upper tribunal ruling

Hi Gordon,

I've just been reading version 24 January 2017 of the PIP guidance on page 2 it states "what's new in this version". I would be very interested in knowing which Judge and when the ruling was made about the ruling below which is on page 48 and is it still a ruling that carries weight today?

Engagement is needed
An upper tribunal judge has ruled that ‘isolated and specific’ examples of being able to interact with other people, such as being able to talk to the health professional at medical assessment or to staff in a local shop you go to regularly are not enough to prevent you scoring points.

I was denied points in the 2016 assessment because (it was stated in the PA4) I was able to answer the HP's questions and that I used a Taxi. My evidence and medical evidence stated that due to having Asperger's I do have difficulty in engaging with people and the social anxiety it causes. Do you think I should have scored points based on the ruling?

Mark

Thank you again Gordon,

You can access the January 2017 version near the bottom of the pip members only guide.

I'm just back from the F2F for pip reassessment and made sure that among other issues from the previous assessment I made clear about the difference between answering questions put by an HP and social engagement and referred to medical evidence which she said she had read thoroughly, which I thanked her for doing so. I allerted her to the upper tribunal ruling on this so at least she knows I'm on the ball and ready for the PA4. She says that she agreed with me that the previous comments made by the assessor in 2016 were questionable and conflicted with his observations. I also took the opportunity to let her know that a two year referal based on a no points given for mental health was also a demonstration of incompetence by the previous employee of Cafcas. She said she was confident to advise me that it was highly likely that I would remain on the highest rates of pip for both elements, but as I've read on this site I'll have to wait for the fat lady to sing. But I'm armed and ready for a fight this time if necessary.

Mark