Thank you so much for your wonderful site, I could not have completed the PIP form as well as I had without it. I claimed on behalf of a family member with mental health problems, I asked for a paperbased asessment and recieved the dreaded brown envelope 3 weeks after submission, forst thought was ...oh no what do they want now? We could not believe it was the award of enhanced and enhanced for both, however I do not agree with scores, nothing for communication which I quiried and was told it is the mechanism of speaking...on form I had stated due to severe anxiety my sons throat closes and he speaks in a high pitched voice that people cannot understand and he has to repeat himself constantly, also does not use phone, answer door etc This condition has existed since 2005, confirmed on Doctors letter and has stopped him going to uni and working, it also severely affects every aspect of his life yet the award was for 3 years with review after 2 years. Given new ‘soft touch’ government guidance I thought the award would be ongoing and for longer as the condition is severe and enduring, I called the DWP and they said they have registered my comments on the claim. I have weighed things up and think it is better to leave it as is, what are your thoughts? We live in Scotland so things are going to change here.

On another note does everyone know about the resident carers discount which two people can claim and backdate easily, you dont even have to recieve carers allowance check rules with your local council as not widely known, also SMI discount which I have claimed for my mother with severe aneamia and delerium from sepsis.

M O

I'm not sure the DWP will accept an MR for an Enhance award of both components with the exception of the award length, the Tribunal Service certainly won't.

I'm afraid an On-Going award is not a given just because the claimant has an Enhanced award.

Have a look at the following which covers Council Tax reductions

www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice/financi...ncil-tax-rate-relief

Gordon

Hello Gordon

The GPs letter stated “as things stand she sees no change in the forseeable future” which the case manager quoted when I asked about the award duration. Does 3 years with review after 2 seem short, as they seem to be basing this on the above comment and for a condition that has existed since 2005, she also said it impacts greatly and went into greta detail.

Also do you think PIP will change much with the soft touch reviews, will more people benefit from this as time progresses.

M O

I'm afraid I read the GP's letter as suggesting that there is the possibility for change, maybe not now but potentially in the future so I don't think it is supportive of a long award, so I think you would be arguing a four or five year award and not a ten or on-going one.

So far we have only seen one member have their claim switched to an On-Going award and a Soft Touch Review, it's early days but I don't think we are going to see significant numbers moved over.

Gordon

Hi Gordon

Thankyou for reply. GP’s exact wording was “I don’t see situation changing much in the forseeable future”. The new guidelines for DWP on soft touch. Is “stable & unlikely to change significantly”.

What would your best advice be given enhanced and enhanced decision and 3 year award reviewed after 2 years, also I dont agree with scoring, but appreciate the award. I do not wish to have award reduced or go through a tribunal but do feel they have been unfair with duration. There has been a huge amount of phsychiatric input and hospital twice within a 6 month period, the CPN has also stated that hospital helps some but in our case has caused more distress, so much so my son now refuses any mental health involvement and will only see GP who is very
supportive, my concern is that my son will stay the same and will refuse physchiatric help and we will have problems when it comes to review. As I said GP will do all she can to help, also stable on medication.

I know it is our decision but would greatly appreciate your advice.

M O

I'm afraid the DWP will not re-visit the length of your award without an MR, are you prepared to request one?

I'm afraid I can’t offer much advice about getting a longer award, we haven't seen many people do this, here on other forums, so I can't give you a realistic view of the likelihood of success, other than the DM is unlikely to extend the period so you will need to be prepared to go onto appeal which could take a year based on the current wait times

You will need to provide medical evidence, general and specific to you, showing that your conditions are not likely to change for a period longer than the current three years, can you do this?

Gordon