DWP mistake in black and white!

DWP do sometimes change decision following MR and going to tribunal. If they do the appeal is halted (although you can still MR and appeal the revised decision if appropriate).


Although you have spoken to DWP it may be worth you writing to them to draw their attention to what you have discovered and invite them to review the decision prior to tribunal - would be interested to know what others think.

Regardless of whether or not you write direct to DWP you should right to the tribunal service highlighting any errors, discrepancies and things you disagree with. Your letter will then be copied to DWP by the tribunal service (although I suspect DWP will not read it).

$izzle$ wrote: »

Hi,
In August I attended a f2f assessment for transition from DLA to PIP, and whilst my Care component was increased, I lost my high rate mobility.
Needless to say MR came back as their decision upheld, so I started tribunal proceedings.
Today I have received all the paperwork that the DWP have sent to the Tribunal, so decided to go through it all.
On Activity Descriptor 12. Moving around, the assessor has written:

Therefore it is reasonable to suggest that she can stand and then move around more than 1 metre but no more than 20 metres, either aided or unaided

Why am I having to fight for my high rate mobility to be restored, when the assessor has written that I am eligible for it?
I phoned DWP to ask for an explanation and was told as it was now going through the tribunal process, someone from DWP will go through my paperwork and this will probably be flagged up, meaning they will change their decision before it reaches the appeal hearing!

I would be interested to hear what you think about this.
Has similar happened to you?

Many thanks

As someone else has said - you need to look at the decision letter and see why the decision maker made a different decision. They usually follow the assessor's recommendation but not in all cases. It may not be a mistake - the decision maker may have disagreed with the assessor.

IQ

The DWP decision maker can override the assessors report. As others have said the reasons for this should be included in the DWP's evidence bundle - probably in the first few pages.

Getting supportive medical records / a letter from your GP confirming that you cannot reliably walk 20m for the majority of the time will be very useful. Also evidence from family members / carers / etc will all add to your case.
It's worth writing a clear, concise statement to the Tribunal Service (TS) explaining why the assessor was correct and the DWP DM incorrect (quote the relevant page numbers from the DWP evidence bundle in your statement rather than sending the actual pages). Include the compelling evidence from your GP / extracts from medical records etc.

The TS will distribute evidence received to all parties ( the DWP, your representative if you have one). Another DWP decision will review this before the tribunal hearing, so it's in your interest to make your statement as clear and compelling as possible - just sending the page from the DWP evidence bundle may not be sufficient, and without clear explanation may just confuse.

This is a useful guide to navigating a PIP appeal -
https://www.advicenow.org.uk/guides/how-win-pip-appeal