a) From April 2026 to July 2026 it took an average of 125.6 days from the initial date of contact to an Access to Work decision being made. To protect employment opportunities, case managers prioritise the small minority of AtW applications where the customer is due to start a job within four weeks. In 2025, we allocated c. 96% of applications starting work within 4 weeks in 28 days.

b) We recognise the importance of clearing the backlog, which is why, in May 2026, we committed to recruiting and training an additional 360 case managers, and 120 case workers to process the higher volume of applications. That is a 72.5% increase to the existing 658 staff already working on Access to Work. We expect to have cleared the backlog by the end of September 2027.

Recruitment has already begun, and new case managers will undertake a comprehensive and robust learning routeway that lasts for 6 months to enable them to handle complex applications with confidence. All Case Managers need to successfully pass a detailed and robust assessment before they are deemed to have reached the standard required to make application decisions. Onboarding will be phased, with the first candidates starting from 1 September 2026. Management grades have already been recruited across August 2026 and September 2026, to manage and support the new starters.

We are keen to ensure Access to Work remains fair and sustainable. Access to Work is critical for the people it supports, so it is important we take the time to get reforms right so we can deliver real improvements.

Access to Work is a discretionary grant scheme and does not operate against published service targets for application processing or renewals.

The time taken to process applications and renewals will vary depending on a range of factors, including the complexity of the case and the provision of evidence from customers.

Access to Work operates a Service Level Agreement for payment processing. The current Service Level Agreement is to process payments within 10 working days of receiving the information required to make a payment.

Complaints are handled in accordance with the Department's complaints procedures. The Department aims to provide a full response to complaints within 15 working days.

The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

The total number of cases outstanding at all stages of the Personal Independence Payment Award Review (PIP) process, at the end of May 2026 is 300,000.

Please note this data is derived from unpublished management information, which was collected for internal Departmental use only, and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard and represents England and Wales only. The figure has been rounded to the nearest 10,000 cases.

All claims remain in payment whilst award reviews are in progress and award increases identified during a planned review will be backdated as appropriate. Should customers report a change of circumstance and trigger an unplanned review, their claim will be prioritised alongside new claims.

We are committed to ensuring people can access financial support through PIP in a timely manner. Reducing customer journey times for our claimants is a priority for the Department and we are working constantly to make improvements to our service.

We know PIP can be improved, which is why we launched the Timms Review, which is being co-produced with disabled people and their organisations to ensure the benefit is fair and fit for the future. The Review aims to report to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in Autumn 2026 and we have committed to reporting its outcomes to Parliament.

The mean and median waiting time between a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) appeal being lodged and the Department submitting its response to HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), for initial clearances and award review clearances in the calendar year 2025, was 5 weeks.

The Department does not hold data on when a tribunal hearing date is set. This information is in the domain of HMCTS.

We are increasing resources available for writing appeal responses by redeploying staff and making overtime available.

We are also looking to make appeal writing more efficient by improving the programme that decision makers use. The improved tool will integrate better with other DWP computer systems, which will make it faster and easier to use than the current process.

We will continue working to make the right decision as early as possible in the claim journey so people get the support they are entitled to without needing to appeal.

Reducing customer journey times for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants is a priority for the Department and we are working constantly to make improvements to our service. More information can be found here:

Disability Living Allowance for children timeliness performance, for new claims cleared between 1 August 2025 and 31 March 2026 - GOV.UK

Personal Independence Payment: Official Statistics to April 2026 - GOV.UK

A child or young adult cannot qualify for DLA or PIP unless the disability conditions have been satisfied for an initial period of three months. This helps establish that disability and the resulting needs are of a longstanding nature and ensures that the benefit goes only to those for whom it is intended. Where entitlement conditions are met, Carer’s Allowance can be backdated for up to three months from the date that entitlement to the qualifying disability benefit begins. Severely disabled children and young adults do not always have to wait for the full three months from the date of their claim before they become entitled to DLA or PIP if they have already had the requisite needs arising prior to their claim.

Special considerations also apply to those who are terminally ill, who are awarded the highest rate of the care component of DLA or the enhanced rate of the PIP daily living component automatically without having to complete a qualifying period. Such claims are dealt with quickly and sensitively.

Reducing customer journey times for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants is a priority for the Department and we are working constantly to make improvements to our service. More information can be found here:

Disability Living Allowance for children timeliness performance, for new claims cleared between 1 August 2025 and 31 March 2026 - GOV.UK

Personal Independence Payment: Official Statistics to April 2026 - GOV.UK

A child or young adult cannot qualify for DLA or PIP unless the disability conditions have been satisfied for an initial period of three months. This helps establish that disability and the resulting needs are of a longstanding nature and ensures that the benefit goes only to those for whom it is intended. Where entitlement conditions are met, Carer’s Allowance can be backdated for up to three months from the date that entitlement to the qualifying disability benefit begins. Severely disabled children and young adults do not always have to wait for the full three months from the date of their claim before they become entitled to DLA or PIP if they have already had the requisite needs arising prior to their claim.

Special considerations also apply to those who are terminally ill, who are awarded the highest rate of the care component of DLA or the enhanced rate of the PIP daily living component automatically without having to complete a qualifying period. Such claims are dealt with quickly and sensitively.

Since 2021, the Access to Work scheme has successfully adapted to significant changes in demand. Post COVID operating conditions have led to a broader and more complex mix of customer cases, including increased applications involving multiple adjustments, fluctuating conditions, and support for customers with mental health and neurodiverse needs.

The average number of claims processed by an individual Access to Work Case Manager is around two award decisions per day whilst also working daily to progress cases on their caseload. The Department is committed to ensuring customers receive timely support and has taken decisive steps to strengthen delivery. We are in the process of recruiting more staff to process claims and support the clearance of the backlog along with having introduced comprehensive training to ensure decisions are consistent and aligned with policy intent. These measures will strengthen processing times and support plans to clear the backlog by September 2027

Access to Work applications are processed and recorded at the individual applicant level, as grants are awarded to individuals rather than employers.

The Department is unable to extract data on the number of employers that could be affected by delays. Finding this information would require a manual review of individual records, which would incur disproportionate cost.

The Department recognises that delays in Access to Work decisions can impact both employees and their employers.

As set out in the Department’s press release of 19 May 2026, we have committed to recruiting nearly 500 additional staff, who will receive extensive training to handle complex applications. These measures will improve processing times and support our plan to clear the backlog by September 2027.

The Department does not hold a routinely reported average time between a Universal Credit enquiry being referred to the Agents Contact Team and resolution of that enquiry.

Enquiries referred to the Agents Contact Team can vary significantly in complexity and may require input from different parts of the Department before they can be resolved. As a result, journey times are not directly comparable and are not currently measured as a single average resolution time.

The Department remains focused on ensuring Universal Credit enquiries are handled as quickly and effectively as possible, with priority given to cases where there is evidence of vulnerability, hardship or urgent need.

We have accepted or partially accepted 38 of the 40 recommendations in Liz Sayce’s independent review of Carer’s Allowance overpayments. We are working on plans to improve and modernise Carer’s Allowance (CA), making it easier for unpaid carers to combine their caring responsibilities with paid work where they can, and rewarding them more for doing so.

The department also provides support to unpaid carers through income-related benefits, which can be paid to carers at a higher rate than those without caring responsibilities. Universal Credit and Pension Credit pay an extra £2,500 a year to 1.1 million unpaid carers through the carer element and carer addition respectively.

We have also increased the weekly Carer's Allowance earnings limit to match 16 hours work at National Living Wage levels. This change from April 2025 resulted in the largest ever increase in the limit to £196 net earnings a week and the highest percentage increase since 2001. In April 2026 the earnings limit increased to £204 per week. This means more than 60,000 additional people will be able to receive Carer's Allowance between 2025/26 and 2029/30 as result. This change will mean that those working 16 hours and receiving the NLW will be sure that they can receive CA that week.

The Carer’s Leave Act 2023 gave employees a right to time off to care for someone who is disabled or has a long-term health condition for the first time and the Plan to Make Work Pay review announced in November 2025  presents an opportunity to consider our approach to employment rights for unpaid carers, particularly leave entitlements, giving due consideration to balancing costs and benefits to both businesses and the exchequer.

We will provide an update via the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2026/27.

The universal credit team have admitted that they made the wrong decision on whether my constituent had to pay the bedroom tax for a room to care for his son, but they have only backdated payments to 25 May 2025, rather than 1 July 2024. Can the Minister ensure that my constituent gets a full refund, and set out how we are going to stop future errors on universal credit decisions?

Information on the average time a claim spends with the assessment provider is publicly available in the Department’s Personal Independence Payment statistics release (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-independence-payment-statistics-to-january-2026).

In the ‘Personal Independence Payment: Clearance/Outstanding Times and Customer Journey Statistics to January 2026, England and Wales (XLS)’ file, tables 1A and 1B contain the PIP average actual clearance times for new claims and DLA reassessments respectively. Column ‘(iii) Referral to AP to return from AP’ is measured as the average time between the date of referral to the assessment provider and the date of the return of the assessment provider’s recommendation to the Department. It is reasonable to assume that only a small part of this time is related to the period between the assessment and the return of the recommendation.

The figures do not include claims that were withdrawn by the claimant during this phase or claims that were returned to DWP without a report and disallowed because the claimant failed to attend the assessment without good reason.

As at 19 May 2026, there were 658 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff engaged in delivering the Access to Work scheme. This represents an increase of 32.29 FTE compared with 625.71 FTE staff at the end of May 2025.

The Department keeps staffing levels under review and recognises that resourcing levels can affect processing times. To address this, recruitment is underway to increase capacity, which will support the clearance of outstanding applications, and improve processing times.

Huge recruitment boost to tackle backlog in vital disability work scheme - GOV.UK.

The Department recognises the serious impact that silicosis can have on those affected and their families. We are carefully considering the recommendations from the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council on silicosis, including how best to identify and prioritise claims where there is a clinical need. Any changes to current arrangements will be considered in light of that work.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) services are delivered on a national basis, with performance managed across the whole service rather than by constituency. As such, we are unable to provide waiting time data specific to Hitchin.

We are improving service responsiveness through targeted recruitment across Disability Services. The recent onboarding of over 200 additional caseworkers is increasing capacity to support both decision‑making and telephony demand. This is reducing backlogs and contributing to improved average call waiting times, ensuring customers receive quicker decisions and more timely access to support.

We have also made sustained progress in reducing customer journey times, with average end‑to‑end clearance times falling from 26 weeks in August 2021 to 17 weeks as of June 2026.

In addition, we have deployed further resource to complaints and correspondence handling, prioritised the clearance of outstanding volumes, and strengthened performance management to improve timeliness. The Department’s service standard is to respond to complaints requiring formal investigation within 15 working days. While higher volumes and increasingly complex cases have affected response times in recent months, action is underway to address these pressures and drive further improvements in timeliness and efficiency.

The Personal Independent Payment (PIP) assessment is a functional assessment, which focuses on how an individual’s health condition or disability affects their ability to carry out a range of daily living and mobility activities. PIP is not awarded based on a diagnosis, instead, entitlement is determined by the functional impact a person’s condition has on their daily lives and is assessed on a case-by-case basis.

To ensure PIP is fair and fit for the future, the Government has launched the Timms Review. The Timms Review aims to ensure we have a system that supports disabled people to achieve better health, higher living standards and greater independence, including through employment. The Review is being co-produced with disabled people, the organisations that represent them, and other experts. This means the Government will share ownership and responsibility for how the Review runs and what it recommends. The Review will report to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions by autumn 2026.

The number of outstanding claimants awaiting Work Capability Assessment (WCA) reassessment has been significantly reduced, with 97% of pre-May 2025 cases now cleared. The remaining reassessments continue to be progressed, and we expect processing times to improve further as assessment capacity increases

The department is taking a number of steps to increase the capacity of the Health Assessment Advisory Service to deliver WCAs, including reassessments for existing Universal Credit (UC) claimants. This includes the recruitment and training of additional healthcare professionals across all assessment suppliers, alongside improvements to workforce planning to better align available resources with demand. The department continues to monitor assessment volumes closely and works with suppliers to ensure sufficient capacity is in place to reduce waiting times and support timely reassessment activity.

The department prioritises WCAs for new claims in order to minimise waiting times and ensure that individuals receive the correct benefit entitlement as early as possible. We recognise that some existing claimants may experience delays when awaiting reassessment and continue to keep the impact of these arrangements under review while taking steps to improve overall assessment capacity and reduce waiting times.

Claimants awaiting reassessment continue to receive their existing rate of benefit in the meantime. Where a reassessment results in entitlement to a higher rate of benefit, any increase due will be backdated in line with the date entitlement arose.

The number of outstanding claimants awaiting Work Capability Assessment (WCA) reassessment has been significantly reduced, with 97% of pre-May 2025 cases now cleared. The remaining reassessments continue to be progressed, and we expect processing times to improve further as assessment capacity increases

The department is taking a number of steps to increase the capacity of the Health Assessment Advisory Service to deliver WCAs, including reassessments for existing Universal Credit (UC) claimants. This includes the recruitment and training of additional healthcare professionals across all assessment suppliers, alongside improvements to workforce planning to better align available resources with demand. The department continues to monitor assessment volumes closely and works with suppliers to ensure sufficient capacity is in place to reduce waiting times and support timely reassessment activity.

The department prioritises WCAs for new claims in order to minimise waiting times and ensure that individuals receive the correct benefit entitlement as early as possible. We recognise that some existing claimants may experience delays when awaiting reassessment and continue to keep the impact of these arrangements under review while taking steps to improve overall assessment capacity and reduce waiting times.

Claimants awaiting reassessment continue to receive their existing rate of benefit in the meantime. Where a reassessment results in entitlement to a higher rate of benefit, any increase due will be backdated in line with the date entitlement arose.