Government spends £120m in taxpayer money fighting disability benefit claims in two years, figures show

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The government has spent more than £120m in taxpayers’ money fighting disability benefit claims in the last two years – despite losing three-quarters of tribunal appeals, The Independent can reveal. Labour MP Stephen Timms, chair of the Work and Pensions Committee, told The Independent the DWP’s “continuing failure” to make correct decisions on PIP and ESA claims was having a “devastating” impact on disabled people at a “staggering cost” to the public purse. Campaigners said it was “alarming” that this amount of money was being spent on appeals for a process riddled with “routine inaccuracies”, and warned that the current system was leaving many disabled people facing “agonising” delays to get vital support. Ceri Smith, head of policy and campaigns at disability equality charity Scope, said the figures demonstrated that benefit assessments for disabled people were “not fit for purpose”, adding: “There is also a human cost to this, as such a high number of appeals means many disabled people are facing agonising delays to get vital support.” Matthew Harrison, parliamentary co-chair of the Disability Benefits Consortium, called for fundamental changes to prevent the suffering of many disabled people, warning that it was forcing many into situations where they cannot pay their bills or heat their homes.