PiP Assessment

Hi siobhan corr

It is important that you understand that PIP is a very different benefit from DLA, the intention of the Government when they introduced the new benefit was to reduce the disability benefits budget by at least 20%, so the criteria is a lot stricter than DLA and the assessment process is now task orientated.

Make sure you understand what the Descriptors say, that you target the Descriptors that you believe that you can reasonably meet and that you follow the advice in our Claim guide to help you answer the questions.

The first stage to challenging a Decision is for you to request a Mandatory Reconsideration, this needs to be done in writing to the DWP, within one month of the Decision, to the office that dealt with your claim, have a look at our PIP MR & Appeal guide for details of the process, the PIP area also has template letters that you can use to make the request with.

www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/pip

You should contact the DWP for a copy of the assessment report ( if you have not already done so, I would phone them but again follow up the request in writing. Once you have the assessment report you will have a better understanding of how the DWP Decision Maker has come to their conclusions and will then be able to argue against them.

Your primary task is to show that you meet the criteria, there are many reasons you may have failed, you need to address each of these but don't get bogged down in criticising the assessment report unless you can clearly show that it is incorrect, it is a lot easier to argue the facts of the situation;

"the assessor recorded that I walked 50m, I did but they have failed to document that I had to stop every 10m for a rest due to breathlessness"

than their opinions

"based on my observations of the claimant walking I believe that they can reliably walk more than 200m.

What you have to remember is that DLA descriptors are different to PIP, PIP is a lot more stricter
especially mobility component.

When you have a better idea of the issues with your claim, come back to the forum and we will do our best to help.

Gary

Hi Siobhan

Some other people have fallen foul of distances and how far they can walk. The only way to counteract that would be to offer some proof through photographs or a statement from the school confirming what the distances are. Obviously you can just state it, and it may be viewed differently, but I suspect not. Once you're in the school and you've rested - make sure that you've covered how far you have to walk, and how much effort it is to do so... etc.
They won't care that you can't use public transport because you have a car.
You need to show that what you're able to do is much worse than someone doing the same thing without your medical conditions. I know you haven't timed these things - who has, but if it would take your colleague 2 mins to get to a classroom and it takes you 8 and you then can't do anything for the next 15 mins - there's a big difference.

I know things like changing your career are terribly important to you as it naturally would be, but it's not to the DWP unless you show the relevance of that to the specific PIP questions and the criteria. You need to counteract what the assessor has said with your own evidence and any medical and/or other evidence you have.

I don't know whether you have a family member, partner, etc who can write a letter about your ability to walk and the difficulties you have. People often think they never take notice of this type of evidence, but sometimes they do, and if you don't already have it, it's worth submitting with your MR.

BIS