Overview

• The DWP has paid compensation to around 57,000 claimants who lost the Severe Disability Premium during their transition to Universal Credit, with roughly 13,000 complex cases due by 30 September.
• The department has disbursed more than £260 million in Personal Independence Payment back payments, but 325,000 PIP cases remain under review for systemic underpayments.
• PIP underpayment errors identified include wrongful rejections over National Insurance number requirements, entitlement losses during Scotland’s ADP transition, and misallocation of social support points.
• Two High Court rulings in 2018–19, upheld by the Supreme Court in 2020, found the DWP failed to protect claimants’ incomes, leading to the introduction of the SDP Gateway and PIP remediation efforts.
• DWP minister Sir Stephen Timms is spearheading a stakeholder-led review to co-produce reforms of PIP eligibility and assessment processes with disabled people.