DELAYS of more than six months in processing a new disability benefit have "let down some of the most vulnerable people in our society", it has been claimed.
Margaret Hodge, chairwoman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), said some claimants of the new Personal Independence Payment (PIP) have been forced to turn to food banks, loans and charitable donations to support the extra costs of living associated with their disability.
The committee's report into PIP demands that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) speed up the process, stating it has failed to provide an acceptable standard of service to claimants.
PIP, which was introduced to replace Disability Living Allowance (DLA) from the beginning of October last year, has had a chequered history. From the start there were claims it was causing chaos within the DWP.
Ms Hodge said: "The implementation of Personal Independence Payment has been nothing short of a fiasco.
"The Department's failure to pilot the scheme meant that the most basic assumptions, such as how long assessments would take and how many would require face-to-face consultations, had not been fully tested and proved to be wrong.
"This resulted in significant delays, a backlog of claims and unnecessary distress for claimants who have been unable to access the support they need to live, and in some cases work, independently. The personal stories we heard were shocking."
There are about 3.3 million DLA claimants, aged 16 to 64, who were to transfer to PIP over the next few years. The benefit - which last year was worth between £21 and £134.40 a week - is available to disabled people who have difficulty walking or need help to look after themselves.
Ms Hodge said that by October 2013, the DWP had only made 16% of the decisions it had expected to have made by that time.
Four in 10 claimants in some areas had to spend more than an hour travelling to be assessed, "a far cry from the promise" that between 75 and 90 per cent of claimants would travel less than 30 minutes to an assessment centre, said Ms Hodge.
Minister for disabled people Mike Penning said: "The old DLA system was extremely outdated, with the majority of claimants getting the benefit for life without systematic checks on their condition.
"New PIP includes a face-to-face assessment and regular reviews to ensure support goes to those who need it most.
"The PAC report is based on old statistics. I have introduced a faster process for people with terminal illnesses, with clearance times reducing to our target of 10 days. And a higher proportion of people are getting the highest rate of financial support for daily living under PIP than DLA."
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