PIP and new Diagnosis

Hi Daisy,
Welcome to Benefits and Work!

Have a look at the members guides which can be found here:

www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/personal-independence-payment-pip
There's lots of useful information.
In theory DWP should take into account everything you tell them. Unfortunately this isn't always so! That said providing the best possible information will give you the best chance to make DWP take notice.
It is possible that DWP will back date benefit if you have clear evidence of a change of circumstances. Maybe some event happened that either triggered the deterioration or was clear evidence of this?
Presumably you have medical evidence to support this too?
If you are filling out an AR1 form, there is a temptation to just say "no changes where nothing has changed. The general consensus is that it is still better to to write to the effect of 'I still have problems with X, because I...." Including recent examples is also useful. Then obviously you can say " Y is worse because...". Don't worry about writing too much, if what you need to explain dies fit in the overly small boxes, use a separate sheet, but make sure name and NI number is on alll extra pages.
There is no reason why you can't also write a brief statement explaining your partner's difficulties. The members guides give loads of hints of what to write.
The important thing is to be brutally honest. This is perhaps the biggest challenge completing these forms.
I hope this helps.
Good luck.

LL26

Hello Daisy,

If you are hoping to have an award backdated you need to give the DWP a date to work from. The first line 'Tell us if something has changed and approximately when' is the place to give them this information, so you will need to complete it.

Catherine