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Carer barred from speaking at PIP F2F

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6 years 11 months ago #185805 by pianofish
Carer barred from speaking at PIP F2F was created by pianofish
I had my PIP face-to-face assessment this morning, my partner who is my carer was with me taking notes. For a question near the start I asked if she could think of anything else to add, she said "Well..." and the assessor immediately put his hand up and said "I appreciate you're trying to help your partner but I only want to speak to Fish." For the rest of the assessment he would not allow her to say a single word and just glared every time she tried to open her mouth.

Is it standard practice that carers are not allowed to contribute to an assessment at all? It is in my notes and on the form that I struggle with verbal communication when anxious so it feels like this was a deliberate attempt to sabotage me because I wouldn't be able to express myself clearly and fully - after the assessment there were several things I realised I should have said but as I was frozen with fear the whole time and not allowed to be reminded of anything or helped to find my words I couldn't explain everything as I would have liked.

If this is how it's done will my partner be allowed to speak at a tribunal hearing if it comes to that? I understand they will mostly want to hear from me but her additional insight could be very helpful and that was forbidden here. As a side note I also noticed that if I just said yes or no to a question he would be typing away, if I expanded on anything (e.g. I need X support to do this and it has Y impact on me) he typed nothing and just moved on, which isn't filling me with confidence. I'm basically expecting to get 0 points and have to appeal, if not I will be pleasantly surprised.

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6 years 11 months ago #185822 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic Carer barred from speaking at PIP F2F
Fish

The only person who is allowed to speak for definite on behalf of the claimant would be an appointee, however, I would expect a professional assessor to be willing to take input from the claimants companion, especially if they are their carer, but they have no right to speak during the assessment.

Your partner will be allowed to speak at a Tribunal but the panel will still direct their questions to you and will expect you to reply.

Give it a couple of days and you can contact the DWP office dealing with your claim for a copy of the assessment report.

If you have further questions then please reply to this post and we will do our best to help.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
The following user(s) said Thank You: pianofish

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6 years 11 months ago #185903 by pianofish
Replied by pianofish on topic Carer barred from speaking at PIP F2F
Thank you :) I have now read through the appeal guidelines and the sort of prompting I would need is listed in there, e.g. "Could you tell the tribunal about what happened last week when you were crossing the road?" (My habit of walking in front of cars, something I should have mentioned but didn't in the assessment). I will be able to speak to the panel and explain things myself in general but my partner may be able to add something else useful, I panicked and felt very intimidated when the assessor shut her down so forcefully (the words sound polite but his tone and body language were quite aggressive) which made things worse. Fingers crossed anyway, hope for the best and prepare for the worst as they say.

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6 years 11 months ago #185904 by pianofish
Replied by pianofish on topic Carer barred from speaking at PIP F2F
Also (don't know if you can combine moderated posts) I made a covert recording on my phone. I understand a tribunal may accept it as evidence at their discretion, I know if the recording is discovered at the time they can stop the assessment but it wasn't. If I submit a transcript with my appeal paperwork the DWP can't retroactively dismiss my case can they?

I know I may be jumping the gun a bit but I want to be as prepared as possible, with a recent bereavement and a forthcoming wedding and another legal/medical application unrelated to benefits I'm in a haze meetings and paperwork right now, and am worried I might forget something if I don't ask while it's still fresh in my mind.

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6 years 11 months ago #185958 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic Carer barred from speaking at PIP F2F

Fish wrote: Also (don't know if you can combine moderated posts) I made a covert recording on my phone. I understand a tribunal may accept it as evidence at their discretion, I know if the recording is discovered at the time they can stop the assessment but it wasn't. If I submit a transcript with my appeal paperwork the DWP can't retroactively dismiss my case can they?


It is perfectly legal for you to make a cover recording of the assessment, however, using the recording is less clear, that said, a transcript of the recording carries none of these issues, just make sure that whatever you transcribe is complete, you can't leave bits out that are less flattering to your own case.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
The following user(s) said Thank You: pianofish

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