work, I have a home to keep, I just didn't have the strength to take them on – it's all too upsetting and exhausting.”

As a result, Carol has had to self-fund the extra costs she faces due to her disability and fears that, in the future, she may no longer be able to afford a car, meaning she won’t be able to work, shop, visit family or get to health appointments.

“It would have really helped having an assessor who understands my conditions,” Carol said. “The assessment feels like you're being interrogated and they're trying to catch you out. And that's incredibly distressing when you're somebody who's proud that they try so hard to overcome all the barriers they face on a daily basis.

“The whole system makes me anxious, makes me worry for my future security, and makes me feel like a lesser human.”