PIP Help - Been Declined

MrBowler

Hi, 

I need help with a PIP claim i have made on behalf of my partner.
She has a history of Anxiety and Depression, she has had this since before Covid so this has been on her record for several years.

She is unable to leave the house into a public place without someone who is close to her, she cant go shopping without having panic attacks.
We have since had a 2nd child and as been asked to go to a review with a specialist regarding her depression and has been diagnosed with Post-Natal Depression.
She is unable to make food properly without someone been there, she forgets to take her medication without alarms setup or myself there.
I am also having to work from home a lot to make sure she is ok, which my employer is fully accomadating of, but unfortunately my 2nd job i am on the road so i have to be away from her several hours per day which is making things worse, unless she comes with me (which is possible but not ideal).

We have had a claim in for over a year and we have appealed on numerous occasions and have just had our tribunal hearing as well as our latest set back saying we dont reach the minimum to claim anything.

We havent claimed before as we have had no need to due to my wage been ok, but i have had to get a 2nd job to try and help with the cost of living as well as the 2nd child we have just had, we have been able to claim Universal Credit but this is around £70 per month which is barely enough for food per week.

What are we doing wrong? Should she be able to claim or am i right?

Thanks

Alice_Holt

When was the date of the DWP decision which was the subject of the tribunal hearing?
Was this date pre the post-natal depression diagnosis?
Has her health got worse since this date?  
Is she on medication for her mental health / under the care of a MH nurse / team?

Did she score any points at the tribunal?

Did she attend the tribunal?

Did you submit a statement and evidence to the tribunal?

Separately -
Are you claiming help with Council Tax 

MrBowler

Thanks for coming back to me.

The exact date i am unsure about as we have got rid of the paperwork as we were told we would have to fully re-apply if we need to do anymore claims due to the tribunal been the final answer.

The date was the pre post-natal yes, it was even before she got pregnant.

Yes her health as got worse.

We submitted evidence with over 40 pages of health records explaining the history with anxiety and depression.

I have literally just filled in a form to claim help with council tax as i was unaware i could do that - would this be able to be backdated if i am successful?

Alice_Holt

With CT support, all schemes are local so will have different rules for backdating, see what your council's website says.


I'd suggest seeing if your local advice agency can advice / help with a new PIP claim.

If not, then these websites are useful:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/help-with-your-claim/fill-in-form-pip/

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

https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/personal-independence-payment-pip/pip-self-test
(Benefits & Work have very good guides, but to access these membership is c.£30 pa)


If you need to appeal with the new application - then this guide is helpful:
https://www.advicenow.org.uk/guides/how-win-pip-appeal

It is important to participate in the hearing (success rates are much higher).

This is a guide to how the scoring system works: 
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1144278/pip-assessment-guide-part-2-assessment-criteria.pdf 


"Reliability" and "majority of the time" are very important in PIP decisions

"  Central to the application of all the activities within the PIP assessment is a consideration of the manner in which they are undertaken. For a descriptor to be able to apply to a claimant, the claimant must be able to reliably complete the descriptor.

 Considering reliability involves looking at whether the claimant can complete the descriptor as described:
 • Safely – in a manner unlikely to cause harm to themselves or to another person, either during or after completion of the activity
• To an acceptable standard
• Repeatedly – able to repeat the descriptor as often as is reasonably required
• In a reasonable time period – no more than twice as long as the maximum period that a non-disabled person would normally take to complete that activity.

 This applies to every activity within the assessment. If an individual cannot reliably complete a descriptor then they should be considered unable to complete it at that level and a different descriptor selected. For example when a claimant is only able to complete an activity safely when supervised, the appropriate descriptor which refers to supervision should be awarded. "


8 points are necessary for an award (both DL & Mobility), it's important to fit the illness / disability to the PIP descriptors (and hence points), and fully explain on the form how & why the claimant is unable to perform the relevant descriptor reliably.

MrBowler

my other half received 4 points in total.
even though the evidence given by the doctors/nurses was submitted it was said that she was able and capable of looking after herself and speaking to others without causing distress.

We didnt attend the tribunal as claiming for PIP its self caused too much distress for her and this would be too much for her to arrive i person and attend, which i also put this on the form but they obviously didnt take this into consideration.

The multiple tests i have done online show we should be on the enhanced payment but everytime i try and claim its a complete no no.

poppy12345

MrBowler said:

We didnt attend the tribunal as claiming for PIP its self caused too much distress for her and this would be too much for her to arrive i person and attend, which i also put this on the form but they obviously didnt take this into consideration.

The multiple tests i have done online show we should be on the enhanced payment but everytime i try and claim its a complete no no.

This tells me you had a paper based hearing which doens't have the best chance of a decision in anyone's favour. It's always better to either appear in person or have a telephone/video hearing. The Tribunal will always prefer to hear in your own words exactly how your conditions affect you.

The online PIP self test isn't reliable espcially if you don't fully understand the PIP descriptors and the criteria involved. It's very easy to overscore yourself as well as underscore yourself. This PIP self test is not something i would post a link to when advising anyone about PIP.