AQO 162/17-22


Ms Claire Sugden
Independent
East Londonderry


Tabled Date: 06/02/2020
Answered On Date: 18/02/2020
Priority Written: No


Question:
To ask the Minister for Communities for her assessment of the Personal Independence Payment appeals process.


Answer:
My Department is committed to getting benefit entitlement decisions right first time and to resolving disputes against decisions at the earliest stage in the process, avoiding the need for referral to an independent Appeal Tribunal. The Personal Independence Payment (PIP) appeals process has been designed to deliver these commitments to the people who submit a claim for PIP.
Before a person can make an appeal against a PIP decision they must first ask for the decision to be formally looked at again. This is known as a Mandatory Reconsideration. Since PIP was introduced over 20% of Mandatory Reconsideration requests have resulted in a change to the original PIP decision because additional evidence has been provided which was not available to the officer who made the initial decision.
If, following the Mandatory Reconsideration, a person still wishes to appeal against the PIP decision they must submit their appeal in writing or by completing an appeal form to The Appeals Service (TAS). An appeal must be received by TAS within one month from the date of the Mandatory Reconsideration decision.
Since its introduction on 20 June 2016 just over 200,000 Personal Independence Payment (PIP) decisions have been made. Approximately 10% of these decisions have proceeded to appeal. The number of decisions overturned at appeal represents 3% of all decisions made.
Decisions overturned at appeal are primarily because either additional evidence was presented at the Appeal Tribunal which was not available to the officer who made the decision or that the Tribunal took a different view of the evidence available to the Department when the decision was made, with neither conclusion being unreasonable. My Department has recently introduced improvements to the Mandatory Reconsideration process which is intended to obtain any additional information at that point which may lead to decisions being revised and prevent unnecessary appeals.