LABOUR veteran Margaret Hodge yesterday derided Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) work on the new personal independence payment (Pip) as “nothing short of a fiasco.”

The Commons public accounts committee, of which Ms Hodge is chairwoman, has launched a report on the replacement for disability living allowance castigating the DWP for a catalogue of failures 

Ms Hodge said that the DWP’s failure to pilot the scheme had meant that many assumptions, such as how long assessments would take and how many face-to-face meetings with claimants were required, were proven incorrect.

She lamented: “The Department of Work and Pensions has let down some of the most vulnerable people in our society.”

The introduction of Pip in 2013 has been followed by a series of complaints and a mounting backlog of unprocessed cases.

By October 2013 only around 16 per cent of decisions been made, with many waiting up to 6 months to hear from the DWP.

Ms Hodge shared her shock at finding out that terminally ill individuals could expect almost a month until they had their case decided upon.

“Some claimants have been forced to turn to food banks, loans and charitable donations to support the extra costs of living associated with their disability,” added the MP for Barking.

The committee has recommended the speeding up of the claims process by making applications easier and more accessible. 

It also advised the DWP to reconsider its association with Atos, after the French corporation was found to mishandle other benefit schemes including work capability assessments.