As there are only two rates of the daily living component of PIP and the government said they intended to cut the bill for DLA payments by 20% when PIP was introduced, it’s easy to assume that anyone getting the lowest rate of the DLA care component would just stop receiving benefit when they try to move to PIP. Happily, this is not necessarily the case.
The lowest rate care component of DLA was awarded to people who either needed help to prepare and cook a meal or who needed help with their personal care for a ‘significant portion’ (around 1 hour) each day. Some of these people will actually do better under the PIP system, which is less focused on the time spent helping someone and more on the types of help needed.
In the latest published statistics from the DWP, covering November 2018 to October 2023, 47% of those DLA claimants who were moved to PIP saw an increase in their award, 16% had an unchanged award and 22% saw their award decrease.
In respect of young people moving from DLA to PIP because they were turning 16 in the same period, statistics suggest that 59% secured more PIP than they had been awarded under DLA, 14% saw their amounts of benefit unchanged and only 7% had their awards decreased. These statistics do not suggest the mass removal of benefit from claimants on any particular rate of DLA.
