Labour have today (Wednesday 20 January 2015) pressed Iain Duncan Smith to admit whether he has broken his promise that no one applying for Personal Independence Payments (PIP) would wait longer than 16 weeks for an assessment in 2015. On 30 June 2014 Iain Duncan Smith promised MPs that, ‘before the end of the year, no one will be waiting for more than 16 weeks’ for a Personal Independence Payment assessment.

But evidence from MPs surgeries across the country suggests some people are still waiting for longer than 16 weeks for a Personal Independence Payment assessment. The DWP’s own website currently says assessments will be undertaken in 26 weeks, but DWP’s online PIP toolkit says this will be down to 16 weeks by the end of 2014.

Kate Green MP, Shadow Minister for Disabled People, said:

“It’s time for Iain Duncan Smith to come clean about Personal Independence Payment waiting times. Far too many disabled people are still stuck in a backlog waiting for an assessment. David Cameron’s government have forced hundreds of thousands of disabled people to wait for months to find out whether their applications for Personal Independence Payments have been successful.

‘The huge delays which have blighted the introduction of Personal Independence Payments, Universal Credit and Work Capability Assessments have wasted people’s time, money and potential. It’s more Tory Welfare Waste which Britain can’t afford.”