“Long waits for disability benefit claims are unacceptable,” MPs say.

Some people are waiting more than a year for their disability benefit claims to be processed, putting them at risk of being pushed into debt and poverty, MPs have warned.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) aims to process 75% of new claims for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) within 75 working days, but last financial year only 51% of claims were processed within this time frame.

A report by the cross-party Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the department was providing “unacceptably poor service levels.”.

The DWP said that at the end of October, the average time to a decision on a PIP claim was 16 weeks.

A spokesperson said the department’s aim is always to process claims “as quickly as possible” and that the ongoing review of PIP will ensure “it is appropriate and fair for the future”.

PIP is the primary disability benefit in England and Wales.

PIP – which is paid to people with a long-term physical or mental health condition – is the main disability benefit in England and Wales.

It’s not linked to someone’s income or whether they’re in work and provides extra help with living expenses.

The number of people claiming PIP has been increasing in recent years, with benefits awarded to approximately 3.7 million people.

The PAC report said the long waiting times for Pip’s claims to be processed were “unacceptable,” with people having to wait more than a year in some cases.

The DWP told the committee that these experiences were not reflected in its data but acknowledged that this was a real situation that needed to be addressed.

The department is trialling an online application process in some postcodes, which it says has reduced the processing time for claims to the typical 20 days.

It previously told the committee it intended to process up to 20% of PIP claims using the new online service by 2026 but has since said it is confident it can reach this target by 2029.

“This is too long for claimants to wait to receive better service,” the report said.

The committee’s chairman, Conservative MP Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, said, “Our committee received assurances three years ago that the reforms would have come forward by now; now we have been told there is a further three years of delay.

“This is simply no good for our constituents, who we know are at risk of being pushed into debt or poverty by a department unresponsive to their needs.”

Government sources say more than 90% of new PIP claimants can now submit their health information online after starting their claim.

The committee’s report also raised concerns about Universal Credit claimants’ first meeting with a work coach being shortened from 50 to 30 minutes.

It warned that without reduced action from the government, “claimants with more complex needs will not get the support they need.”

Last year, the government abandoned plans that would have made it harder for people to claim PIP in the face of a major rebellion from Labour MPs.

The government estimated that the proposals would save £5 billion a year by 2030.

Instead, it launched a review of PIP, led by Social Security and Disability Secretary Sir Stephen Timms, which is expected to report by the autumn.

The government has said that the aim of the review is to ensure that Pip is “fair and fit for the future rather than generate proposals for further savings”.

A DWP spokesperson said, “By giving claimants the support they need to get into good, secure jobs and out of poverty, we are fixing the broken welfare system we have inherited.

“We have carried out the most ambitious employment reforms in a generation, as well as redeploying almost 1,000 work trainers to help sick or disabled people who have been left behind.

“These improvements are being made as we replace ageing systems through our ambitious £647m modernisation programme.”