Pip-

Bryando

Hi,

I am being told so many things on this !:( For PIP the criteria only has to apply at some point for the majority of the WEEK. NOT the majority of the DAY?

24skins

Yes, the guidance is "more than 50% of the time" for a descriptor to apply, which is why people having seizures etc are missing out unless these conditions are very severe. My son got no points related to his epilepsy as it doesn't affect him over 50% of the time.

Bryando

Yet me being unable to walk far, get down stairs, dress for example due to my condition being worse in the morning can meet the criteria. You would think somebody like your son would be covered!

24skins

Bryando wrote: »

Yet me being unable to walk far, get down stairs, dress for example due to my condition being worse in the morning can meet the criteria. You would think somebody like your son would be covered!

To clarify - my son is covered by PIP, but not due to his epilepsy which would attract no award as he isn't affected often enough to meet PIP descriptors. He got 31 points for Daily Living & 12 for Mobility & only one point could be construed as relating to his seizures (1 pt for managing a health condition). If anything the new descriptors have made it easier for my son to qualify as they are weighted toward learning disability, qualifying for DLA has always been by the skin of his teeth as he doesn't have challenging behaviour.

The weighting toward LD is on purpose, the DWP felt that physical disability was over-emphasised in DLA & people with LDs were under awarded, comparatively speaking. I have been in contact with a friend at Welfare Rights informally & she has told me they're seeing situations where people that have been claiming DLA for years just aren't eligible anymore under PIP; conditions particularly affected are seizure disorders, heart conditions, some types of Multiple Sclerosis and a range of mental health conditions. I'm not knowledgeable about MS or MH, but know that it's not unusual for someone to suffer seizures in clusters and people whose fits occur in this pattern might not be eligible for PIP - even if they're having several hours of fits per week - because they're occurring on the "wrong" days. It's utterly ridiculous.

Edited to add, WR friend pointed me to this link re awards https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/502458/admp2.pdf

24skins

disciplined wrote: »

I'm worried about my transfer from DLA to PIP because I have a fluctuating mental health condition called Schizoaffective Disorder, Bipolar type which I have read some people with the same condition haven't scored enough points to qualify for PIP.

I'm scared I'll be in the same boat because like I say it's a fluctuating mental health condition and most days I'm alright but have been sectioned 9 times since Sep 2010. I also have a Mild Learning Disability and have weekly input from the community learning disability nurse as well as being Incontinent and wearing pads but I don't need any help with the Incontinence do will score no points on that element.

My advice would be to look at the descriptors below & see what points you'll score, use the link I posted above for guidance as well & don't take the descriptors at face value, look for their meaning - for instance "reading signs & symbols" means exactly that, they're looking to see if you can read signs like the Push/Pull on a door or a Fire Exit as well as the written word.

http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/personal-independence-payment-pip/pip-points-system

I'm raging at how the system is now, it's entirely unfair to some very serious conditions, for example I had a relative pass away from cystic fibrosis a few years back & he wouldn't have qualified for any care under the current descriptors until he reached the stage where he required a transplant. While he was well he worked, monitored his own health & travelled to work independently [in his motability car], so he would've scored 0 points for care until he was covered by the special rules. :mad: