DWP slammed as 'department in meltdown' with benefit review waits doubling in a year

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has come under scathing criticism after it emerged that Brits claiming some benefits have seen their waiting times almost double in just 12 months.

The influential Benefits and Work forum has slammed this as yet more "evidence that the DWP is a department in meltdown," with people claiming a variety of benefits now experiencing lengthening delays to their applications or reviews.

People attempting to challenge their benefit award decisions, which typically occurs through the "mandatory reconsideration" process, are now waiting around two and a half months to hear back from the DWP, Labour's Stephen Timms MP admitted in response to a written parliamentary question. Independent MP Richard Burgon asked "whether her Department plans to take steps to reduce the clearance time," for Personal Independence Payment reviews.

The disability minister responded: “We recognise that the most recent data shows an increase in Mandatory Reconsideration clearance times, from 37 calendar days in December 2023 to 71 calendar days in July 2024. To address this, we are recruiting Mandatory Reconsideration Decision Makers and have made overtime available to increase productivity.”

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But with the DWP facing huge numbers of fresh Pension Credit claims following the Winter Fuel Payment rule change, as well as growing waits in other benefit applications, the disability advocacy forum said the efficacy of these measures "remains to be seen." Earlier this year, it emerged that the department could take as long as a decade to clear the full PIP review backlog.

In September, disability minister Timms told MPs that the department would be hiring large numbers of health professionals “to ensure they have sufficient capacity to deliver the required volume of assessments” and help tackle the vast PIP review backlow.

At the same time, the DWP is also going full-steam ahead with the "managed migration" of 800,000 Employment Support Allowance claimants over to Universal Credit by the end of 2025, a move which was accelerated with the aim of slimming down the department's ballooning £250 billion benefits bill.

With additional resources required for all of these major reforms to the benefit system announced by Labour to help fix the "£22 billion black hole," some public bodies have expressed concerns about the DWP's ability to enact them properly. Citizens Advice has previously stated: “Because the ESA migration timetable has been accelerated so quickly, we’re concerned that DWP doesn’t have the capacity to deliver this support adequately and at scale.

"For example, whether DWP has enough staff to carry out all the home visits required,” which could leave some vulnerable claimants behind in the Universal Credit migration. Citizens Advice added: “Because the ESJ isn’t a legal process, there aren’t formal mechanisms to hold the DWP accountable if people fall through the net.”