Home Visits

I recently received an unexpected home visit appointment letter (as I didn't request a home visit) in respect of my partner's PIP claim (I'm her appointee). I have a few questions about home visits that were obviously not covered in the accompanying booklet:

What "sucker punches" can I expect when the HP visits my home? We all know about the ways the assessor tries to trip you up when you attend a F2F - "where did you park your car?" (reports "can easily walk 200 metres"), etc The booklet says one room for interview, but do they, in fact, poke their noses into every room in the house? Does anyone have any experience of a home visit that they would be willing to share?

The interview is in the daytime in a few weeks time. I work full time in a very demanding job and my partner has other carers during the day. As her appointee it is I who must be present for the interview. My workload is heavy right now and I am sailing very close to the wind with my requests for carer's leave. Do you think it would be acceptable for me to ask them to reschedule the visit to a date after Christmas when I will be in a better position to get a half day off?

Thank you for any advice you can offer

Psychogreenie, I had a home visit for PIP. The assessor came into my lounge( after being let into the house by my daughter) where I was sitting and introduced herself and showed me her ID. She then proceeded to get her laptop ready and as soon as we started talking she started typing. She did not ask to look in other parts of my home. I did offer her the opportunity to check out my wetroom and kitchen aids but she said it was not necessary. The whole assessment took an hour. I was asked to stand up and sit down. She looked over my joints as I have osteoarthritis but did not ask me to do any movements that would cause discomfort. She was pleasant and professional.

psychogreenie,

I once had a PIP home assessment. The assessor, assessed me in my living room. The only other room she went into was the bathroom.

She left the door open and obviously was not intending to use the toilet or freshen up or whatever.

But obviously she wanted to see if my bathroom had the aids and appliances', which I had written down on my PIP form. To see if it married up.

All other rooms in my home were never viewed, even though I offered for her to go into them and look around.

I would not worry about it at all. All the best on your assessment day.

Regards.

My comments:
1. Take notes of the questions asked and answers given, so that you can compare them with the assessor's report later. They may or may not match up!

2. Bear in mind that the assessor's behaviour/demeanour etc. may not be an accurate reflection of what they are thinking - a seemingly nice one may turn out to be horrid, and vice versa.

3. Your partner may be under observation the entire time the assessor is there - and possibly beyond that, depending on circumstances (e.g. if the assessor drives past after the assessment has finished), so don't assume that nothing will be noted down once he/she has said the assessment is over.

4. Trick questions (ours was asking how long she could walk for, rather than how far as the form asks).

And frankly, the DWP don't care about workloads. Is it possible for you to do any of the work from home or in the evening at the office, or something? I think the best you can get is some sort of vague indication of intended timing, so even booking half a day could be difficult, depending on your circumstances.