PIP Mandatory Reconsideration timescale

Alice_Holt

In terms of current timescales typically - 10 to 12 weeks for the Mandatory Reconsideration Notice from the DWP.   
Then, say, 6 - 7 months for a tribunal hearing (if the MRN does not change the original decision). 
It will vary from region to region (particularly tribunal waits), and both will vary over time as appeal volumes fluctuate and staff resources at the DWP / Tribunal Service change.    

Strangely, successful MRN's seem to be returned more quickly than unsuccessful MRN's (on average, less than 10 weeks). And of course there is then no wait for a tribunal.


Edited to cause less annoyance to the OP. 
No annoyance was intended, merely an intention to help a forumite facing the stressful experience of having to challenge / appeal a DWP PIP decision.

Alice_Holt

Spoonie_Turtle said:

poppy12345 said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

Seeking_Advice_Please said:

That's such a long time. I'm glad you got the right decision in the end, though. Did you have to have another phone assessment, then? 

It used to be quite a rarity but now nearly half of MRs result in a changed award (not necessarily the *right* award for all of those, but a step in the right direction at least).

Up until January 2022 36% of MR decisions change. Which has shown a gradual decrease since mid 2021. During the first half of Covid that number rose to more than 50%. Full details of all stats here. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-independence-payment-statistics-to-january-2022/personal-independence-payment-official-statistics-to-january-2022

That figure is still higher than it was before the pandemic.

Aw darn, the last time I checked it was 46%.  Had hoped it might continue increasing, but I should have known by now not to actually hope anything where DWP is concerned 🙄 [eyeroll emoji]

      No, unfortunately it does seem to be decreasing in recent months.

     However a compelling MR can still succeed.  Particularly one with strong new medical evidence attached, and a clear explanation of why an award should have been given in terms of the PIP descriptors.
   
      

Spoonie_Turtle

Alice_Holt said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

poppy12345 said:

Spoonie_Turtle said:

Seeking_Advice_Please said:

That's such a long time. I'm glad you got the right decision in the end, though. Did you have to have another phone assessment, then? 

It used to be quite a rarity but now nearly half of MRs result in a changed award (not necessarily the *right* award for all of those, but a step in the right direction at least).

Up until January 2022 36% of MR decisions change. Which has shown a gradual decrease since mid 2021. During the first half of Covid that number rose to more than 50%. Full details of all stats here. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-independence-payment-statistics-to-january-2022/personal-independence-payment-official-statistics-to-january-2022

That figure is still higher than it was before the pandemic.

Aw darn, the last time I checked it was 46%.  Had hoped it might continue increasing, but I should have known by now not to actually hope anything where DWP is concerned 🙄 [eyeroll emoji]

      No, unfortunately it does seem to be decreasing in recent months.

     However a compelling MR can still succeed.  Particularly one with strong new medical evidence attached, and a clear explanation of why an award should have been given in terms of the PIP descriptors.
   
      

As a point of interest, mine contained no new information (and my total medical evidence is scant, due to there being no treatment nor known medical intervention/management for my condition) but it did clearly explain why the justification for the original decision was completely wrong, and of course which descriptors I thought applied to me and why.

I knew I was fortunate with my MR anyway, to get a DM doing their job properly, but perhaps I was even more fortunate than I'd realised!

Seeking_Advice_Please

Poppy-it is not for you to decide what I would or would not find helpful. If you don't feel I can get the information I want, then why comment? I know what the guidlines say. I am looking for some kind of hope that it might be shorter or comfort from others going through the same thing. I got that from the other commenter, but thank you for deciding that I do not need to ask certain questions. You are right, it is a public forum, so I will feel free to seek specific advice and you feel free to continue commenting. Have a nice day.

Seeking_Advice_Please

*if you don't feel my question is worthwhile, no need to comment, unless of course, you need to tell me it is a pointless question.

Seeking_Advice_Please

poppy12345 said:

I have no idea how you think that advising you they rarely contact anyone is unhelpful. There's nothing negative about the advice i've given.

You won't be asked to have another telephone assessment for the MR. It's simply another decision maker looking at all your evidence again and making another decision.

It was regarding when you said it was our responsibility to send information. We did, so it was unnecessary to say it was our responsibility. It was therapeutic to share the frustration of dwp's practices and there was no need to shift the blame back to us as there is nothing more we could do in that aspect. It was an unnecessary downer of the tone of the conversation. I felt positive after reading the other commenters' post and then negative after you responded that it was up to us to supply evidence-which we did.

I appreciate that you are trying to help and probably meant to contribute.

I don't want to be rude to you, but I am extremely tired and need positivity and some kind of hope right now. I don't want to continue this pointless debate as it is a distraction from my original question. Thank you.

Seeking_Advice_Please

It would help the OP if they are capable of broadening out their line of interest beyond MR timescales (and not to instruct experienced and knowledgeable forumites to stop commenting on their thread).
 hearing?

I don't see why I should need to broaden the premise of advice sought. If I wanted confirmation of general guidelines, this could be found on other threads or on the gov. written sites. I was and am looking for specific recent experiences.

However-thank you for your comments, which are helpful to myself and I'm sure others.

Thank you.

poppy12345

It's a public forum and you can't stop people from posting. How on earth was i supposed to know that you had sent evidence, the comment i made was a general comment that i would always add when advising that "they very rarely contact anyone for any evidence" if someone says "they didn't contact anyone from my list"

If you don't like the advice i give then you can add me to your ignore list and then you won't see my comments unless someone quotes me.

Ginsipper007

poppy12345 said:

Seeking_Advice_Please said:

 they did not contact any of my relevant medical professionals

It's very rare they contact anyone. It's your responsibilty to send the evidence to support your claim. The same applies for the MR and Tribunal, if it gets that far. You need to make sure you send all relevant evidence. 

Not exactly.  Essentially, the problem appears to revolve around what constitutes 'evidence'.  From my experience of the last 18 months, helping 4 different people, all of whom failed at application but were successful at MR, the DWP is incorrectly applying the term 'evidence'.  Put bluntly, they're ignoring what people write in the form (not counting it as 'evidence') and relying on the assessor's opinion (counting that as 'evidence').  So when we say 'evidence', we need to be clear about what they're meant to be accepting, i.e. the written information submitted by the claimant.

In terms of other documents people can supply, remember, PIP isn't based on diagnosis, instead it's dependent on impact, and in particular the financial impact.  PIP, under statute, is there to support folks to meet any additional costs that arise as a direct result of their disability.  This is the prime criteria, how much does your disability cost you (charges for therapy, cab fares, employing a cleaner, etc).  All you have to do is look at the Act.  From my experience of the last 18 months, the DWP are operating outside of this Act.  When it comes down to it, therefore, the solution is monumentally simple, do you have receipts?  The rest is just gravy.

In other words, it's the responsibility of the DWP to ensure they're complying with the intention / spirit / terms of the Act, and if this means that they need to seek additional evidence, well, that's on them.  But here's what they can't do, ignore the written 'evidence' of the applicant in favour of the 'opinion' of the assessor.  The former must stand as fact and the latter as interpretation.  This is basically the law.

^^ Perhaps the OP would have found a comment that put the ball in the right court, so to speak, more helpful.  It's a grind applying for PIP, especially for the first time.  The reason I ended up helping 4 different people (+ 1 that's currently outstanding) is that I had enough distance to not take it (i.e. the responses of the DWP) personally.  I'm not an advice worker, although in a former life I was a lawyer, and after the first success more folks asked for help.  Once I realised what the problem was, i.e. assessors using their shonky knowledge to form wholly inappropriate opinions and the DWP operating outside of the Act and statutory guidance, it became relatively easy to challenge their decisions.  

Hope it goes ok SAP.

chrisw

Seeking_Advice_Please said:

*if you don't feel my question is worthwhile, no need to comment, unless of course, you need to tell me it is a pointless question.

Whilst you may have started the thread, it's useful information for others as well.

I have nothing to contribute to the topic nor any particular questions to ask but came onto the thread to get a better understanding of what might happen should I end up with a MR at my next review or in the future.

So I appreciate the comments and experience of the other posters even if you don't.