The DWP has spent over £700 million in the last ten years trying to prevent disabled claimants from being awarded benefits, figures released under the Freedom of Information Act reveal.
The disclosure shows the cost to the DWP of mandatory reconsiderations and appeals for a range of benefits between 2012/13 and 2022/23. They do not include the actual cost of holding appeal hearings, as these are covered by His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service.
According to the statistics, the highest spend has been on PIP, with mandatory reconsiderations costing £159 million and appeals costing £193 million.
Over the same period the DWP spent £90 million on ESA mandatory reconsiderations and the same amount on appeals.
The department also invests millions in trying to prevent disabled children from getting benefits, with £36 million spent on DLA mandatory reconsiderations and £45 million on DLA appeals.
Universal credit (UC) figures include all UC appeals, although the majority are against a finding that a claimant does not have limited capability for work-related activity. They show that £63 million has been spent on mandatory reconsiderations and £26 million on appeals.
Overall, the success rate for social security appeals is currently 62% in favour of claimants. But this varies considerably by benefit, with PIP currently at 68% whilst ESA has fallen to 50%, down 12% on last year.
The reality then, is that the DWP is wasting hundreds of millions of taxpayer’s cash because of its continuing failure to get decisions right first time.
You can download the full disclosure document in .pdf format.
