DISABLED people claiming benefits are still waiting too long without money while claims are processed despite assurances delays have been fixed, it was claimed.

The privately run firm, Atos, which delivers assessments of the new Personal Independence Payments (PIP) claimants for the Department of Work and Pensions said it has cleared the backlog and is now dealing with claims within four weeks.

Last year it took on average of 14 weeks to be assessed.

Officials from the company have appeared at the Scottish Parliament Welfare Reform Committee.

MSPs and Citizens Advice Scotland said they were "baffled" and surprised by the four week claim.

David Haley, Atos client executive in charge of PIP, told MSPs that previous delays were unacceptable but since more staff had been deployed the waiting time had been reduced.

Mr Haley said: "The statistics we have is people are waiting four weeks. I am aware of the difficulties last year and the backlog worked through."

Christina McKelvie, Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse SNP MSP, said she had many constituents raise concerns about the PIP process with her.

She said: "I don't know of anyone who is done in four weeks.

"I am baffled how you can make that claim."

Ms McKelvie told Mr Haley of a report that suggested there were 3200 people waiting more than one year in Scotland.

Citizens Advice Scotland said the total length of the claims process was still far too long and it also had evidence of many waiting more than four weeks for the assessment part.

Spokeswoman Gael Scott, said: "The issue here is the total amount of time that it takes between making a claim and getting a decision. There is a chain of things that happen in that process, and the Atos assessment is only one of those things.

"So it may be true that Atos have improved their bit of the process - though we are still seeing some evidence to the contrary so we would be keen to hear from them about the detail of how they are ensuring their 4-week limit."