One point short of daily care in PIP.

justaquestion

Hi folks,

I have just been told over the phone that I qualify for standard compnent of mobility in PIP (managed migration from DLA) but it seems I am one point short for daily living so it has been disallowed. Seemingly I only scored seven

Letter is on its way and no doubt things will be clearer when I get it, I am also getting assessors report.

I think I will have to go down the road of MR and maybe a trbunal though there is a chance I could loose the lot (mobility component)

I am registered partially sighted (have official proof) and even the assessor said that if you have poor eyesight it tends to affect everything in your life, was very pleasnt though, so very possible that its a decision makers decision to disallow the care compnent.

I use aids such as bumpons on the cooker on/off knobs, have magnifiers prescribed from the low vision clinic, and have one hearing aid from the local hospital. I thought those aids would have counted as 5-6 points on its own, leaving aside the other psychological and health problems i have.

I do have a GPs letter but that is from 5 years ago, so dont think I can bother them again, as they will only put on whats already on letter I sent in.

So I can't really send any more evidence.
So i take it, a MR is my only chance to get care decision reviewed and maybe then the tribunal if it doesn't work?
Though I realise I could loose the mobility component as well.
Many thanks for any advice.

TELLIT01

Although there is always a chance that you will lose the elements you have already been awarded, that chance is very slim. Put in the MR as soon as you can. As you are only a single point away from the higher award it may be amended at MR stage. It doesn't happen often but it could do. If MR is unsuccessful you then go to appeal.

calcotti

If you think your GP will do it ask them for a new letter. Even if they say exactly what they said 5 years ago it will confirm that the contents are up to date. It is easy for DWP to discount older letters on the grounds that things may have changed - unless they clearly refer to conditions that cannot improve.

The DWP are more likely to amend a decision at MR if there is new evidence - because they can say it’s the new evidence that changed the decision rather than admit they got it wrong.

Icequeen99

justaquestion wrote: »

Hi folks,

I have just been told over the phone that I qualify for standard compnent of mobility in PIP (managed migration from DLA) but it seems I am one point short for daily living so it has been disallowed. Seemingly I only scored seven

Letter is on its way and no doubt things will be clearer when I get it, I am also getting assessors report.

I think I will have to go down the road of MR and maybe a trbunal though there is a chance I could loose the lot (mobility component)

I am registered partially sighted (have official proof) and even the assessor said that if you have poor eyesight it tends to affect everything in your life, was very pleasnt though, so very possible that its a decision makers decision to disallow the care compnent.

I use aids such as bumpons on the cooker on/off knobs, have magnifiers prescribed from the low vision clinic, and have one hearing aid from the local hospital. I thought those aids would have counted as 5-6 points on its own, leaving aside the other psychological and health problems i have.

I do have a GPs letter but that is from 5 years ago, so dont think I can bother them again, as they will only put on whats already on letter I sent in.

So I can't really send any more evidence.
So i take it, a MR is my only chance to get care decision reviewed and maybe then the tribunal if it doesn't work?
Though I realise I could loose the mobility component as well.
Many thanks for any advice.

You may not get the 2 points for the hearing aid if you only have 1? Is the hearing in your other ear ok?

The magnifier - the test for using that is to read and understand basic or complex material. In this context complex just means a longer sentence such as 'If you do not keep up your payments, your home is at risk of repossession'

I would wait for your letter to see what points were actually awarded and then make sure in your MR you address each of the ones you feel you missed out on in some detail including why you need the aid and whether you can do that activity safely, reliably, repeatedly and to an acceptable standard without it.

IQ

justaquestion

Thanks. Just one hearing aid, well hospital prescribed hearing aid, but I have been told by private test that hearing in other ear is gone a bit too, probably due to age I'd expect, if you can believe a well known hearing aid company.


Good advice to wait on letter, and I will try not to panic as probably I am

GlasweJen

If you get help from a specialist vision charity with your mandatory reconsideration and appeal it might to a bit better. RNIB can offer this support in some areas

justaquestion

Thanks a lot for replies. Well I got letter today giving the points. Nothing for the hearing aid in communicating. so no points scored there.

if its ok to run a few descripters past you for your advice.


Communicating.....because I have poor eyesight (registered partially sighted) do you think it might be possible to get points for not recognising people and most of the time I have to be told by my partner who it is....happens all the time to me.

Mixing with other people .... I really don't have a social life of my own due to social phobia, I go out occasionally with my partner but its to places where I am almost sure I wont meet anyone and be put in a social situation.


I scored 2 points for this,
"needs prompting to be able to engage with other people"


but wonder should I have been awarded 4 as in
"Needs social support to be able to engage with other people*

What really is the difference between the above points in the descriptors?

I know when my partner asks me to go to an event such as a wedding even though she is going I can't because I know that I will have a total panic attack, which humiliates me and take weeks to recover from. Other times I can go with her but usually with a great deal of worry.

Thanks for any clarification with the above.

poppy12345

justaquestion wrote: »

Thanks a lot for replies. Well I got letter today giving the points. Nothing for the hearing aid in communicating. so no points scored there.

if its ok to run a few descripters past you for your advice.


Communicating.....because I have poor eyesight (registered partially sighted) do you think it might be possible to get points for not recognising people and most of the time I have to be told by my partner who it is....happens all the time to me.

Mixing with other people .... I really don't have a social life of my own due to social phobia, I go out occasionally with my partner but its to places where I am almost sure I wont meet anyone and be put in a social situation.


I scored 2 points for this,
"needs prompting to be able to engage with other people"


but wonder should I have been awarded 4 as in
"Needs social support to be able to engage with other people*

What really is the difference between the above points in the descriptors?

I know when my partner asks me to go to an event such as a wedding even though she is going I can't because I know that I will have a total panic attack, which humiliates me and take weeks to recover from. Other times I can go with her but usually with a great deal of worry.

Thanks for any clarification with the above.

You won't score points for just 1 hearing aid.
Not recognising people because of poor eyesight won't score you points under the communicating verbally.
It's possible you could score 4 points for engaging with others. Prompting means someone to encourage you or remind you do do something or go somewhere. Social support means you need someone to be with you to be able to go out in social situations.

If you decide to ask for the MR you have 1 month to request this from the date of the decision. They will look at the whole award again and not just part of it. You do risk losing everything you already have but mostly the decisions remain the same. Good luck what ever you decide.

calcotti

justaquestion wrote: »

I scored 2 points for this,
"needs prompting to be able to engage with other people"

but wonder should I have been awarded 4 as in
"Needs social support to be able to engage with other people*

What really is the difference between the above points in the descriptors?

“prompting” means reminding, encouraging or explaining by another person;
“social support” means support from a person trained or experienced in assisting people to engage in social situations.
You can see that social support has a rather special definition. Based on what you say 2 points for prompting sounds right to me.

If you are having any kind of psychotherapy and you would be unable to interact with others if you were not having the therapy you may be able to argue that the therapy is social support (even though your therapist is not with you when you go out).

Alice_Holt

calcotti wrote: »

prompting means reminding, encouraging or explaining by another person;
social support means support from a person trained or experienced in assisting people to engage in social situations..

According to guidance issued by the DWP, social support can include someone directly experienced in supporting the claimant themselves (for example a family member)

An example might be if you need a family member to accompany you to the GP, otherwise you would be too anxious or distressed to explain things, converse, and take in the GP's advice.

If this (or similar) applies to the OP - then 4 points might be a more appropriate award.
The OP could get evidence from family members, etc to show this.
It's not just social engagement with a group of people (i.e at a wedding) - it looks at one to one encounters typical in a normal day.

This is from the PIP assessment guide:
"Social support means support from another person trained or experienced in assisting
people to engage in social situations, or someone directly experienced in supporting the
claimant themselves (for example a family member or carer), who can ........ assist
social integration...

When considering whether claimants can engage with others, consideration should be given
to whether they can engage with people generally, not just those people they know well.
If an individual cannot reliably complete an activity in the way described in a descriptor then
they should be considered unable to complete it at that level..."

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/725533/pip-assessment-guide-part-2-assessment-criteria.pdf

poppy12345

calcotti wrote: »

“social support” means support from a person trained or experienced in assisting people to engage in social situations.
You can see that social support has a rather special definition. Based on what you say 2 points for prompting sounds right to me.

I disagree with this, sorry. My daughter scored 4 points in this descriptor because she never goes out alone. At the time of her PIP application the only 2 people that supported her to go out was myself and her sister. She has a Support Worker now but not at that time and this didn't stop them awarding her 4 points for this.