Personal Independence Payments and Disability Living Allowances
Anyone wishing to claim personal independence payment (PIP) should go to the Gov.uk website.
Anyone wishing to claim disability living allowance for a person aged under 16 should go to the Gov.uk website.
Summary
Personal independence payment (PIP) and disability living allowance (DLA) offer non-means-tested financial support to help meet the extra costs associated with living with a disability and with certain health conditions.
PIP is designed to support people aged 16 and over who have a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability and have difficulty doing certain everyday tasks or getting around.
DLA is designed to support children aged 0 to 15 who need much more looking after than a child of the same age who does not have a disability or who have difficulty getting around. DLA for adults was replaced by PIP for new working-age claimants and attendance allowance for new claimants over the state pension age, but a proportion of existing adult claimants remain on DLA at present.
The latest figures for combined PIP and DLA claimants are for February 2025.
Combined PIP and DLA figures
In Lancashire-12, 9.1% (117,278) of the population were in receipt of PIP or DLA. This figure was higher in Lancashire-14, where 9.7% (155,564) of the population were in receipt of PIP or DLA. The figures for both Lancashire-12 and Lancashire-14 were higher than England (7.9%), but lower than the North West (10.1%).
Blackpool (14.4%), Hyndburn (11.7%), Burnley (11.5%) and Blackburn with Darwen (10.8%), Pendle (9.9%) and Wyre (9.8%) had the highest proportions of claimants. Only Ribble Valley (5.1%), South Ribble (7.7%) and Chorley (7.9%) had a proportion below or in-line with England (7.9%).
PIP accounted for the majority of claimants. In Lancashire-12, 87,383 (74.5% of the combined total) were PIP claimants. In Lancashire-14, 116,536 (74.9% of the combined total) were PIP claimants. This was similar to England (73.3% of the combined total).
Yearly change
Compared to the previous year, the combined number of PIP and DLA claimants increased by 10.3% in Lancashire-12 and by 10.1% in Lancashire-14. These increases were slightly higher than in England (9.9%).
Pendle (13.0%) saw the largest percentage increase compared to February 2024, followed by Burnley (10.6%), Preston (10.6%), South Ribble (10.6%) and West Lancashire (10.3%). Wyre (8.9%), Blackpool (9.1%) and Chorley (9.3%) had the lowest increases and were all below the North West figure (9.4%).
PIP cases by main disabling condition
In Lancashire-12, 36.8% (32,167) of PIP claimants were recorded as having a psychiatric disorder as their main disabling condition (Lancashire-14 = 36.9%). The second most frequent condition, general musculoskeletal conditions, was recorded for 19.7% (17,192) of PIP claimants (Lancashire-14 = 19.7%). These figures were similar to England (psychiatric disorders = 38.6%, general musculoskeletal conditions = 18.7%).
Psychiatric disorders and general musculoskeletal conditions were the first and second most frequently recorded main disabling conditions in each local authority in Lancashire-14. The highest numbers of claimants for both conditions were recorded in Blackpool (psychiatric disorders = 6,086, general musculoskeletal conditions = 3,154).
DLA cases by main disabling condition
In Lancashire-12, 25.7% (7,679) of DLA claimants were recorded as having learning difficulties as their main disabling condition (Lancashire-14 = 24.9%). Behavioural conditions were the second most frequent condition, recorded for 16.5% (4,919) of DLA claimants in Lancashire-12 (Lancashire-14 = 16.7%). Compared to England, learning difficulties (31.7%) and behavioural disorders (18.4%) accounted for a larger proportion of main disabling conditions than in Lancashire-12.
Learning difficulties and behavioural conditions were the most frequently recorded main disabling conditions in most local authorities in Lancashire-14. The highest numbers of claimants for both conditions were recorded in Blackpool (learning difficulties = 1,039, behavioural disorders = 806). In contrast, arthritis accounted for the largest numbers of claimants in Wyre (566) and was the second most frequently recorded condition in West Lancashire (508), South Ribble (332), Fylde (287) and Ribble Valley (144).
Source: Personal independence payment cases with entitlement and disability living allowance cases with entitlement from the Department for Work and Pensions via Stat-Xplore. Population estimates from the Office for National Statistics via the National On-line Manpower Information System, powered by LG Inform Plus.
Things you need to know about the data
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) publishes monthly PIP statistics on a quarterly basis and DLA statistics on a quarterly basis. However, the reporting quarters differ, with DLA figures lagging behind PIP figures. The combined figures reported here use the latest available DLA figures with the previously released corresponding PIP figures.
PIP and DLA claimant statistics are accredited official statistics. The figures are cases with entitlement. This includes some people who may have had payments suspended or interrupted (for example, if they are in hospital).
The PIP claimant figures include those in receipt of the daily living component and/or the mobility component at the standard and enhanced payment rates. The DLA claimant figures include those in receipt of the care component and/or the mobility component at the lowest, middle and highest payment rates.
Changes to DLA and the rollout of PIP
Disability living allowance (DLA) was introduced on 1st April 1992 and was a benefit for people who became disabled before pension age and who need assistance with personal care or mobility.
Since April 2013, personal independence payments (PIP) have replaced disability living allowance (DLA) for new claimants aged 16 and over and under pension age. Persons aged over State Pension age can apply for attendance allowance. Previous PIP recipients may make a new PIP claim after reaching pension age if they met PIP eligibility in the year before they reached State Pension age. DLA can still be claimed for children under 16.
From October 2013 onwards, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) started to re-assess existing DLA claimants.
Since 21 March 2022, the Scottish Government started to replace PIP and DLA for working age people with Adult Disability Payment (ADP), a new benefit launched in 2022. Datapoints from March 2022 will no longer reflect full totals of PIP and DLA cases for Great Britain because of the introduction of Adult Disability Payment in Scotland. In light of this change, analysis of PIP and DLA data is this report will use England and Wales for comparison purposes, instead of Great Britain.
Page updated 30 September 2025