Is the DWP benefits cull starting early?

miss_saxby

Hi everyone

I am on lcwra & pip and am due for a pip review end of this year ( my current award runs to January 2026) however I received a text message from DWP yesterday saying it's time for my review and they are sending out a form for re- assessment. I am already extremely apprehensive with all the stuff going on in the news about how they are going to try and take pip away.. however this has now made me extremely suspicious they are going to try and start the "cull" early.. I was not expecting to get a form sent to me until later on in the year?? So why would they be doing this now??

Also, as they have not yet changed the assessment form what criteria are they going to be judging me from?

I struggled to get onto pip in the first place, they rejected me THREE times before I went to a tribunal and got awarded it. So I am not feeling confident about having it re- instated. Particuarly because I am claiming for mental health (I have OCD) and I feel this will be one of their "target groups" to take benefits away from.

Does anyone know what is going on right now with the assessments? Or is anyone else being pushed into an early review for pip?

Kimi87

PIP reviews are currently taking around a year to complete (and it's been that way for some time).

This means they start the process far in advance of your end date. This is normal and nothing sinister or unusual.

No changes have been made to the criteria so you will be assessed as normal under the current system.

danni1425

Hi there. The DWP have a huge back log so they are sending out review forms around 8 to 10 months before the end of your award date. Mine runs out in late may 2025 and I got my form in August 2024. I still haven’t heard anything back yet. I don’t think any changes with the Pip assessments are happening until Nov 2026 so you should still be assessed under the old rules and not the new ones and whatever they award you will stay the same until your next review date after that. I’ve read as well that the LCWRA assessments are not starting up again until April 2026 as they don’t have the staff to deal with them at the moment. I know nothing is set in stone yet but I hope this gives you some peace of mind.

miss_saxby

Ok, that's a bit more reassuring. However, as they are going to change all the criteria in November not sure where my assessment will fall. Like do I need 4 points to qualify? I don't even know when they will do the reassessment if they are that busy. If they don't get round to reviewing it until after November am I in trouble? The whole thing has been playing on my anxiety massively. Too many questions and worries about this. It's making me feel depressed and I never normally feel depressed. It's like we have no control over any of it anymore. 😔

Kimi87

The Government plans are essentially a wish list.

What eventually becomes legislation is usually a watered down version of that wish list.

There are no changes absolutely certainly happening to PIP in November.

worried33

This review you have now will be under the current legislation, so 8 points total standard, 12 points total enhanced, doesnt matter if a 4 point descriptor.

The plans wont introduce it until late 2026 if as scheduled and even then it will only affect reviews started "after" the date.