Supporting evidence for change of circumstances

Hi samphire

Yes you can use your decision from the tribunal.

If you report a Change then you should do so in writing as the date of your letter will be used to set the start date of any new award, Ideally, send it using a Track'd post so that you have proof of delivery.

Before you report a Change you should be certain that you would reasonably qualify for a higher award, not all deterioration or even new conditions will result in your scoring the points you need for a higher award. See our PIP Claims guide for the criteria that you will need to make.

If you report a Change then you will be sent a new PIP2 to complete and it is almost certain that you will be required to have some sort of assessment.

you need to make sure that whatever is included is relevant to the PIP criteria and you need to say why it is. Again the way DLA was awarded is different from how PIP is.

PIP was engineered to be a more difficult to award than DLA, many DLA claimants will receive vastly reduced awards or even no award at all on transfer.

DLA looks at generic care needs in regard to bodily functions, PIP looks at the claimants specific ability to carry out an activity such as eating. DLA was awarded because the claimant needed an amount of care (in time) during the day, the night of both, to help them with that bodily function. PIP looks at the claimant's ability to complete specific tasks within the activity and is points-based, these are clearly defined and it is easy not to score points because the claimant has not shown that they meet those specific criteria.

DLA treated the use of aids as a reason to reduce the amount of care needed, PIP treats aids as an indication of disability and in general they score extra points.

DLA's care need was reasonably generic, PIP treats prompting, assistance and supervision as different activities and as a result, they can score different points.

DLA required that the care was required for the majority of the time, for PIP it is the majority of days.

For PIP activities must be completed reliably, this means

• Safely – in a fashion that is unlikely to cause harm to themselves or to another person.
• To a necessary and appropriate standard – given the nature of the activity.
• Repeatedly – as often as is reasonably required.
• In a timely manner – in a reasonable time period.

Although DLA considers these terms, they are poorly defined as they are implemented through Case Law rather than being defined in the legislation as they are for PIP.

Referring to any more recent evidence you have is more useful.

If you have any further questions then please come back to the form and ask, we will try and answer them.

Gary