People on DLA warned they will have to 'wait 10 months' for payment from DWP

A mum who has a disabled son is waiting TEN MONTHS for the Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ) to decide on her Disability Living Allowance. MPs have criticised the DWP over reports some claimants are being left waiting up to 10 months for the benefit.

Green Party MP Ellie Chowns cited one example of a mother with a disabled son, who had been forced to wait more than 18 weeks for the DWP to decide whether her disability living allowance application has been successful.

Chowns said she has now been told to wait a further 25 weeks. Speaking in Parliament on Monday, Chowns — the Green MP for North Herefordshire — said: "A mother of a disabled child has waited more than 18 weeks, and is now being told to wait an extra 25 weeks of mandatory reconsideration."

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"A constituent of mine, an 82-year-old gentleman, has spent more than 16 weeks waiting for his pension credit application to be processed. What is the minister doing to take steps to reduce the delay in processing applications for pension credit and other benefits to lift households out of poverty?”

Labour Party MP Alison McGovern, the minister for work and pensions, replied in the Commons and cited significant backlogs within the benefits system more widely, saying the department had brought in 500 extra staff to process pension credit applications alone for a surge in applications this winter.

McGovern insisted the government was working "very quickly" to deal with the backlog. Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for children may help with the extra costs of looking after a child who is under 16 and has difficulties walking or needs much more looking after than a child of the same age who does not have a disability.

They will need to meet all the eligibility requirements. The DLA rate is between £28.70 and £184.30 a week and depends on the level of help the child needs.