Turned down for pip. Should I just give up

Hi Alex

Waxwing, has given you sound advice. Ring and request some extra time for the MR, explaining the circumstances you are in, and when your Mum is well enough get her to write a supporting letter.

Please try not to feel worthless. The assessor is only giving their opinion and although it hurts when you get turned down - the assessor knows nothing about you. Don't give in to their judgement or misjudgement. You know your struggles.

Only you know whether you have the energy to pursue it, but I would certainly ask for more time and see what they say.

Make sure that you understand why you got turned down and think about how you can refute what has been said in the report.

BIS

Hi Alex,
I'm sorry that you are struggling at present with everything and of course with PIP. Yes claiming PIP can be difficult but please do not give up, it can be done!!!

I note advice from others which agree you should continue.

If you haven't already done so, please read the members guides- here:
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/pip#claims
There us a lot of useful information here.
There is no set format for making a Mandatory Reconsideration (MR). Make sure you have your NI number and name on all pages. Dont worry about being late.(I will come back to that in a moment )

The guides go through the various point scoring activities (descriptors) and explain the test for each. See if you can work out where your level of disability fits within each activity. You should receive the highest value of points where 2 or more apply. You need to consider what happens for the majority of the time. You also need to consider safety, doing the activity to an acceptable standard, reasonable time and being able to repeat. Reasonable time is no more than twice an able bodied person. I have recently been dealing with a client with MS, and for him pain,fatigue time taken and repeatability were the crucial areas for him. He was unable to do things quickly, and became very tired. This may be where you would wish to start, but of course, there may well be different issues for you. Over the next couple of days before you send in the MR why not make a disability diary. Find a couple of bits of paper, and write down symptoms and problems you had, as well as things that felt better. So, for example, your diary might read: Mon1st slept poorly, needed help to get out of bed, felt very unsteady. Had breakfast, but dropped a cup. Was able to dress, but it took 25 mins....etc etc
This will provide a reasonably contemporaneous view of your disabilities at the time of claim, and of course now at MR. It will also help pinpoint exactly how long it does take to do things, or how unsafe they might be, eg if you have falls and have listed them, you could eg confidently say 'I had 5 falls this week,' rather than 'I have several falls per week'. The first version is much stronger and clearer.
If you are certain about the number of points you should get, you can write a paragraph about each activity and say eg'I need help to get in/out of the bath because [explain] and I should receive 3pts -4e'
Give examples of what's gone wrong eg falls, anxiety etc
Clearly you will need to mention the poor report. This was a phone assessment, therefore the assessor would not have been able to see if you were tired, in pain etc. Mention this, if appropriate. Unfortunately, all too often reports are scattered with poor English and spelling and overuse of the cut n paste button! Rather than criticise every individual spelling error, try and work out what are the major flaws; Then you can succinctly criticise the report. Bullet points are great!
An example might be helpful Assessment report is if poor quality because
-incorrect assumptions
-misreporting
-ignoring what I said
-poor English

Apart from English mistakes, give maybe one example of each type of error- find the one that is the worst error to state. You can refer to the assessment report with each activity if appropriate but avoid the temptation to write too much about the assessor/assessment as it muddies the water and makes the points about your actual disabilities less clear and less strong.
You have medical evidence send that in. Also if your mum, or a friend can write a statement explaining your difficulties that would also be great. (Remember that DWP will be focusing on the descriptor walking and daily living tasks, not whether you can do the shopping!)
OK, so hopefully you are beginning to get a good idea how to write your MR. And the due date is looming. The date to send in an MR is normally a month, but if you have a reasonable excuse this can be extended. You have said that you are currently not well, and need help, and with covid restrictions it has been really difficult to get to your mum for her help. These would all amount to good reason. There is an ultimate limit of 13 mths to lodge an MR, so a few days or a week will not cause a problem, start your letter with an explanation as to why you are late. (Explain your health, covid etc and any other relevant factor, as described above.) There really shouldn't be a problem with this. Getting the MR letter right, and including all the important information is better than quick letter that doesn't mention everything even if the letter is slightly late.It is entirely possible a good MR letter will succeed and will ensure you receive PIP.
I hope this helps, and please, please do not give up. Good luck.

LL26

Hi Alex

Understand that the assessor is offering an opinion when they say that you can do the PIP activities, tackling these head-on is unlikely to be successful, you need to show that the basis of that opinion is founded on incorrect information, so try and refer to your evidence to undermine what they have said.

Also, try and stick to issues that lead to your scoring points, I often hear members referring to the assessors spelling, as an example, whilst it may show a lack of professionalism, raising it as an issue isn't going to help you get an award.

Your primary task is to show that you meet the criteria, there are many reasons you may have failed, you need to address each of these but don't get bogged down in criticising the assessment report unless you can clearly show that it is incorrect, it is a lot easier to argue the facts of the situation;

Lastly, make sure that you understand the criteria that you are being assessed against you can put the best case forward that is possible but you won't score points if you do not meet the PIP Descriptors.

PIP is not awarded because of the condition but rather the limitations that result and prevent a claimant from completing a range of everyday activities. Have a look at our PIP Claim guide for a better understanding of the criteria you will need to meet.

Read about the reliability element in the guide - if you cannot do something:

• Safely – in a fashion that is unlikely to cause harm to themselves or to another person.
• To a necessary and acceptable standard – given the nature of the activity.
• Repeatedly – as often as is reasonably required.
• In a reasonable time period – no more than twice as long as a person without a physical or mental health condition would take to carry out the activity.

then you should not be considered able to do the activity.

I am not sure from your post whether or not you drive. There are two different issues here - one - the going out and planning a journey and the alleged car driving.

The Going Out activity looks at three things.

Planning a route - this is primarily a cognitive or sensory (e.g. blindness) activity. You are being asked about the problems you would have with working out how to get from one place to another, you do not need to be able to follow the route that you are planning.

Undertaking a Journey - this is to do with mental health issues such as agoraphobia and social anxiety and is concerned with you leaving the house to go somewhere, they will be interested in the things that stop you doing this. You need to show that you would suffer "overwhelming psychological distress" to meet the criteria.

Following a route - This activity about the problems you would have navigating a route. So are there any problems; cognitive, sensory or mental health issues that would prevent you from doing this? This is different from undertaking a journey, in fact, if you cannot undertake a journey then you will not score points for following one and vice versa.

You will need to prove that you have a cognitive or sensory impairment in order to score here.

There are two distinct issues with a claimant driving, one that is reasonable and one that is less so.
First, the DWP will argue that someone who drives has good cognitive ability as the process of driving requires the driver to be aware of what is going on around them, to be able to pre-empt situations that they are approaching and to be able to manage the operation of the vehicle. They will also argue that it show good navigation skills and an ability to plan a route, however, claimants might be able to argue that if only one journey is undertaken and the claimant had to be shown that route, that they are in fact not able to plan or navigate a route, but there is little flexibility in this argument.

Secondly, the DWP view driving as a physical activity, for example holding the wheel requires a level of dexterity, strength and endurance in their hands, arms, and shoulders, They also believe that the operation of the pedals is akin to walking and so someone who can drive can also walk. This argument is very weak, however, most people drive a car to go somewhere and having arrived at that place they may then need to then walk to complete their journey.

Some points to consider in regard to what you may have written on your form and what you might write for your MR.

You are not required to walk pain free but any pain that restricts the distance that you can walk should be taken into account.

Specifically for the Moving Around activity, if you are able to walk but you are in severe pain when doing so, then you can argue that your walking is not to a necessary standard and should be disregarded.

The legal test requires you to stand and then move (walk), so if you have problems getting up then you should document these as well.

If you walk slowly then it must take you at least twice the time to cover the distance as a healthy person would, this could be down to the speed of your walking but could also be the result of having to stop.

You must be able to repeat the distance, so if you could walk it once but not then be able to walk it again within a reasonable timescale then you should be classed as unable to repeat the activity.

I'm afraid I can't tell you how to show your walking is more restricted but things you need to think about is what you can't do, for example; what can you walk in your house, how far is the toilet from where you normally sit, things that will count against you are any trips that you make outside, so for example, how do you do your shopping?

You must be able to walk the distance you can, reliably and on the majority of days, both these terms are defined in the PIP Claim guide

www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/pip

So you need to explain what you can, how you are limited and why.

Gary