Personal Independence Payment delays leaving people anxious

New statistics from the Department for Work and Pensions suggest a higher proportion of people with mental health problems are being awarded support from Personal Independence Payments (PIP) than its predecessor Disability Living Allowance (DLA), allowing more people to maintain independence and stay well.

However the figures also show that there are severe delays in processing applications, causing a great deal of anxiety to those who are waiting.

PIP is gradually replacing DLA, which helps with the extra costs associated with having a disability.

Tom Pollard, Policy and Campaigns Manager at Mind, said:

“These new figures show that over 21 per cent of successful PIP claims have been from those with mental health problems, higher than the 16 per cent of people who were granted the old benefit, DLA, because of their mental health. We welcome this news, which we hope represents greater understanding and compassion towards people who need extra support because of hidden and fluctuating but nonetheless potentially debilitating conditions like mental health problems."

“The backlog of PIP applications is still a huge cause for concern, with just 84,000 processed so far, out of a total of 350,000. People have told us that the drawn out application process and lack of information is not only leaving them without the support they so desperately need, but causing a great deal of frustration and anxiety.”