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Pip letter received re Social Support 5 questions - help please

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3 weeks 3 days ago #296300 by Ela A
Hi, I have received a letter from DWP regarding Social Support. The ref is PIP.7057MM.
There are 5 questions to answer and I wondered if there are any sample answers available on here to help me please?
Also, have members who have received the same been successful in gaining the 4 extra points from this and had their award increased as a result?
Many thanks
Ela A

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3 weeks 3 days ago #296329 by Gary
Hi Eli A

Welcome to the forum.

You might want to have a look at the following FAQ which explains where everything is; www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/guides-for-claimants/faq/forum.

In regard to personal independence payment (PIP), the law states that "social support" means support from a person trained or experienced in assisting people to engage in social situations;

Social support is relevant to the following personal independence payment activity:

9. Engaging with other people face to face.

Look at our PIP guide page 68; benefitsandwork.co.uk/guides-for-claimants/pip

Gary

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3 weeks 2 days ago #296338 by Ela A
Thank you Gary.
The last 2 questions on the forms ask about Therapy. Is it necessary to have had therapy between 2016-2020 to be awarded Social Support do you know?
I'm just wondering why these questions would be relevant to a claim.
Thank you

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3 weeks 2 days ago #296360 by Gary
Hi Ela A

I am not sure where the period 2016-2020 comes from.

This activity considers a claimant’s ability to engage with other people, which means to interact face-to-face in a contextually and socially appropriate manner, understand body language and establish relationships.

Activities 7 and 9 are not mutually exclusive. If claimants require support to engage with others under activity 9, as well as communication support under activity 7, then their needs must be considered under both activities.

Notes:

An inability to engage face-to-face must be due to the impact of impairment and not simply a matter of preference by the claimant.

Social support means support from another person trained or experienced in assisting people to engage in social situations, or someone directly experienced in supporting the claimant themselves (for example a family member), who can compensate for limited ability to understand and respond to body language, other social cues and assist social integration. Most claimants with sensory impairments will be able to fully engage with others independently, however they may score on both activities 7 and 9 if, for example anxiety arising from their impairment means they reasonably require social support to engage with people generally.

Behaviour which would result in a substantial risk of harm to the claimant or another person must be as a result of an underlying health condition and the claimant’s inability to control their behaviour.

When considering whether claimants can engage with others, consideration should be given to whether they can engage with people generally, not just those people they know well.

If an individual cannot reliably complete an activity in the way described in a descriptor then they should be considered unable to complete it at that level and an alternative descriptor selected.

Gary

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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3 weeks 1 day ago #296371 by Robbie
Gary, I believe the reference to "2016-2020" is connected with the change in how the DWP consider the need for social support when engaging with other people face to face. The change took place on 6 April 2016 and has been applied to all reviews since 17 September 2020.

Hopefully it will be OK for me to post the following link, which is to the DWP page regarding the changes www.gov.uk/government/publications/perso...aw-from-6-april-2016

I'm guessing here, but it may be that the questionnaire the OP received could be in connection with a PIP review exercise that the DWP is carrying out into the above changes. The original tribunal decision which led to the changes is MM v DWP. The reference number the OP quoted ends in MM which suggests the DWP are looking to see whether the OP might qualify for more points on his or her PIP claim from 2016 to 2020 (specifically for Activity 9). www.gov.uk/government/publications/pip-a...rt-to-31-august-2023
The following user(s) said Thank You: LL26, Ela A

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2 weeks 4 days ago #296519 by Ela A
Robbie, yes I believe that is correct as the form did state the dates from 2016-2020, and referenced MM, thank you.
Ela A

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