Disabled people in Wycombe are facing “unacceptable” waits of almost nine weeks to appeal benefit decisions.

Disability charity Scope slammed the lengthy waits and called the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) not fit for purpose.

People who are denied PIP – which is worth up to £145.85 a week – or who are awarded less than they expected can ask for an internal review by the Department for Work and Pensions.

In Wycombe, people face a median wait of 62 days for this initial review, known as a mandatory reconsideration, according to the latest DWP figures. This is 41% higher than the 44-day average reported just one year previously.

James Taylor, policy head at Scope, said: “Lengthy waits for PIP decisions mean that disabled people are going far too long without essential financial support.

“Delays in income can force disabled people to make impossible choices about what they can afford. Disabled people are being continuously let down by a system that is not fit for purpose. The PIP assessment needs to be overhauled to restore faith and fix the system.” Scope estimates that disabled people face on average £583 per month in extra costs. With the average wait time for a review in Britain now exceeding two months, this could leave rejected claimants facing extra costs of more than £1,000 during this initial phase.

And the mandatory reconsideration is only the first step claimants have to go through in order to appeal their case. Since PIP was introduced in 2013, replacing the previous Disability Living Allowance, 970 people in Wycombe applied for a mandatory reconsideration. The DWP rejected the appeal in 82 per cent of cases.

People who wish to fight the decision can then lodge a formal appeal with the Courts and Tribunals Service – 350 have been made against the DWP since 2013 in Wycombe. The tribunal found in favour of the claimant in 68 per cent of appeals which made it to a hearing – a process which can take months. Anti-poverty charity Turn2Us attributed the high success rate at tribunal to claimants being able to discuss their condition outside the “strict structure” of the DWP benefits process.

A DWP spokesperson said: “We want people to get the right PIP outcome as quickly as possible.

“That’s why we have introduced a new approach to gathering evidence so that fewer people have to go to appeal, and we have recruited extra staff to help reduce waiting times.”