Are the DWP with Alice in Wonderland?

2oldcodgers

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has been instructed to carry out an urgent investigation after the number of disabled people whose disability benefits were stopped when they failed to return a vital form shot up by more than 450 percent in four years. In 2017 just 7,500 claims for personal independence payment (PIP) were rejected because the claimant failed to return the AR1 award review form but by 2021 this had risen to 42,100 - a shocking increase of 461 percent.

However, a DWP spokesperson said there are safeguards in place to make sure vulnerable people don't have their benefits stopped unnecessarily.

Absolutely shocking!

Does anybody know what these safeguards are as they do not seem to be working.

I was caught up in this by not returning the relevant documents due to medical and mental health reasons. It took me 7 years of recovery to manage to bite the bullet and make a new claim losing those 7 years of benefits.

OverlyAnxious

The main problem over the last year or two is not the claimants failing to return on time, it's the backlogs at the DWP mail sorting office meaning paperwork doesn't get logged onto the system in time. 

That immediately triggers an automated response to stop the PIP, which in turn stops other benefits such as SDP & the LHA increase that some of us get.

I also got caught by this, and had to rely on a relative making phonecalls on my behalf to get it all rectified.

I suspect the 'safeguards' they refer to are simply the automated warning letters, telling people that the forms haven't been received.  Not much of a safeguard in my opinion though!