PIP mobility walking distance/times

Hi Cardiff2011

I had to raise an appeal for mobility ref the Moving Around criteria for my mother and some of the opinions and observations do make you scratch your head a bit at how they got that from what you communicated. It is very frustrating when you can see that the criteria is not being applied correctly. However focusing on where this occurs is the best way to refute the assessor's opinions.

To be considered as able to carry out an activity you have to fulfil reliability criteria which is to be able to do it to an acceptable standard, repeatedly as necessary, within a reasonable time and also safely. So within this context it is important to also describe the impact of moving around and walking, this can be things like:
- fatigue restricting repetition of the activity
- greater levels of unsteadiness the more the activity is repeated (risk of falls and completing to an acceptable standard)
- any balance issues already present
- if falls occur how often and whether your friend is able to get back up after this without help
- any physical problems that could occur as a result of walking such as spasms, joints locking out, joint stiffness
- levels of pain and distress caused through the difficulty of walking
- anything specific to the condition that can impact on whether this can be done regularly
- whether the activity is completed without any breaks or pauses

Unfortunately your friend didn’t have the opportunity to be assessed face to face and therefore demonstrate the speed and difficulty, but as much as that is unfortunate in terms of not being able to show the issues it also can be looked at from the perspective that the assessor also did not see or assess the ability to stand and then move from observation. This was a point I made for my mother’s appeal, as she did have a face to face and was asked to stand but wasn’t asked to move as she was unsteady, the assessor wrote she was able to rise and stand and made an assumption about her moving - these things can be flipped to work against them, the point I made was if the assessor felt she was able to move safely and without pain etc he would have then asked her to move and I could reasonably suggest as he didn’t do that that he didn’t consider she was able to do this without causing fatigue, pain and risk of safety. PIP criteria contains a lot of definitions, some of which are defined in law in the PIP regs and others which are referenced within the DWP’s guide for assessors. Looking at these and noting whether there are any definitions of walking speeds would be useful, including the absence of such definitions as this would mean any language used to describe walking speech would be subjective.

You can submit additional evidence with mandatory reconsideration. Medical evidence and also supporting statements from others who know you well or see you frequently - this can be people who might not be friends but in a capacity such as a support worker, social worker, individuals who run support groups. If your existing medical evidence supports your friend’s report on walking then you can also refer to this explicitly.

Another thing worth considering about PIP is that the claim form can build up a picture of the difficulties as a whole. Mobility issues invariably will have an impact on functional ability to carry out daily living activities and linking some of these activities. Although the criteria for Moving Around will set out the surfaces and things that are taken into consideration for assessing this activity pointing out where it causes difficulties in daily living could be looked at.

Good luck!

At F2f she said i walked 30 meters a lie as my hall is 5 meters so i know it was more like 20 or less with a stop with pain,breathlesss aided with a crutch,at Tribunal hearing explained i cannot repeatedly walk more than ten/15 without severe pain,they asked about going shopping and told them the truth,can't do shopping hanging over a trolley,carry bags and if i did would be days in my bed to recover,my Consultant stated in his letter that it is wrong to say that i or anyone that cannot do this task without pain distress reliably should not be said walk more than 20 meters,so make sure you explain your points and get a letter if possible.