PIP Mobility component ?

raptorman

My wife is disabled  after she suffered a infection in her brain several years ago now and has been diagnosed as having Cerebral Ataxia. The ataxia affects her balance to the point now that she has to use a mobility scooter(which was gifted to us by a kind donor)to go anywhere outside and we have just been referred for a folding wheelchair to put in the car to help with her hospital visits. She is also on her third bout of lung cancer and is currently receiving chemotherapy but has previously had radiotherapy for the first cancer and a lobectomy on the second cancer so now she has trouble breathing which affects her ability to do anything or go anywhere. she currently receives PIP and the mobility component is the 'standard' rate. Does it sound to you folks like she would qualify for the higher rate mobility ?

poppy12345

That will depend on how far exactly she can walk reliably and repeatedly. She must also have had the worsening of condition for at least 3 months and exapect it to last at least a further 9 months. Do be aware that reporting a change of circumstances will prompt more PIP2 forms to be sent so the whole process starts all over again. Her existing award will continue until a decision's made on the change of circumstances.

When does her existing award end?

rjmachin

In addition to the advice from poppy12345, your wife would need 12 mobility points to get the enhanced rate.

Take a look at pages 6 and 7 of this document:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Global/Migrated_Documents/adviceguide/pip-9-table-of-activities-descriptors-and-points.pdf

If your wife can plan and follow journeys, then the 12 points will rely on the moving around score.   To get 12 points on this, she would either be able to stand and walk up to 20 meters only, or not able to stand, or not able to walk more than 1 meter (with or without aids)

raptorman

poppy12345 said:

When does her existing award end?

I am not really sure.

She cannot walk any real distance without her stick and me to lean on and it has gotten progressively worse over the years.

poppy12345

You should find out when exactly her existing award ends before doing anything else. 

raptorman

rjmachin said:

In addition to the advice from poppy12345, your wife would need 12 mobility points to get the enhanced rate.

Take a look at pages 6 and 7 of this document:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Global/Migrated_Documents/adviceguide/pip-9-table-of-activities-descriptors-and-points.pdf

If your wife can plan and follow journeys, then the 12 points will rely on the moving around score.   To get 12 points on this, she would either be able to stand and walk up to 20 meters only, or not able to stand, or not able to walk more than 1 meter (with or without aids)

She can't walk anywhere without her stick and me to lean on and only for short distances well below 20 metre's. The cerebral ataxia that she has causes her to get easily confused with anything other than a conversation with me, she cannot comprehend official letters and gets confused very easily and I always provide my mobile number so I can deal with any official phone calls.
I looked at the link and we think she would score 24 points for the mobility section.

poppy12345

raptorman said:

rjmachin said:

In addition to the advice from poppy12345, your wife would need 12 mobility points to get the enhanced rate.

Take a look at pages 6 and 7 of this document:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Global/Migrated_Documents/adviceguide/pip-9-table-of-activities-descriptors-and-points.pdf

If your wife can plan and follow journeys, then the 12 points will rely on the moving around score.   To get 12 points on this, she would either be able to stand and walk up to 20 meters only, or not able to stand, or not able to walk more than 1 meter (with or without aids)

The cerebral ataxia that she has causes her to get easily confused with anything other than a conversation with me, she cannot comprehend official letters and gets confused very easily and I always provide my mobile number so I can deal with any official phone calls.

That would not be relevant to the moving around part of mobility PIP.

raptorman

poppy12345 said:

You should find out when exactly her existing award ends before doing anything else. 

I just asked her and it should have been reassessed this year but because of the pandemic it has been pushed to 2023

raptorman

poppy12345 said:

raptorman said:

rjmachin said:

In addition to the advice from poppy12345, your wife would need 12 mobility points to get the enhanced rate.

Take a look at pages 6 and 7 of this document:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Global/Migrated_Documents/adviceguide/pip-9-table-of-activities-descriptors-and-points.pdf

If your wife can plan and follow journeys, then the 12 points will rely on the moving around score.   To get 12 points on this, she would either be able to stand and walk up to 20 meters only, or not able to stand, or not able to walk more than 1 meter (with or without aids)

The cerebral ataxia that she has causes her to get easily confused with anything other than a conversation with me, she cannot comprehend official letters and gets confused very easily and I always provide my mobile number so I can deal with any official phone calls.

That would not be relevant to the moving around part of mobility PIP.

I am sorry, it's late, the ataxia has caused damage to her brain that affects her balance and comprehension. She has used a walking stick for 12 years since the brain infection and her walking has decreased substantially in that period as well as suffering random falls.

poppy12345

A lot of awards have been extended because of Covid but this doesn't mean she won't still receive her review form at anytime. Or at least around the time she would have originally received them before the award was extended. (usually 6 months before the original award was due to end).

It maybe worth getting some expert advice from an advice agency near you. https://advicelocal.uk/

What ever you decide to do when filling out the forms you should make sure you put as much information as possible about how her conditions affect her. Also adding a couple of recent real world examples of what happened the last time she attempted that activity for each descriptor that applies to her. Even with a review form, you should not just put "no change, if there hasn't been any changes"

airliner

If the DWP accepts the description of your wife's difficulties, it's likely she will be awarded the enhanced rate mobility component.
However, there is no guarantee. The decision will be influenced by the information on the PIP2 form, a health assessor's report and a DWP decision maker's opinion.
It's within your interest to get specialist help to complete the form, as suggested by Poppy.