A COVENTRY woman said people with disabilities had been ‘dumped at the bottom of the pile since Covid’ after finally having her Personal Independent Payment (PIP) review completed following a six-month wait.
Jayne Oakley’s review was completed this week – 24 hours after the Observer contacted the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) over the issue.
She said she was ‘in shock’ after getting the phone call from the DWP on Wednesday morning after the long delay and, added, if she ‘had not gone to the press she would still be waiting like everyone else’.
But she said she was pleased with the outcome, which the DWP said would see Jayne upgraded to the higher rate of PIP for mobility.
She will also be paid the full amount she missed out on in her more than six-month wait in arrears.
A recent damning report from Citizens Advice claimed disabled people were missing out on an estimated £24million every month because of delays to PIP reviews.
Jayne told the Observer her review was due in mid-March but earlier this year had it sprung on her she had just two weeks to fill out a roughly 50-page application form.
She said despite submitting it by her February 2 deadline and receiving text messages confirming her claim had been received and her current payment would continue until her review was complete, she had not received a response before this week.
Jayne has inherited spastic paraplegia, a progressive condition where symptoms gradually get worse over time as there are no treatments to prevent, slow or reverse it.
In recent years she has had to stop using crutches and has began using a wheelchair full-time.
Under her current lower rate of PIP, Jayne is only entitled to receive a manual chair which has caused her pain while using it.
This has led to her using her husband Ian’s wheelchair around the house.
Jayne said the delay had left her frustrated and feeling on tenterhooks all the time.
A DWP spokesman said: “We support millions of people every year and our top priority is they get the benefits to which they are entitled as soon as possible.
“We are recruiting more staff, increasing resourcing and making constant improvements to deliver a more efficient PIP service.
“No one will miss out on money they are owed as any arrears are paid once their review has been concluded.”
