PIP supporting evidence

Hi olly349

Yes you could say what you suggest. You could also highlight the negative consequences currently of not being prompted and of not getting the support you need.

David

Hi olly349

Unfortunately I am not able to give valid answers to your questions. It is very difficult for an online moderator to give personal advice to someone they don't know or have any familiarity with. You have a social worker so I should imagine they are best placed to help you and if they can't answer your questions directly should make the necessary enquiries.

David

Hi Olly

With regard to getting supporting letters from your GP or social worker. If they are prepared to write letters and you trust them to be supportive, then they can be useful.

You mention the 11 activities that you need support for. The fact is that often, professionals can only write in a general way. For example, take cooking a basic meal. You have mental health problems, but the doctor is unlikely to know whether you can manage cooking a basic meal. He can only know what you tell him, and therefore, even if they comment on something like that, the DWP will disregard it. Unless, of course, you have lost lots of weight, so it is obvious that you are not feeding yourself properly. What the doctor can report on is your current mental health, the diagnosis and the impact of that, the difficulties that he observes, whether he's referred you, and your current medication.

The social worker is more likely to be able to comment on some of the activities than the GP and if you get on well with them then - ask them for the letter.

You said in your letter that you have not received the points you are hoping for. Go back to the Guide to PIP claims and Reviews and look at all the sample answers for each question. See if there is anything in those answers that applies to you that you could just change the wording if necessary. Remember, you are the expert of your condition, and no one knows what you experience better than you. I know it's hard, especially when you have been ignored or dismissed or not believed in the past. I'm sure you're worrying about saying the right words. Try not to.

If you're struggling to fill out the form or read through the guide: The Guide to PIP claims and reviews - there is one page you should read and that's number 17. "Reliably" the most important word in PIP.

Reliably means:
Safely – in a fashion that is unlikely to cause harm to themselves or to another person. (See the
‘Safety and supervision’ section immediately below for more on this).
• 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.

Now, if you keep that information in mind, when you look at each question. Take the first question. You have mental health problems - does this mean you have problems concentrating, you are extra tired, you have no interest and all the other things that I won't list here. So do you therefore need supervision for cooking (regardless of whether you currently have it)? Do you sometimes forget to eat, do you not bother to eat, or are you safe to cook? And if you do cook does it take you a long time? do you remember to turn off switches on the hob, have you burnt food or hurt yourself? If you cannot do something like cook a basic meal, reliably and just one of those points applies you should score points.

I can't tell you exactly what to write, but I hope this may give you a little more idea of the type of issues you should be talking about for each question. You can do this. Come back and ask if you have a specific question and we will see if we can help.

BIS