Lanark and Hamilton East MP Angela Crawley has today called on the UK Government to bring Personal Independence Payments “back to the drawing board”.

The SNP MP’s calls come after an independent report found a severe lack of public trust in the assessment regime carried out by the DWP.

Among the key conclusions of the second independent review of the Personal Independence Payment Assessment Report is that “public trust in the fairness and consistency of PIP decisions is not currently being achieved, with high levels of disputed award decisions, many of them overturned at appeal”.

Commenting, Angela said:

“The latest victims of the UK Government’s austerity obsession are PIP claimants – some of the most vulnerable people in society.

“This independent report into the UK Government’s handling of Personal Independence Payments is a damning indictment of the social security policies which are continuing to erode public confidence in the system as a whole.

“The fact that claimants have expressed a complete lack of confidence in the ability of health professionals to accurately record what is said during their assessments, as well as the 65 per cent rate overturned initial decisions on appeal, is completely unacceptable.

“The UK Government have also railroaded through changes to PIP with no consultation or scrutiny. Their approach to disability support is failing those who need it most. It’s time the Tories listened to claimants and disability rights groups and took PIP back to the drawing board.”