PIP assessment report advice

poppy12345 · 23 February 2019 at 9:51PM

Hi,

My 18 year old daughter has recently had her first PIP review. Having been awarded Enhanced rate for both parts in October 2017 for 2 years, review after 1 year. Face to face assessment needed here and reason for short review time was stated as attending college course which aims to improve independence.

I'm her appointee and filled the forms out myself, going into a lot of detail about how her conditions affect her for each descriptor that applies. I sent evidence which included an ASD assessment report dated August 2018, learning disability assessment report dated July 2017, care plan dated May 2018, EHCP dated December 2017 and confirmation of her supported taxi to college.

Paper based assessment received this time and received a copy of her assessment report today. Enhanced rate for both parts and yes of course i'm happy with that.

However and i know some of you may think, well she's got Enhanced rate for both, what more could i want? Well, the review is again for 1 years time and i know it's just a recommendation at this point but they mostly go with the report.

What i'm extremely angry with is that they didn't use any of the evidence i sent, instead they used the 2017 PIP consultation report and the review form that i filled in. Also in the review form it says that a phone call to an ASD specialist nurse took place on 8/2/2018?? :eek:

The reason yet again for the short award is to allow college (special needs) to be completed and possible improvement in her functional skills, based on a college course that she doesn't even do... which they said is learning basic life skills. Not sure where they got that from but that's not the name of the course she's been doing.

My argument is that the level of support she needs hasn't changed in the last 5 years or more. She's attended college with one 2 one support for the past 17 months and the level of support she receives is still exactly the same, the reason why is because she hasn't improved.

She now has a support worker outside of college hours which is funded by a personal budget and is in place to help her access the community for social support/shopping and basic skills such as cooking, bathing/shower to make sure the water isn't too hot because she doesn't understand what's too hot or too cold. As well as this she has myself and her elder sister to support her through everyday life and can't be left alone for any length of time. She's 18 years old and is still unable to tell the time or count the money she has in her purse.

I know i have to wait for the decision which will more then likely go with the report, unless by some miracle they read the evidence i sent and realise that she will need this level of support for the rest of her life.

If it is 1 year before another review, is there anything i can do about that? What would you do in this situation? The thought of going through the whole process in yet another year is so daunting and extremely unfair. I wish there was a cure for her and she would wake up one morning and not need the support she needs, unfortunately this isn't going to happen.

I'd really appreciate any advice you can give, as i know there's some of you on here with even more knowledge than i have with the PIP system. Thanks in advance for any help!

calcotti · 23 February 2019 at 10:20PM

Poppy, I can understand your frustration.

You do have the right to request an MR of the duration of the award and the right to go to a tribunal over it as well.

https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/2016/march/decisions-not-award-pip-indefinitely-or-longer-period-can-be-appealed

In the case referenced in the article go to paragraph 76.

However, as you know, any MR and/or appeal opens up the whole award.

Do you think you have time to make an additional submission to the DWP now before the decision is made? You could specifically address the question of duration.

crackerberry · 23 February 2019 at 10:49PM

No idea if this would be the right move but I think I'd probably write a letter (in advance of the decision) , telling them exactly what you've just said in your post.

poppy12345 · 23 February 2019 at 10:51PM

calcotti wrote: »

Poppy, I can understand your frustration.

You do have the right to request an MR of the duration of the award and the right to go to a tribunal over it as well.

https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/2016/march/decisions-not-award-pip-indefinitely-or-longer-period-can-be-appealed

In the case referenced in the article go to paragraph 76.

However, as you know, any MR and/or appeal opens up the whole award.

Do you think you have time to make an additional submission to the DWP now before the decision is made? You could specifically address the question of duration.

Thanks for that! I was actually thinking of doing just that. In fact i'm going to ring DWP first thing Monday morning to request a call back from a case manager to request a longer award based on the evidence i provided that her needs are life long.

I'll let you know how i get on and what the decision is when i receive it.

Alice_Holt · 23 February 2019 at 10:52PM

Hi poppy.

Firstly well done on getting the enhanced award for your daughter.

I am aware that the length of a PIP award is an appealable decision, but I have not done such an appeal myself.
So, my thoughts lack any concrete background.

If the assessment has misunderstand the nature of the course, the frequency of your daughter's attendance, etc - but then gone on to use this flawed information to justify the 1 year decision then I think there would be a case to ask the DWP (or the DWP DM before the decision has been finalised) to reconsider the length of the award.

Given the evidence you have about her learning difficulties and abilities (which the assessor has not taken into account), I suspect a query / appeal may be a valid option.
Would I be right in thinking that the developmental potential of say, an 18 year old with your daughters conditions is less than say a 13 year old, so the assumption of improvement in functional skills (by the report) could be misguided.
Who did the assessment - a nurse / paramedic? Do you have access to a medical professional who would be better able to make a more informed assessment of her likely (or not) developmental and functional improvements?

Could you premise the query / appeal on the basis that a 1 year award might cause difficulties in accessing / maintaining the resources she needs.
How soon do you think you would have to re-apply for a year award?
Would the shortness of the award increase the stress on you as her appointee / carer?
Etc, etc
There may well be other very sensible reasons to justify making an appeal (before getting to the actual grounds of why 1 year is incorrect).

A difficulty may be that, if not revised at MR (or by the first DM), the appeal wait may be longer than the renewal wait. So it would be best to discuss with the DWP DM before the decision has been made (per calcotti), if possible.

poppy12345 · 23 February 2019 at 11:23PM

Thanks Alice. I realise there's a risk with the MR but she scored 17 points on daily living (Not enough points awarded on some descriptors.) This is one more point than she received last time, for medication and needing assistance. Scoring 12 points for following and planning a journey. I would like to think with that score it's a slim chance she will lose any points during the MR, if i decided to take that route. I also realise that the length of time it could take with a Tribunal too could go well past the review date.

What's even more annoying is that the report is almost a copy of the report done in 2017, although a shortened version of it. It was a nurse that did the report.

She has the ability of a 12 year old, so the chances of any improvement in her functional skills is almost zero.

The only medical professional she sees is a psychologist. I do have contact with the Community mental health and the learning disabilties team because they're there when ever i need them but she doesn't receive any further appointments with them because all her assessments are now complete. She does have a social worker.

I also have an appointment on Wednesday to discuss my daughters future in more detail and for a EHCP review. Any further evidence in the future will be limited. I really don't know what else they want me to prove because the reports i sent really do go into fantastic detail about her functional skills. If you've ever seen reports like ASD or learning disability then you'll know what i mean.

The recommendation is 1 year before review so it will most likely be a 2 year award. Review will be this time next year. I have multiple health conditions myself and this review has taken it's toll on me to be honest. The form i filled in took me 1 month and the evidence i sent took me 3 weeks to sort through. It was a nightmare from start to finish and the thought of going through that again so soon, terrifies me.

I am going to start with what Calcoti advised and ring DWP first thing Monday morning and hope that the decision hasn't yet been made.

All i can do is hope right now. Thanks again.

calcotti · 23 February 2019 at 11:30PM

Good luck when you contact them.

nicetomeetyou · 23 February 2019 at 11:55PM

I had some problems with my ESA award and length.

I thought I should be entitled to the exempt group of ESA, if you haven't heard this is a new group for people who's illness/conditions won't improve and means the person won't have to attend future assessments and it will be a light touch approach . I thought I met the criteria as I have a chromic mental health condition and I also have a mild learning disability.

I'm with the LD team. My community nurse wrote me an excellent report. I was very anxious about attending a ESA assessment as I've never attended an assessment before in 16 years claiming disability benefits. My community nurse sat down with me and we wrote the report together on NHS headed paper outlining my difficulties, these included severely harming myself cutting a microchip out my armpit while psychotic, living in supported living with 24/7 support. Having a appointee, being on a community treatment order.

The assessor only awarded me 3 years ESA. This wasn't a problem to get, I was only in the assessment 10 minutes. He said he could see I was severely affected by my illness.

Next time when I'm up for renewal I am going to ask what my prognosis and have the community nurse write it in the report. If somebody has been sectioned 11 times in 8 years, currently receives a large care package from social services. Has the capacity to seriously harm themselves while psychotic and that the psychosis and mania comes on very fast which needs constant monitoring from support staff would that person get better in the future?

I think something like learning disabilities it isn't going to improve. I know people with mild learning disabilities be entitled to disability benefits and for a long duration but I also know people with mild learning disabilities who have had their benefits stopped and now get only get JSA, these are mainly people who live independently in the community with little or no support, people in supported living stand a better chance of receiving disability benefits. But to meet the criteria for supported living has changed and its more difficult to be accepted for a placement.

calcotti · 24 February 2019 at 12:07AM

nicetomeetyou wrote: »

I thought I should be entitled to the exempt group of ESA, if you haven't heard this is a new group for people who's illness/conditions won't improve and means the person won't have to attend future assessments and it will be a light touch approach .

poppy's assessment concerns PIP and the announcement you referred to was specifically about ESA. The position on PIP was less clear and I think longer awards of PIP were more common than for ESA anyway (although still unusual).

There is a House of Commons briefing paper on length of both ESA and PIP awards here https://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/CBP-7820#fullreport (see bottom of page for the link to the report).

dreamylittledream · 24 February 2019 at 9:55PM

calcotti wrote: »

poppy's assessment concerns PIP and the announcement you referred to was specifically about ESA. The position on PIP was less clear and I think longer awards of PIP were more common than for ESA anyway (although still unusual).

There is a House of Commons briefing paper on length of both ESA and PIP awards here https://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/CBP-7820#fullreport (see bottom of page for the link to the report).

Award length on ESA is not an appealable decision as awards are indefinite until superseded unlike PIP which is a fixed period award.

Period until next examination on ESA is an administrative determination made by the decision maker and has no weight in law - it can be followed or it can be ignored. As such you can't appeal it as the Tribunal has no jurisdiction.

calcotti · 24 February 2019 at 10:53PM

dreamylittledream wrote: »

Award length on ESA is not an appealable decision

Given that ESA awards don't usually state a period I didn't think they were. PIP award periods however are.

PIP assessment report advice

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free