New Claim for PIP: Online version and Evidence

PIP is an evidence based benefit with an 'evidence-based' assessment process. It is unlikely that all your evidence will be seen by the initial Healthcare professional, nor potentially by the case manager or decision maker. You may have a condition worth 4 points or 40 points. The evidence you have needs to be 'created' by you 'to provide a sign posted argument' as to how the condition you have makes you dysfunctional in regard to the individual descriptors in the PIP2 form. By way of example, the mobility component has a physical and a mental activity. The physical component can be affected by psychological problems but most likely won't be. So if we look at Mobility Activity 1 or PIP2 Activity 11. Its the same thing. You have to break apart the descriptors and preferably you do this backwards. By this I mean you look at the highest scoring descriptor and work out in the wording of the descriptor, does it line up with the functional impairments you know you have. The medical and other evidence will be used to support the particular Descriptor you believe you fit. If you fit two, maybe three descriptors, which is unlikely but can happen, you cover all bases and give argument in line with each descriptor but you should at least try to have them realise you are prioritising your needs in the higher scoring descriptor that is affected by your impairments. If we look at Mobility Actiivity 1: Start at the top scoring descriptor; the assessor won't but you need to, for mobility activity 1 this is: f. Cannot follow the route of a familiar journey without another person, an assistance dog or an orientation aid. This is the highest scoring descriptor and means that you have to have another person with you to provide navigation, or to allow you to maintain composure - whatever that means to you - so that you are able to complete a familiar journey with the other person with you. The alternatives are that you can get around a familiar route with an assistance dog or an 'accepted' orientation aid. This will not apply to you if you can complete a familiar journey, for the majority of the time, alone or without the assistance dog or orientation aid Assuming you don't meet that criteria and can use familiar routes alone, then you know that the next descriptor down cannot be met by you as you do manage to go out somewhat regularly. You are not permanently housebound so can't meet E. e. Cannot undertake any journey because it would cause overwhelming psychological distress to the claimant. and you move down through the respective descriptors. For instance the next Descriptor covers the same as F but is a limitation based on a person's inabliity to follow the route of an 'unfamiliar journey' without another person, assistance dog or orientation aid. You may not fit F but could fit D. C has nothing to do with the going out but the planning of a route. c. Cannot plan the route of a journey. So your arguments on this one would have to do with a mental issue that prevents you 'planning a route' but has nothing at all to do with the actual journey you take itself. So you would win points at C if you can't plan a route on your own but once it is planned you can follow it fine. Descriptor B which has nothing at all to do with 'navigation' was the descriptor of choice used by assessors for a long time. This was based on a complete misinterpretation of the legislation and of the descriptors. Thankfully descriptor B is, or should be chosen far less often now, the issue it seeks to override is where a person has to be prompted or encouraged to go on a journey alone. Essentially in much the same way as a child needs to accept, having been persuaded, to stay in school. It is not a descriptor where any other aid or assistance comes into play. Only prompting ahead of a journey matters. If the person later needs assistance or 'to be prompted again when on the journey due to a 'meltdown' of some sort' then B should not be chosen, and either of D or F should be chosen and fought for by your using evidence such as medical notes to 'specify exactly how your condition / impairment / disorder, as described and evidenced in your medical documents, how this disorder leads to the functional impairment that prevents you undertaking the 'journey' in this case in the manner in which the descriptor describes. Every descriptor in each activity has certain words and terms of 'specific importance' and some are missed by decision makers. Searching for UKUT PIP and the relevant 'words or terms' such as 'overwhelming psychological distress' will find you case law which you can read through if you're up to it. You can also look through B&Work guides, or one of the other PIP specific or benefit specific websites which will give you a good idea of how the assessors are meant to address the descriptors and your evidence. You may decide a particular activity has your name written all over it and prevent you wasting time on others with no such link. PIP is the best supported, through information, in my mind of all the benefits as it is currently the major disability benefit in the UK. If you have a specific issue that you want to get across read up online by stating in a search, something like PIP activity 2 nutrition food prompting and your own specific terms may be due to weight loss so put things like weight loss as the additional part of the search. Some aspects of PIP activities have been remarked and written about dozens of times and others hardly ever. But is a ten year old benefit now with a great deal of 'supportive' information available online. Hope this helps. DWP are keen to point out that they don't want this or that, but if you have a report or record and it fits your stated functional problems. Then ram it down their throats, but do so with an argument that directs the assessor to look at the report in a specific way, tied to your problems. Remember too that ideally all your information goes in with the form, sometimes it can't, in that case you send other evidence by post to the same address, all with your name and NI number on each page, and they 'should' then use that as part of your claim. If not, then it is there to be addressed by Mandatory Reconsideration or even appeal. Best of luck.

DLA used to have online PDF options. Just remember the questions are the same on a paper PIP2 as on an online version. You can download the PDF of the form from Gov.uk so that you can see each page ahead of filling it in online. There will be the save option too so you can do a bit, save and close, and go back to things. Write the answers out in Word or any word processor and then cope and paste it in, easier usually than trying to do all in the online form as you are struggling with the form and the questions at once.