Advice Please - PIP Renewal Form for DS

mark55man

Hi

My son (now early 20s) was awarded PIP for 3 years for ME/CFS, Chronic Headaches and Anxiety, we just received his PIP renewal form.  For completeness (but not sure if it matters) for his UC he is characterised as  limited capability for work and work related activity ( LCWRA )

In all honesty nothing has changed for him if anything over the pandemic he has got more stuck in his rut and more prone to sleep and energy loss issues.

When completing the form do we just say that or do we need to go back to the original application and replay the wording from there?  Also will there be a separate assessment as we had the first time round?  Finally can I presume on that this is likely to be granted, or is this more unlikely in the current environment.   

Thanks in advance.  We have a couple of weeks to return the forms so we are keen to make a start

Spoonie_Turtle

Treat it essentially as the original claim.  You could start with a preface of something along the lines of 'nothing has changed since my last PIP award, I still … ' and then go on to detail everything as before.

Edit: or, after rereading your post, if things in some areas have got worse you can say that, of course.

Also I don't think we can predict the likelihood of the renewal resulting in an appropriate award.  There are always statistics (the last ones I've found were up to October) but on an individual level it really can go either way.  No real point trying to predict.

mark55man

Thank you - we still have the original paperwork so will get on it.  You are right of course in that nothing is predictable, and we will give it our best shot.  We had a lot of help from CAB the first time round, but their appointments are jammed up beyond the must return date!

calcotti

You should expect that there will be an assessment. Although many are still being done by phone I expect we will see a move back to face to face as Covid restrictions are eased.

Robbie64

mark55man said:

Thank you - we still have the original paperwork so will get on it.  You are right of course in that nothing is predictable, and we will give it our best shot.  We had a lot of help from CAB the first time round, but their appointments are jammed up beyond the must return date!

You can ask for an extension if you need more time to complete the form. PIP will normally grant a 2 week extension without a problem, especially if you explain that you can't get an appointment with CAB until after the return date. If you want longer, or need a further extension, then the person you speak to may need to refer the request to someone else to have it granted.

Alice_Holt

As spoonie says complete it as fully as you can repeating the info from the original form, and also explain how his abilities to reliably perform the PIP activities have deteriorated recently.

Give examples if you can, and enclose relevant medical evidence showing there has been no improvement. A brief confirming letter from carers / family members detailing how they help your son with the PIP activities can be useful.

As the spaces on the form are small, it can be good idea to type your responses onto sheets (headed with name, NI number, with PIP activity paragraphs ) and then securely attach these to the form. Write 'See attached sheets' in the relevant box on the form.  This is more legible, easily amended to get to the convincing final version, and you will have a copy for the assessment / future use. 

Some resources:
https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/personal-independence-payment-pip/pip-points-system

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1046238/pip-assessment-guide-part-2-assessment-criteria.pdf

https://www.mentalhealthandmoneyadvice.org/en/welfare-benefits/pip-mental-health-guide/?utm_source=rethink&utm_medium=landing_page&utm_campaign=mbmh

 https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/help-with-your-claim/fill-in-form/

Remember that "reliability"  and "majority of the time"  are very important concepts in PIP.
(Page 76 on of the assessment guide)

mark55man

Thank you so much for your help links and advise.  I won't ask for extra time, as the CAB support first time round was epic so the words are very strong already, with a little extra emphasis on the additional medical needs (pain clinics / sleep clinics / ...) I think we will be OK. - I will look at the links as I understand replaying the advice when answering the question makes it easier.  I have a week off after next week so will be able to give this full attention   

I understand an assessment is usual, especially with the restrictions being lifted - but we will deal with that when we come to it 

Alice_Holt

mark55man said:

  I won't ask for extra time, 

      I would as a matter of course.
I understand there are delays between the mail handling centres (outsourced to the post office ?) and the form then being logged onto the DWP computer system. 
I believe the later is taken as the point of arrival, not at the mail handling centre. 

mark55man

OK - good point. thanks again

UKTigerlily

mark55man said:

Hi

My son (now early 20s) was awarded PIP for 3 years for ME/CFS, Chronic Headaches and Anxiety, we just received his PIP renewal form.  For completeness (but not sure if it matters) for his UC he is characterised as  limited capability for work and work related activity ( LCWRA )

In all honesty nothing has changed for him if anything over the pandemic he has got more stuck in his rut and more prone to sleep and energy loss issues.

When completing the form do we just say that or do we need to go back to the original application and replay the wording from there?  Also will there be a separate assessment as we had the first time round?  Finally can I presume on that this is likely to be granted, or is this more unlikely in the current environment.   

Thanks in advance.  We have a couple of weeks to return the forms so we are keen to make a start

I just had a renewal form and was unsure whether to just state nothing had changed after every question, or whether to do it all in great detail. I called them, and they confirmed I just needed to state that nothing had changed, and send any evidence, so this is what I did. I sent a prescription list, a letter from my Consultant and my Mum about how it affects me, and also the copy of my last assessment, in case they didn't bother to look at it. They have kept me on the same level of award for 3 more years with no assessment, hth

poppy12345

UKTigerlily said:

mark55man said:

Hi

My son (now early 20s) was awarded PIP for 3 years for ME/CFS, Chronic Headaches and Anxiety, we just received his PIP renewal form.  For completeness (but not sure if it matters) for his UC he is characterised as  limited capability for work and work related activity ( LCWRA )

In all honesty nothing has changed for him if anything over the pandemic he has got more stuck in his rut and more prone to sleep and energy loss issues.

When completing the form do we just say that or do we need to go back to the original application and replay the wording from there?  Also will there be a separate assessment as we had the first time round?  Finally can I presume on that this is likely to be granted, or is this more unlikely in the current environment.   

Thanks in advance.  We have a couple of weeks to return the forms so we are keen to make a start

I just had a renewal form and was unsure whether to just state nothing had changed after every question, or whether to do it all in great detail. I called them, and they confirmed I just needed to state that nothing had changed, and send any evidence, so this is what I did. I sent a prescription list, a letter from my Consultant and my Mum about how it affects me, and also the copy of my last assessment, in case they didn't bother to look at it. They have kept me on the same level of award for 3 more years with no assessment, hth

You were extremely lucky that they did this. I wouldn't advise anyone to just put "no change" always cover yourself and treat every claim as a new claim.

For future reference, when you ring DWP you are ringing a call centre who have very little benefits knowledge and it's not really advised to ring them for any advice regarding benefits.