Page 81 - Reforming Benefits Decision-Making

DfC at the mandatory reconsideration stage remains significantly lower than
219
the DWP figures, with only around 30 per cent of PIP awards changed.
3.12 Moreover, as set out in Chapter 2, the latest figures show that success rates
on appeal remain extremely high – 75 per cent for PIP and ESA and 61 per
cent for UC for 2020/21. This means that despite the higher proportion of
220
decisions that are being changed at mandatory reconsideration stage, there is
still a large proportion of inaccurate awards being missed.

3.13 There are also several recurring issues faced by claimants trying to challenge
a decision, particularly about their UC award. These place barriers in the way
of claimants receiving a mandatory reconsideration decision (positive or
negative) and therefore prevent them from accessing their appeal rights.

Delay

3.14 There are no time limits within which the DWP or DfC must make a
mandatory reconsideration decision and Working Party members and
consultees told us that delay or a lack of response is common in the process.
Some claimants have repeatedly made mandatory reconsideration requests,
only receiving a response upon lodging an official complaint. In other cases,
delay has been caused by the DWP losing mandatory reconsideration
requests, with reports that it can take up to six months for mandatory
reconsiderations to be processed for Universal Credit claims. In January
221
2021 the median clearance time for PIP mandatory reconsiderations was 39
days and it was three days for ESA WCAs. However, the ESA clearance
times are measured from the date when the Benefit Centre has decided that
the mandatory reconsideration is valid, having considered whether they can
initially change the decision in the light of any new information. This is
different from the way in which PIP clearance times are measured, which is

219 Percentage of awards changed excludes mandatory reconsiderations that were withdrawn or
cancelled. DfC, ‘Personal Independence Payment Statistics Supplementary Tables – February 2021’
(26 May 2021), Table 15b.
220 Ministry of Justice, ‘Tribunal Statistics Quarterly’ (see n. 33 above)
221 S. Howes and K. Jones, Computer Says ‘No!’ Stage 2: challenging decisions (see n. 198 above) p.
24.

72