Burden of proof for PIP tribunal

Hi Spuggie

It may be semantics - but for me it's their 'reasoning' that is flawed, not their 'evidence'. For instance, I am assuming that your husband works because you haven't contradicted that point. So that's a fact. Where the assessor and decision maker got it wrong is because of assumptions made, because he works it automatically, it means he can do A, B & C. You need to take each point they have made and say where they are "incorrect", or "mistaken", or "have ommitted", or "have misunderstood" and point either to the evidence your husband gave on his form, or what he said at his assessment (if he had one) or from any medical evidence you have provided or any additional thoughts you have that contradict what they say. You don't have to come up with new 'evidence', Claimants are allowed to work and claim PIP, but it can sometimes be harder to get an award because of the bias of assessors.

The DWP are always obsessed with the amount of medication. I can imagine your husband's frustration at being told that because he does not have mental health support, that means he can't suffer from anxiety, depression or distress. What a load of utter hogwash. It is well known that there is an acute shortage of mental health services across the country and lots of patients have been discharged. Crisis teams are for a short-term crisis - not long-term mental health support. And I don't know about your health authority, but where I live, the 'support' on offer is an online course! Lots of people don't find that helpful.

The one area you may have difficulty with is your husband being a carer. Again, there are many disabled people looking after disabled partners - but the DWP always question it, and I expect it will come up at the Tribunal. Don't panic, just be ready with your answer. They will try to imply that if you are both disabled, you can't be a carer. I have two family members who are both disabled, and this question was asked. They were able to say truthfully that one gave physical care and one gave mental health support to their partner, and this was accepted. The important thing is to ensure there are no contradictions in what your husabnd struggles with and the support he gives as a carer.

Since when were GCSE's a PIP criteria? I think the Tribunal panel will skip over that.

So the important thing is to be able to argue where they are wrong. Only say something is 'unlawful' if you know that it is. I'm not saying that they haven't acted unlawfully, but I'd generally let the panel decide. Often, the DWP have given an 'opinion', one that the claimant vehemently disagrees with.

BIS