Help with PIP mobility

bearfurbaby

Hello firstly thank you for reading 

I am considering asking for a review of my pip mobility part at the moment i get daily living enhanced rate and standard mobility.
I suffer will long term mental health with many things, agrophobia, generalized anxiety, ocd, bipolar, eupd, my mental health started about 20 years ago, i ended up spending 5 1/2 years in pyshactric hospitals and have had many shorter stays, i live in independant flats which is supported living which i have lived for 5 years. this maybe too much info but i wanted to give the full picture 

I know there was a change in law with mental health and mobility and i did have a letter a few years ago saying my claim was re looked at and i was on the right rate for my mobility 

i didnt agree with that decision however was too scared to appeal as im unable to deal with the stress, however i dont feel that it is right that i should feel this way and feel now maybe the time to appeal this.

the reason i feel i should get enchanced rate of mobility is due to the fact that i have not been able to go outside on my own in over 10 years at all i cant even get to the bins on my own, even when i am with my support workers and family, i often get tunnel vision while anxious and step out in to traffic due to just trying to get where i need to go, i often end up running off to quite side roads, carparks to try and hide away from people, i only go out in the evenings due to not wanting to bump into any people and being more hidden in the dark, i often get detached and spaced out again which makes me at risk of not being aware of my surroundings, if i was ever to go out alone which wouldnt be a thing it would be a complete disaster 

wondering what your advice is on this before i try the stressful process that i dread if it is worth the stress 

thank you in advance and if you need any more info please ask 

thank you

poppy12345

When you report a change of circumstances you will be sent more forms to fill in and return, then your whole award will be looked at again and not just part of it. You need to make 100% certain that you don't risk losing what you already have before reporting a changes. Even if it's obvious that you're entitled to what you have already, there's still a risk and lots of people have been known to lose everything.

Of course your award could remain the same or be increased because it does sound like you should be entitled to Enhanced mobility. Before doing anything else expert advice is needed so start here. https://advicelocal.uk/

Spoonie_Turtle

You need to understand the mobility descriptors very clearly before deciding whether to go for it. Which one do you think should apply to you?

bearfurbaby

poppy12345 said:

When you report a change of circumstances you will be sent more forms to fill in and return, then your whole award will be looked at again and not just part of it. You need to make 100% certain that you don't risk losing what you already have before reporting a changes. Even if it's obvious that you're entitled to what you have already, there's still a risk and lots of people have been known to lose everything.

Of course your award could remain the same or be increased because it does sound like you should be entitled to Enhanced mobility. Before doing anything else expert advice is needed so start here.

and that is my fear im not too worried in the daily activity part as i did score high on alot of areas before but its just all so stressful which is why i havent bothered since 2016 when i chagned from dla to pip, it causes so much stress i wish there was a much easier way 

thanks for your reply and the link will take a look 

bearfurbaby

Spoonie_Turtle said:

You need to understand the mobility descriptors very clearly before deciding whether to go for it. Which one do you think should apply to you?

thanks for your reply 

well i think this one 
f. Cannot follow the route of a familiar journey without another person, an assistance dog or an orientation aid.

as i can not go out anywhere with out my support workers or family, the risk is too great and with my support workers and mental health team they would never let me even if i wanted to go out alone 

poppy12345

Even though you scored a lot last time, reporting a change of circumstances doesn't automatically mean you'll score the same again. Use the link above and drop it down to welfare benefits, put your postcode in to see what's local to you for expert advice.

Spoonie_Turtle

bearfurbaby said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

You need to understand the mobility descriptors very clearly before deciding whether to go for it. Which one do you think should apply to you?

thanks for your reply 

well i think this one 
f. Cannot follow the route of a familiar journey without another person, an assistance dog or an orientation aid.

as i can not go out anywhere with out my support workers or family, the risk is too great and with my support workers and mental health team they would never let me even if i wanted to go out alone 

In that case, you have to be certain that you meet that one and NOT descriptor E. 'Cannot undertake any journey because it would cause overwhelming psychological distress to the claimant' - it is not a literal "never" but based on whether, on most of the days, going out is too overwhelming.

The guidance states:
"This descriptor applies to claimants where undertaking any journey on the majority of days causes overwhelming psychological distress (OPD) despite being aided.

‘Any journey’ means that in order to satisfy the descriptor on any particular day the person must not be able to manage to undertake a single journey. If the person can manage to leave the home to undertake a journey once then on that day the descriptor is not satisfied, even if they’re unable to undertake other journeys during the same day. Being able to complete a journey at night time only however, is not considered to be completing a journey to an acceptable standard. Therefore, in these instances, this descriptor may be appropriate. 
…
A claimant who satisfies 1E cannot also satisfy 1F. If they cannot undertake a single journey on the majority of days due to overwhelming psychological distress, then 1E will be the applicable descriptor, even if there are occasions when they could follow a familiar route, if accompanied."

So you need to be sure that, for more than half of the days, you could reliably go out as long as you have someone with you.  If, on more than half the days it would be too overwhelming even with someone else, then you would likely fit descriptor E which would still only give you standard mobility. 

From the middle section of your first post about what happens even when you are with support workers, I think you may run the risk of them deciding that journeys like that are not safe or to an acceptable standard and therefore you don't satisfy the concept of 'being able to undertake a journey' with help as in descriptor F.  (But those are just my thoughts, I'm no authority by any means!)

If you can get advice like poppy suggests that would definitely be best

Newly_retired

I would definitely agree that you should get advice. Could your CPN or other support worker help? I have a relative with similar problems and her CPN helped her.
i noticed in the way you worded your post that there could be some ambiguity, so help is recommended, on the lines Spoonie suggests.

poppy12345

Spoonie_Turtle said:

bearfurbaby said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

You need to understand the mobility descriptors very clearly before deciding whether to go for it. Which one do you think should apply to you?

thanks for your reply 

well i think this one 
f. Cannot follow the route of a familiar journey without another person, an assistance dog or an orientation aid.

as i can not go out anywhere with out my support workers or family, the risk is too great and with my support workers and mental health team they would never let me even if i wanted to go out alone 

In that case, you have to be certain that you meet that one and NOT descriptor E. 'Cannot undertake any journey because it would cause overwhelming psychological distress to the claimant' - it is not a literal "never" but based on whether, on most of the days, going out is too overwhelming.

I would agree with this. A lot of people think that if they can't go out alone then they are automatically entitled to Enhanced mobility, this isn't correct. If you are unable to go out at all for at least 50% of the time then descriptor E is more likely to apply than F.

What descriptor did you score the points in for your current award?

bearfurbaby

Newly_retired said:

I would definitely agree that you should get advice. Could your CPN or other support worker help? I have a relative with similar problems and her CPN helped her.
i noticed in the way you worded your post that there could be some ambiguity, so help is recommended, on the lines Spoonie suggests.

yes i have spoken to my cpn and she is one of the ones that has suggested asking for a review, and will support me but i just wanted to ask advice on here first see what others thought 

bearfurbaby

poppy12345 said:

Even though you scored a lot last time, reporting a change of circumstances doesn't automatically mean you'll score the same again. Use the link above and drop it down to welfare benefits, put your postcode in to see what's local to you for expert advice.

yes super stressful, and yes will need to find someone who can help over the phone as obviously woulndt be able to go see them