Unacceptable delays in lifeline cancer support

The Personal Independence Payment (PIP) was introduced across Great Britain in June 2013 to replace the Disability Living Allowance (DLA) as the UK’s main disability benefit. Yet a year on from its introduction, thousands of cancer patients are facing unacceptable delays when attempting to claim PIP.

Leading cancer care charity Macmillan Cancer Supporthas estimated that at least 4,500 cancer patients are waiting six months or more without receiving any decision on whether they will be awarded the benefit.

In addition to the physical and emotional impacts most commonly associated with diagnosis and treatment, cancer is expensive. On average four in five cancer patients are hit with an average cost of £570 a month as a result of their illness. They may need to take time off or give up work and are likely to experience a drop in income, leaving many at real risk of financial hardship.

For people with cancer, financial support from benefits means help paying for additional costs as a result of their disease. Whether its transport to hospital, heating - as they feel the cold more - or specialist food or clothing. This support is a lifeline for thousands at a time when they are most in need.

Macmillan Cancer Support is launching a new report – Waiting to benefit – which reveals the hugely detrimental impact these delays are having on cancer patients:

• Over half (56%) found their finances took a hit
• Two fifths (40%) were unable to adequately heat their homes
• One in three (34%) felt the delays had resulted in mental health problems such as anxiety or depression

Under the previous system it would take around 11 weeks for decision on a claim. But now cancer patients are waiting an average of 19 weeks without any news on the individual progress of claims. And this is on top of the three months people with cancer have to prove they’ve had their disease before they can even be considered eligible for help from the benefits system.

The Department for Work and Pensions has shown that it can act to address these issues, and after problems processing claims for terminally ill claimants, the Minister has committed to reducing those claims to seven days. However, we need a system that works for all people with cancer.

Where people have made their way through the system and been successfully awarded PIP despite the delays, most report benefits to their everyday lives. For many, receiving PIP reduces their financial worries and emotional strain and they can now, for instance, buy clothes that fit or pay for travel to hospital. A working system, therefore, has the potential to benefit a huge number of people.

Macmillanis calling on the Government to address these issues as a matter of urgency by reducing waiting times to 11 weeks urgency and commit to publishing quarterly processing times. They must be transparent on what they are currently doing to fix the problem and how long it will take them to achieve this in order to ensure a PIP system that people have trust and faith in, a system that both works for them and is responsive to their needs.

Read Macmillan’s full report here