DWP delay in deciding an application for PIP

Advisers can use this template if all of the following apply:

• your client has made an application for PIP which has not been decided within a reasonable time
• your client is experiencing financial hardship as a result of the delay

This template assumes (so can be changed) that your client:

• is a full time student
• is single and has no children
• attended a telephone assessment and was told a face-to-face medical assessment is needed
• has provided has provided clear and compelling evidence of their medical conditions which would support the fact that they are eligible for PIP without a face-to-face assessment.

When not to use

Do not use this template if:

• there has not been an unreasonable delay in deciding your client’s PIP claim.
   

The main legal arguments in this template are:

• The DWP  is under a duty to consider all claims for benefit within a “reasonable time” (R(C and W) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2015] EWHC 1607 (Admin)).
• The duty to make a decision within a reasonable time applies to S.8 of the Social Security Act 1998 (SSA 1998) under which the Secretary of State shall “decide any claim for a relevant benefit”.
• What counts as a reasonable time depends on the circumstances, including the impact on the claimant and the complexity of the case (R(C and W) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2015] EWHC 1607 (Admin)).
• The delay has caused the claimant hardship and distress and is therefore unreasonable.

Information about your client:

• name
• address
• date of birth
• national insurance number
• details of disability, diagnoses and medication

Background facts:

• claimant’s household, family, housing, work, etc
• impact on the claimant of not receiving PIP
• dates and details of what has been said by the claimant and how DWP has responded
• specific details of the evidence which has been provided by the claimant to the DWP including where/who it’s from, its date, and how it supports that the claimant meets the conditions for PIP

Information about the delay:

• date of the claimant’s claim and of the telephone assessment (if applicable) 
   

We've created this guide to help you successfully use our judicial review pre-action letter templates: Guide to using CPAG's judicial review pre-action letter templates

Once you've finished your letter, please email it to us at: [email protected] before you send it to the lawyers acting for DWP/HMRC/your local authority. We'll try to reply as quickly as possible and will do so within 7 days.

Thanks to Student Services, King’s College London for sharing their template on this issue.