Benefits · Disability and extra costs · England and Wales · 31 July 2026

Disability and extra costs: what is PIP for, and why is it growing?

PIP helps with the extra costs of a long-term condition and is paid whether or not someone works. 4.1 million people in England and Wales received it in July 2026; 17% were over State Pension age. Spending is rising fast, and why is disputed.

Evidence last reviewed 3 October 2026

What PIP is — and is not

Personal Independence Payment is not means-tested, not taxed and paid whether or not someone works. It contributes to the extra costs of a long-term condition, assessed on how it affects specified daily-living and mobility activities — not on a diagnosis. It is not an out-of-work benefit, so PIP caseloads say nothing about how many people cannot work.

4.1 million people in England and Wales were entitled on 31 July 2026: 3.4 million of working age (83%) and 690,000 over State Pension age (17%). 37% received the highest award (both components at the enhanced rate). Scotland is not included: its cases moved to Adult Disability Payment by June 2025, so a UK total built from this number is wrong.

PIP weekly rates, 2026/27
Component	Standard	Enhanced
Daily living	£76.70	£114.60
Mobility	£30.30	£80.00

A person may receive one component, both, or neither. Adding the two enhanced rates and calling the result a typical award overstates what most people receive.

Why spending is rising — and what the data cannot settle

How fast is spending on working-age disability benefits rising?

Working-age PIP and DLA spending: £16.2bn in 2019–20, £23.8bn in 2024–25

Personal Independence Payment plus Disability Living Allowance paid to people of working age, Great Britain, £ billion in 2026/27 prices, 2000–01 to 2030–31. Outturn solid; DWP forecast dashed.

Great Britain (Scotland’s cases moved to Adult Disability Payment from 2022) · 2000–01 to 2030–31

1996–2030 displayed window · dashed lines show forecasts. Shading marks years outside the displayed record.

Spending on working-age extra-costs disability benefits in 2024–25 was 2.7 times its 2007–08 level in real terms, and DWP expects £34.5bn by 2030–31. The Timms Review interim report finds the number of people reporting mental health conditions and autism has risen fastest, particularly since the pandemic. Whether that reflects worse health, better recognition, or how the assessment works is the question the Timms Review is examining; the data alone cannot settle it.

Great Britain (Scotland’s cases moved to Adult Disability Payment from 2022) · 2000–01 to 2030–31 · Accredited official statistics; forecasts from Spring Forecast 2026

Sources, definitions and data

Geography:: Great Britain (Scotland’s cases moved to Adult Disability Payment from 2022) — People of working age
Measure:: £ billion, 2026/27 prices (GDP deflator)
Period:: 2000–01 to 2030–31
Status:: Accredited official statistics; forecasts from Spring Forecast 2026
Calculation:: PIP + DLA working-age lines summed (£ million ÷ 1,000), as published in real terms.
Compare with:: 2007–08: £8.9bn
Not included / breaks:: Excludes the health element of Universal Credit and ESA (income-replacement benefits) and pension-age disability benefits. Scottish cases transferring to Adult Disability Payment leave the DWP series from 2022, so the GB line understates the rise in need.

Source: DWP, Benefit expenditure and caseload tables 2026 (Spring Forecast 2026), Table 2b (working-age expenditure by benefit) (released April 2026). Chart BEN-07.

View the data as a table

Financial year	£bn (2026/27 prices)	Status
2000–01	7.0	Outturn
2001–02	7.3	Outturn
2002–03	7.6	Outturn
2003–04	8.0	Outturn
2004–05	8.2	Outturn
2005–06	8.4	Outturn
2006–07	8.5	Outturn
2007–08	8.9	Outturn
2008–09	9.1	Outturn
2009–10	9.8	Outturn
2010–11	9.9	Outturn
2011–12	10.3	Outturn
2012–13	10.9	Outturn
2013–14	11.1	Outturn
2014–15	12.1	Outturn
2015–16	13.4	Outturn
2016–17	13.7	Outturn
2017–18	15.4	Outturn
2018–19	16.0	Outturn
2019–20	16.2	Outturn
2020–21	15.7	Outturn
2021–22	17.0	Outturn
2022–23	18.1	Outturn
2023–24	20.9	Outturn
2024–25	23.8	Outturn
2025–26	25.2	Forecast
2026–27	27.8	Forecast
2027–28	29.8	Forecast
2028–29	31.4	Forecast
2029–30	33.0	Forecast
2030–31	34.5	Forecast

Which conditions are recorded on PIP claims?

39% of PIP claims record a psychiatric disorder as the main condition

Share of PIP claims under normal rules by main recorded disabling condition (five largest groups), England and Wales, 31 July 2026.

England and Wales · 31 July 2026

Psychiatric disorder39%
Musculoskeletal disease (general)19%
Neurological disease13%
Musculoskeletal disease (regional)12%
Respiratory disease4%

Psychiatric disorders — including anxiety, depression, ADHD and autism — are the largest recorded main condition on PIP claims, followed by musculoskeletal conditions. A single main-condition code captures multiple conditions poorly, and it is not evidence that mental illness caused 39% of spending growth. The Timms Review interim report finds reported mental health and autism conditions have risen fastest since the pandemic.

England and Wales · 31 July 2026 · Accredited official statistics (administrative data)

Sources, definitions and data

Geography:: England and Wales — PIP claims under normal rules
Measure:: Per cent of claims
Period:: 31 July 2026
Status:: Accredited official statistics (administrative data)
Calculation:: As published.
Not included / breaks:: Each claim is filed under one main condition even when someone has several. The remaining groups are not shown. This describes how claims are recorded, not what caused spending to grow.

Source: DWP, Personal Independence Payment statistics to July 2026 (released 15 September 2026). Chart BEN-08.

View the data as a table

Main condition	Share of claims
Psychiatric disorder	39%
Musculoskeletal disease (general)	19%
Neurological disease	13%
Musculoskeletal disease (regional)	12%
Respiratory disease	4%

Growth on this scale has more than one cause, and the published data do not settle how much each contributes:

more people with limiting long-term conditions, particularly mental health conditions and autism;
greater awareness of the benefit and willingness to claim;
changes in award rates, award length and how often awards are reviewed;
the replacement of Disability Living Allowance and, in Scotland, the move to Adult Disability Payment;
NHS waiting times and post-pandemic health.

The DWP spring 2026 forecast quoted in the Timms Review puts total PIP spending (all ages) at over £41bn by 2030–31, from about £15bn in 2019–20, both in 2026–27 prices. The review, co-produced with disabled people, will make recommendations in the autumn; options are compared in What would move the needle?

The 67% tribunal figure, with its denominator

In April to June 2026, 67% of PIP appeals decided at a tribunal hearing went in the claimant’s favour. That is a serious number about decision quality, but it is a share of a small, self-selected group. DWP’s own tracking of initial decisions after an assessment (April 2021 to March 2026) shows 35% of completed reconsiderations went on to appeal, 17% of appeals were conceded by DWP before a hearing, and 3% of all initial decisions were overturned at a tribunal.

Legal process (sequence only; boxes are not sized by numbers)

1
Initial decision
DWP decides after an assessment.
2
Mandatory reconsideration
The claimant must ask DWP to look again first.
3
Appeal lodged
35% of completed reconsiderations went on to appeal (2021–26).
4
Settled before hearing
17% of appeals were conceded by DWP (“lapsed”).
5
Tribunal hearing
67% decided for the claimant (April to June 2026); 3% of all initial decisions.

Never divide one quarter’s tribunal outcomes by another quarter’s DWP decisions: they are different cohorts, months apart.

Fraud and error in PIP

DWP estimates 2.3% of PIP spending (£660m) was overpaid in 2025–26, a statistically significant rise. Fraud rose to 1.4% from 0.4%, mostly people not reporting that their needs had improved; claimant error was 0.7% and official error 0.2%. 0.2% was underpaid. A further 3.6% was overpaid in cases where claimants could not reasonably have known to report a gradual improvement; DWP excludes these from the headline. These are sample estimates, not prosecutions — all benefits compared.

Sources and methods (5)

DWP, Personal Independence Payment statistics to July 2026 (released 15 September 2026) — caseload, age split, award levels, conditions, reconsideration and appeal outcomes
Ministry of Justice, Tribunal statistics quarterly: April to June 2026 (released 10 September 2026) — PIP appeals decided at tribunal hearings
DWP, Fraud and error in the benefit system, financial year ending 2026 estimates, Reference tables 2 and 7 (released 14 May 2026) — PIP overpayments, fraud and underpayments
Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment: interim report (released 9 July 2026) — review scope and DWP spending forecast
DWP, Benefit and pension rates 2026 to 2027 — PIP rates, 2026/27

Method notes

PIP statistics cover England and Wales (plus cases abroad); Scotland’s Adult Disability Payment is published by Social Security Scotland.
Main condition is a single administrative code per claim; it under-records multiple conditions.
The spending chart combines PIP and DLA for working-age people only; it excludes Universal Credit’s health element, which replaces income rather than meeting extra costs.