THE bloated benefits bill could be cut by nearly £2billion a year if assessments were made face-to-face again, research suggests.
In-person meetings to decide if someone should get the PIP disability benefit plummeted during the Covid pandemic.
But Tory analysis has found that a person is more likely to get Personal Independence Payment if the assessment is done over the phone — and suggests this has led to an extra £1.8billion of welfare payments.
Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Helen Whately said: “The collapse in face-to-face assessments has made it easier to game the system and harder to enforce proper checks.
“This increases the risk claims are approved when not needed.
“Only by restoring proper, in-person assessments can we make sure support goes to those who truly need it.”
The analysis found that when a person is assessed face-to-face for PIP, 44 per cent end up getting the benefit.
But when it is done remotely the rate is far higher at 57 per cent.
In 2019, 83 per cent of assessments were face to face.
That dropped to five per cent in September 2025.
It has led to an extra 259,000 successful claims a year on average — equal to a higher annual welfare bill of £1.8billion.
A Department for Work and Pensions source said: “We don’t recognise these figures.
“Under the last government, the number of face-to-face PIP assessments slumped to six per cent. We are increasing that to 30 per cent.”
