Nine in 10 disability benefit checks are being carried out remotely as civil servants work from home. Face-to-face assessments for disability benefits from the Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ) are at their lowest level since the Covid pandemic, figures show.
The number of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claims linked to anxiety and depressive disorders has doubled, rising to 4.2 million by 2030, but the proportion of assessments for PIP taking place in person was just two per cent in September and October this year, and four per cent in August and November.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, the former government efficiency minister, said: “Without face-to-face assessments scroungers and fraudsters may play the system to the cost of honest taxpayers. It is time Britons got back to work.” The department has said that “a range of evidence indicates that there is a long-term rising trend in fraudulent behaviour towards organisations and a softening of attitudes regarding fraud in wider society”.
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Labour Party Chancellor Rachel Reeves has reportedly told Treasury officials she wants to get “tough” on spending and officials are said to be drawing up plans to tighten the rules on the proof of disability required when claiming PIP from the DWP.
A government spokesman said: “All PIP assessments are conducted rigorously and professionally regardless of which channel is used, and are independently audited to ensure claimants are receiving the same high-quality service.
“Building on our Get Britain Working White Paper, we will bring forward proposals for reforming the health and disability benefits system in the Spring. This will be part of a proper plan to help disabled people who can work secure employment, while ensuring support is provided for those who need it.”
PIP payments are not means-tested and are currently worth up to £798.63 a month for an individual on the highest rate from the DWP.