ICO Upholds FOI Complaint Against DWP PIP Scoring

ICO Decision Notices

Filed February 11th, 2026

Detected February 17th, 2026

Summary

The UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has upheld a Freedom of Information (FOI) complaint against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The DWP failed to fully consider information requested by a complainant regarding changes to the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) scoring system.

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What changed

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has issued a decision notice upholding a Freedom of Information complaint against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The ICO found that the DWP failed to comply with section 1(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act by not fully considering all information specified in the complainant's request concerning the decision-making process for proposed changes to the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) scoring system.

The DWP is required to issue a fresh response to the complainant within 30 calendar days, considering all relevant information. If the DWP intends to withhold any information, it must issue a refusal notice explaining the basis for withholding. Failure to comply with this decision notice may result in the ICO certifying the non-compliance to the High Court, potentially leading to contempt of court proceedings.

What to do next

Issue a fresh response to the complainant considering all requested information within 30 days.
If withholding information, issue a refusal notice with a basis for withholding within 30 days.

Penalties

Failure to comply may result in written certification to the High Court and may be dealt with as a contempt of court.

Source document (simplified)

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)

Date 11 February 2026
Sector Central government
Decision(s) FOI 17: Upheld The complainant has requested the information used in the decision-making process for a proposed change to the personal independence payment (PIP) scoring system. The Commissioner's decision is that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has failed to fully consider all of the information specified in the complainant's request and has not therefore complied with section 1(1)(a). The Commissioner requires DWP to issue a fresh response to the complainant that considers all of the information falling within the scope of the request and either disclose the information or, in respect of any information it wishes to withhold, issue a refusal notice within the meaning of section 17 of FOIA providing a basis for withholding the information. The public authority must take these steps within 30 calendar days of the date of this decision notice. Failure to comply may result in the Commissioner making written certification of this fact to the High Court pursuant to section 54 of the Act and may be dealt with as a contempt of court.