PIP Assessment. Can a decision be made on information 2 to 3 years out of date?

Alice_Holt

poppy12345 said:

OP was last active at 3.33pm but didn't comment on the thread. If there's an Enhanced for both parts award then i really don't understand why they took it to Tribunal. Not only that they requested the Statement of Reasons. This is wasting their time, the panels time and the Judges time when they needed to do the SOR, which as we know takes up a huge amount of their time.

       Quite.

        And further delaying the process for claimants whose appeals are deserving of a hearing.

 I wonder in the circumstances you describe, HMCTS can refuse the appeal (as the claimant has nothing to gain). It is completely senseless to chase further points when the maximum award has already been given.    

poppy12345

Alice_Holt said:

poppy12345 said:

OP was last active at 3.33pm but didn't comment on the thread. If there's an Enhanced for both parts award then i really don't understand why they took it to Tribunal. Not only that they requested the Statement of Reasons. This is wasting their time, the panels time and the Judges time when they needed to do the SOR, which as we know takes up a huge amount of their time.

    
 I wonder in the circumstances you describe, HMCTS can refuse the appeal (as the claimant has nothing to gain). It is completely senseless to chase further points when the maximum award has already been given.    

I would say they can, though the request was in Feb and decision in August, so quite a wait.

antjj28

Ok guys, thanks for your comments and opinions.  Youve helped me make up my mind.

poppy12345

antjj28 said:

Ok guys, thanks for your comments and opinions.  Youve helped me make up my mind.

Even though you didn't say what mobility award you actually have.

Muttleythefrog

Agreeing of course with the advice you've received but I do want to caveat this.

I challenged in reconsideration a PIP award even though I did not argue for higher rates  I wanted them to correct the wrong descriptors.... I have OCD and it causes me difficulties when I am seeing paperwork and statements about me that remain untrue and unchallenged... as members may remember I even targeted a HCP regarding a WCA even though they recommended I be placed in the support group where I remain to this day.

They duly of course decided to keep the decision the same and I didn't appeal because my wife threatened to end our marriage if I wasted more time on that. At next review I again made my case for the relevant descriptors applying and used my previous reconsideration material to assist. The descriptors selected in decision are now correct... and this has helped me put the claim into the cupboard so to speak (and literally as it happens). It means when I next get my review I can agree with the previous decision and it also makes my award somewhat more secure in that more points have been awarded for Daily Care.

I appreciate this wastes resources of many and would have further if appealed.. plus risks an award of course. It is frustrating more accurate and consistent decisions can't be made more timely and I suspect sitting in unreleased DWP report of disabled claimant experience this will be a message in bold.

But my point is that while learned members here may suggest there is no merit in fighting for an unchanged benefit award but rather the underlying disability descriptors being corrected... I have to say for some there could be... in mind or in future review.

antjj28

poppy12345 said:

antjj28 said:

Ok guys, thanks for your comments and opinions.  Youve helped me make up my mind.

Even though you didn't say what mobility award you actually have.

That wasn't relevant to the question I asked which was, 

Can a decision be made on information 2 to 3 years out of date?

Alice_Holt

antjj28 said:

poppy12345 said:

antjj28 said:

Ok guys, thanks for your comments and opinions.  Youve helped me make up my mind.

Even though you didn't say what mobility award you actually have.

That wasn't relevant to the question I asked which was, 

Can a decision be made on information 2 to 3 years out of date?

      Tony,

        If you go back to my earlier comments, you may understand that:

  i)  The DWP often include previous awards / assessments in their appeal bundle. This sets out the history of a PIP claim 

  ii) A tribunal should focus on the disputed assessment, but previous assessments can be useful background info for them. A tribunal needs to look at (and assess) all the evidence in front of it.  

ii)  That is why it is vital for the appellant to provide their own supporting evidence, a well reasoned submission to the tribunal, and to participate in their own hearing.

iii) There is unlikely to be just one element of evidence that determines the tribunal outcome, since a tribunal panel considers all the evidence in front of it. If that previous (2 yr old info) information is consistent with the disputed assessment then it may inform the tribunals decision - and the judge may reference it in their S of R.  

iv) However many, many tribunal decision notices will state that in coming to a decision the verbal evidence of the appellant was the paramount evidence.
Participation in your hearing gives a much, much better chance of success than just having a paper hearing. You can answer the panel's questions and clarify matters for them.


If you need to go through an appeal process again Tony, and wish to reduce the chance that " a decision [is] made on information 2 to 3 years out of date" , then you need to participate in the hearing and submit evidence to the tribunal to counter that information. This is a good guide to follow:
https://www.advicenow.org.uk/guides/how-win-pip-appeal

antjj28

Alice_Holt thanks for your comments, I will take a look at the guide you've recommended

tifo

antjj28 said:

That wasn't relevant to the question I asked which was, 

Can a decision be made on information 2 to 3 years out of date?

Going the other way, for someone whose conditions have got better would be happy for DWP to use old information as they would now probably not get it.

There are winners and losers in every situation.

peteuk

antjj28 said:

That wasn't relevant to the question I asked which was, 

Can a decision be made on information 2 to 3 years out of date?

YES THEY CAN!  

Pip assessment by a medical professional can look at a disease and make a decision on the likely hood of it being treated, improving or deteriorating.

So for instance a treatable cancer, id so no because within the three years things are likely to have changed.  Treatment may have been successful, or if not symptoms can be controlled.

Rheumatoid arthritis id say yes, if high awards of pip have been awarded previously.  It’s unlikely the symptoms have improved, if anything with age got worst.  So if there’s no room for improvement on the award, what’s the point of redoing an assessment.  

If you’ve completed a PIP 2 or a review then they will compare and contrast the two, new info with the old.  The report then goes to a decision maker.

If your award was up for review, it may have had a paper review.