The list covers a wide range of illnesses, disabilities and impairments, from ADHD, autism and rheumatoid arthritis to Parkinson’s disease, cancer, diabetes and whiplash injury. Yet appearing on the list does not mean a claimant will automatically qualify, because PIP is assessed according to the effects of a condition rather than the diagnosis itself.
How PIP Payments Are Assessed
PIP is divided into two parts: daily living and mobility. Each has a lower and higher weekly rate, with daily living payments ranging from £76.70 to £114.60 and mobility payments ranging from £30.30 to £80. A person awarded the higher rate for both parts can therefore receive £194.60 a week. Payments are made every four weeks, and the benefit does not affect a recipient’s tax liability.
According to the DWP criteria, the daily living element can apply when someone needs help preparing food, eating or drinking, managing medicines or treatment, washing, bathing, using the toilet, dressing, reading, handling money, socialising, or communicating and understanding other people. The mobility element concerns difficulties with planning and following a route, physically moving around and leaving the home.
Eligibility is determined through an assessment of how a person’s condition affects these activities. The report notes that there is no fixed list of diagnoses that automatically qualifies somebody for PIP, meaning almost any condition could lead to an award if its effects meet the relevant criteria. This also means claim outcomes can vary considerably between people with different conditions, and between people who share the same diagnosis.
Why the 533-Condition List Does Not Guarantee a Payment
The DWP list records conditions linked to at least one successful claim rather than conditions that automatically make somebody eligible. It includes physical, neurological, psychiatric, respiratory, cardiovascular and sensory conditions, as well as cancers, injuries and metabolic disorders.
According to Benefits and Work, cited by the Daily Express, PIP claims involving rheumatoid arthritis have a 72 per cent success rate, while claims involving Type 1 diabetes have a 27 per cent success rate. Those figures underline the role of individual circumstances in the assessment process rather than the diagnosis alone.
The list includes autism, Down’s syndrome, multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder, Crohn’s disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, epilepsy-related conditions, visual impairments and hearing loss, among many others.
According to the same source, the 533 entries reflect successful claims recorded by February 2025, but the list is not necessarily exhaustive. Conditions outside it may still potentially lead to a PIP award where the claimant can show that their daily living or mobility is affected in a way that meets the assessment criteria.
For claimants, the distinction is straightforward: the condition may provide the medical context, but the award depends on how that condition affects everyday activities and movement.
