Research and analysis

Health Transformation Programme management information to April 2024

Published 18 June 2024

1. Main Stories

The main stories are:

• the total number of referrals for a Personal Independent Payment (PIP) assessment was 7,507 in the London and Birmingham Health Transformation Area postcode groups from January 2023 to April 2024
• the total number of referrals for a Universal Credit Work Capability Assessment was 5,435 in the London and Birmingham Health Transformation Area postcode groups from January to March 2024
• the total number of referrals for an Employment and Support Allowance Work Capability Assessment was 288 in the London and Birmingham Health Transformation Area postcode groups from January to September 2023
• the number of claimants registering a PIP claim via the digital GOV.UK channel was 24,165 with 19,655 PIP2 submissions, from July 2023 to April 2024

2. Background

The Health Transformation Programme (HTP) is modernising Health and Disability benefits over the longer-term. It is transforming the entire Personal Independence Payment (PIP) service, aiming to introduce a simpler application process, including an option to apply online, improved evidence gather and a more tailored journey for customers. An online claim option for PIP, known as ‘Apply for PIP’, available directly via GOV.UK, was launched on 27 July 2023, initially for a limited number of claimants in certain user groups and selected postcode districts in England.

The HTP is also developing a new single Health Assessment Service (HAS) for all benefits that require a functional health assessment. This will include new IT and processes.

The HTP has been developing the new HAS at a small scale initially in the Health Transformation Area (HTA). There are currently two HTAs located in London and Birmingham. Within these HTAs, new benefit claims as well as reassessments and award reviews, including PIP assessments, Universal Credit (UC) Work Capability Assessments (WCA) and Employment Support Allowance (ESA) WCA, are processed in-house for a select number of London and Birmingham postcodes.

This release has been published following the commitment made within the Health Transformation Programme Evaluation Strategy, published 25 May 2023, to begin publishing management information (MI) in Autumn 2023.

3. Statement of Application of the Code of Practice for Statistics

The Code of Practice for Statistics (the Code) is built around 3 main concepts, or pillars:

• trustworthiness – is about having confidence in the people and organisations that publish statistics
• quality – is about using data and methods that produce statistics
• value – is about publishing statistics that support society’s needs

The following explains how we have applied the pillars of the Code in a proportionate way.

Trustworthiness

This management information was created following a commitment in the Health Transformation Programme (HTP) Evaluation Strategy, published 25 May 2023. This is being published now to give equal access to all those with an interest in the information.

Quality

This publication uses internal management information used directly within the Health Transformation Programme and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics publication standards. However, engagement has taken place with data owners to ensure this data is fit-for-purpose and of sufficient quality for publication. Multiple rounds of quality assurance have been applied to ensure the data is as accurate and reliable as possible.

Value

Releasing this information serves the public interest by providing granularity of both the number of claimants being referred for a PIP assessment, UC WCA or ESA WCA in an in-house HTA, by benefit type and HTA postcode group and the number of claimants applying for PIP via the new digital GOV.UK channel. Making this information accessible can reduce the administrative burden of answering Parliamentary Questions (PQs), Freedom of Information (FOI) requests and ad hoc queries about the Health Transformation Programme.

4. Health Transformation Area management information

Table 1 shows the number of referrals for PIP assessments, UC WCAs or ESA WCAs in the London and Birmingham HTAs.

Table 1: Number of referrals for an assessment in the Health Transformation Area (HTA), by benefit type and HTA postcode group

Date	All postcodes	PIP Birmingham	PIP London	UC Birmingham	UC London	ESA Birmingham	ESA London
Total	13,230	3,009	4,498	2,475	2,960	141	147
Jan 2023	674	..[footnote 1]	357	124	146	27	19
Feb 2023	660	..	267	210	165	8	10
Mar 2023	692	..	305	109	253	14	8
Apr 2023	660	81	272	176	105	17	9
May 2023	720	92	243	197	150	25	13
Jun 2023	803	134	294	146	191	15	23
Jul 2023	985	292	224	179	261	9	20
Aug 2023	917	261	305	146	181	17	7
Sep 2023	861	271	262	129	152	9	38
Oct 2023	947	266	255	228	198	* [footnote 2]	*
Nov 2023	871	224	227	139	281	*	*
Dec 2023	892	243	303	135	211	*	*
Jan 2024	912	270	268	139	235	*	*
Feb 2024	892	292	280	141	179	*	*
Mar 2024	1,091	256	306	277	252	*	*
Apr 2024	653	323	330	*	*	*	*

Source: DWP management information on HTA referrals, correct at 8 May 2024.

Supporting information for Table 1:

• totals may not sum due to the disclosure control applied
• postcode districts covered by data in Table 1 are listed in Annex A
• number of referrals covered in Table 1 report new claims, award reviews and change of circumstances
• in the December 2023 edition of this publication, Table 1 reported number of referrals for an assessment in the HTA by benefit type and site. Site has been updated to postcode group from the March 2024 edition as claims may be processed in a different HTA than their originating postcode. Postcode group will continue to be used in future editions
• referrals for PIP assessments went live in Birmingham postcode district B14 in April 2023. Referrals for PIP assessments went live in Birmingham postcode districts B17, B19, B78 went live in July 2023. However, a small number of referrals have been recorded for January to March 2023, and to avoid disclosure are suppressed in Table 1
• an individual claimant may be counted in Table 1 more than once, for example due to submitting multiple claims for different benefits or re-referrals during the same period
• data is only provided for referrals to UC WCAs in an in-house HTA between January and March 2024.This is to align with the monthly UC WCA decision outcomes data included in the latest Universal Credit Work Capability Assessment statistics (released on 13 June 2024). Figures not included to align to this publication’s time period are shown by ‘*’
• data is only provided for referrals to ESA WCAs in an in-house HTA between January and September 2023. This is to align with number of WCAs by claim start included in the latest ESA: outcomes of Work Capability Assessments including mandatory reconsiderations and appeals publication (released on 13 June 2024). Figures not included to align to this publication’s time period are shown by ‘*’

Table 1 shows that a higher number of PIP assessment referrals took place in the London HTA postcode group, with 4,498 referrals (60%) compared to the 3,009 referrals (40%) in the Birmingham HTA postcode group from January 2023 to April 2024. However, Birmingham postcodes did not go live with PIP assessment referrals until April 2023.

A higher number of UC WCA referrals also took place in the London HTA postcode group, with 2,960 referrals (54%) compared to the 2,475 UC WCA referrals (46%) that occurred in the Birmingham HTA postcode group between January and March 2023.

A higher number of ESA WCA referrals also took place in the London HTA postcode group, with 147 referrals (51%), compared to the 141 ESA WCA referrals (49%), that occurred in the Birmingham HTA postcode group from January to September 2023.

5. Online PIP Applications management information

Table 2 shows the number of claimants applying for PIP via the new digital GOV.UK channel, which went live on 27 July 2023 for some claimants living in certain postcode districts. The service was expanded to those living in a small number of additional postcode districts on 14 December 2023.

When registering a claim (via a PIP1 form), claimants provide personal information and contact details. A claimant subsequently provides information about how their disability or health condition impacts them (via a PIP2 form). Not all claimants who register a claim will go on to return the PIP2 form. Claimants who do register a claim may wait before submitting a PIP2 form, hence their PIP2 form could be submitted after the April 2024 cut-off date for this publication. As a result, PIP2 form submissions are expected to be lower than registrations.

Table 2: Number of claimants applying for PIP via the new digital GOV.UK channel

Online PIP applications

Date	Registrations (PIP1)	PIP2 form submissions
Total	24,165	19,655
Jul 2023	314	199
Aug 2023	2,111	1,551
Sep 2023	2,561	2,070
Oct 2023	2,547	2,079
Nov 2023	2,466	2,128
Dec 2023	1,905	1,573
Jan 2024	3,066 [r]	2,437
Feb 2024	2,963	2,387
Mar 2024	2,981	2,532
Apr 2024	3,251	2,699

Source: DWP management information on claimants applying for PIP via the new digital GOV.UK channel, correct on 8 May 2024.

Supporting information for Table 2:

• the online ‘Apply for PIP’ digital GOV.UK channel first went live on 27 July 2023. From 14 December 2023, the service was extended to cover the HTA postcode districts listed in Annex A
• all postcode districts currently covered by data in Table 2 are listed in Annex B
• registration (PIP1) and PIP2 submission volumes do not necessarily represent the same cohort of claimants in a particular month
• figures marked [r] have been revised since the previous release
• these figures may be subject to revision in subsequent releases

6. About these statistics

The Health Transformation Programme (HTP) Evaluation Strategy was published on 25 May 2023, providing an overview of plans to evaluate the HTP. The core principles of the evaluation strategy are to:

• establish a robust and detailed evidence base to inform decisions about service improvements and how the HTP can drive better customer experience
• provide person-centred insight on what works for whom to ensure a broad range of needs are considered when transforming our services
• provide assurance that the business case has been met

This MI is an important part of the Programme’s plans to evaluate the services being developed, providing quantitative data for the HTAs and online ‘Apply for PIP’ digital GOV.UK channel. This publication is part of an ongoing quarterly series of HTP MI. The contents will remain under review and will be further developed when appropriate to do so.

The next edition of Health Transformation Programme management information will be published on 17 September 2024.

7. Related statistics

This MI has been published on 18 June 2024 to align with the publication date of the Personal Independence Payment Official Statistics. This series will continue to be published on the same release cycle as the Personal Independence Payment Official Statistics.

The quarterly Personal Independence Payment statistics publication brings together statistics on:

• PIP new claims and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) claim reassessments, covering the PIP customer journey from registration through to decision, ongoing entitlement, award review, mandatory reconsideration (MR) and appeal
• volumes of claimants entitled to PIP at a point in time (caseload), registrations and clearances for different stages of the journey (initiation of claims, award reviews and MRs), outcomes at clearance and median clearance times
• customer journey statistics tracking initial decisions and award review outcomes following a PIP assessment

The quarterly publication Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) Work Capability Assessment statistics brings together statistics on:

• ESA Work Capability Assessment outcomes
• Mandatory Reconsideration registrations and decisions for ESA claims (including re-assessed Incapacity Benefit claims)
• monthly median ESA Work Capability Assessment mandatory reconsideration clearance times
• cohort statistics covering the ESA Work Capability Assessment process
• ESA Work Capability Assessment clearance times for initial claims

The Universal Credit Work Capability Assessment statistics publication brings together statistics on:

• the number of claimants on Universal Credit (UC) with a health condition or disability restricting their ability to work
• monthly DWP Universal Credit Work Capability Assessment (UC WCA) decisions and outcomes
• medical conditions for claimants undertaking a WCA

As well as being available within the statistical summary publications, most data from these related statistics is also released through Stat-Xplore.

8. Further information and feedback

Lead analyst: Shaun Butcher

Analysts: Lucy Page, Kiket Makoubi and Rebecca McCaw

Contact DWP Press Office if you have any questions or feedback.

9. Annex A: HTA Postcode Districts

Postcode districts covered by in-house HTAs, from Table 1.

HTA Postcode Districts

London	Birmingham
E5	B14
N2	B17
N3	B19
N4	B78
N6

10. Annex B: Apply for PIP Postcode Districts

Postcode districts where the Apply for PIP online digital service is currently available, from Table 2.

Apply for PIP Postcode Districts

B14	BH10	BN20	GL1	IP11	KT9	LU4	NG10	RG24	WR14
B16	BH11	BN22	GL10	IP12	L10	LU7	NG15	RH7	WR2
B17	BH12	BN23	GL5	IP13	L21	M15	NG17	RH8	WR5
B18	BH13	CB11	HD1	IP15	L22	M16	NR31	RM10	WR6
B19	BH14	CM17	HD4	IP16	L23	M23	NR32	SG7	WS6
B21	BH15	CM24	HP23	IP17	L29	M31	NR33	SK11	YO11
B42	BH16	CW12	HR7	IP18	L30	M32	NR34	SO24	YO12
B66	BH17	DE21	HR8	IP19	L38	M33	NR35	ST13	YO13
B67	BH18	DE7	IG1	IP20	L9	M41	PE21	TN8	YO14
B68	BH2	DE72	IG2	IP3	LE13	N2	PE23	TW16	YO22
B69	BH22	DE75	IG3	IP4	LN10	N3	PE24	TW17	YO25
B70	BH3	DY11	IG4	IP5	LN11	N4	PE25	WA14
B71	BH4	DY13	IG5	IP6	LN12	N6	PE34	WA15
B78	BH5	E11	IG6	KT10	LN13	NE1	RG14	WF13
BD11	BH6	E12	IG7	KT12	LN9	NE2	RG20	WF15
BD12	BH7	E18	IG8	KT6	LU1	NE4	RG21	WF16
BD4	BH8	E5	IG9	KT7	LU2	NE5	RG22	WF17
BH1	BH9	E7	IP10	KT8	LU3	NE98	RG23	WR13

10. Annex C: Glossary of terms

Term	Definitions
Apply for PIP	Apply for PIP is an online service, currently available to a limited number of people in selected postcode districts in England see Annex B. These claimants have the option to make their claim for PIP online through GOV.UK.
Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)	A benefit for individuals who have a disability or health condition that affects how much they can work. ESA gives an individual money to help with living costs if they are unable to work and/or support to get back into work if they are able to.
Health Transformation Area (HTA)	The Health Transformation Area is an in-house service to process claims and undertake associated assessments for claimants that live in the geographical postcodes of the HTA see Annex A.
Health Transformation Programme (HTP)	A Programme which is transforming Health and Disability benefit services over the longer term, developing a customer-focused integrated Health Assessment Service (HAS) for people with disabilities and health conditions claiming a benefit that uses functional health assessments. It is also transforming the entire PIP service, including introducing an option to apply online.
Personal Independence Payment (PIP)	A benefit administered by DWP to help towards the extra costs caused by long-term disability, ill-health or terminal ill-health.
PIP1 Submission	A form completed, usually by telephone or online, to capture personal information and contact details of the claimant registering a PIP claim.
PIP2 Submission	A form for claimants to complete, usually on paper or online, on how their disability affects them, upon registration to PIP or when a change of circumstances occurs.
Registration	Claimant makes an application to claim PIP.
Universal Credit (UC)	A benefit for people over 18 (with some exceptions for those aged 16 or 17) but under State Pension age who are either: – In work but on a low income, or – Out of work.
Work Capability Assessment (WCA)	An assessment to decide how much an individual’s illness or disability limits their capability to work. When an individual applies for Universal Credit (UC) they can report if they have a health condition or disability that affects their capability to work.

1. Figures under 5 are supressed to avoid disclosure shown by ‘..’. ↩

2. Figures not included which are shown by ‘*’ to align with the time periods used in Official Statistics publications listed in the Related Statistics section. ↩