DWP finds disability benefit system is damaging to claimants’ health | Personal Finance | Finance
Research from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has found the claims process for disability benefits is “impacting claimants’ health in a negative way”. In some cases, the application process had also “triggered periods of ill health” in claimants, according to a recently-published report.
Commissioned by the previous government, the papers were compiled after DWP spoke to thousands of people who had applied for Personal Independent Payment (PIP), Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and the health elements of Universal Credit.
One in three people (32%) felt unable to explain how their health condition impacts their daily life, and 39% of people felt that their disability benefits assessor did not understand this, as reported by the Big Issue.
Participants were most likely to express doubts about telephone or video assessments (38% each) and less so about face-to-face (28%). Across all channels, PIP claimants were least confident that an assessor would be able to accurately assess their condition.
DWP said its “qualitative interviews” uncovered that the assessment was “a significant event for participants which they found preparing for, and attending, stressful”. It comes as the government considers reforms that would mean lower benefits or higher work-search conditions for almost half a million people by 2028/29.
The DWP‘s findings show people are already facing anxiety ahead of applications and assessments. One man with multiple sclerosis (MS) said: “When asked questions like how far I can walk without crutches, I doubled the length that I could actually walk. I was embarrassed to reveal that I can’t walk far. MS can also lead to bladder control issues. It’s really hard to say that to a stranger.”
One claimant said her assessor was “very abrupt and asked a lot of questions that I didn’t understand, so I kept looking at my fiancé and asking him to put them in a language that I could understand and sometimes he answered for me. I think she was getting a bit frustrated because I kept doing that”.
