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7 years 4 months ago #174572 by cw
pip award was created by cw
hi just got award letter for pip. I got enhanced rate care which is fab but only 4 points for mobility so nothing for that. I didn't have to attend a f2f which was also really helpful as I could cope. when I previously had dla I got low mobility and if anything my mental illness is worse concerning going out. what do I need to do to have my mobility looked at again. many thanks

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7 years 4 months ago #174587 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic pip award

lilliegez wrote: hi just got award letter for pip. I got enhanced rate care which is fab but only 4 points for mobility so nothing for that. I didn't have to attend a f2f which was also really helpful as I could cope. when I previously had dla I got low mobility and if anything my mental illness is worse concerning going out. what do I need to do to have my mobility looked at again. many thanks


The first thing you need to consider is whether you can show that you meet the criteria for an award?

The Going out activity is split into three sub-activities

Planning a route - this is primarily a cognitive or sensory (e.g. blindness) activity so you may not get much questioning about this.

Undertaking a Journey - this is 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. If you can leave the house but risk not getting to your destination then you will be asked about this. You need to show that you would suffer "overwhelming psychological distress" to meet the criteria.

Following a route - the DWP regard this as a cognitive or sensory activity to do with navigating the route, to score for mental health issues you will need to show that your anxiety is so extreme that it would prevent you from actually navigating the route.

From what you have posted you appear to meet the criteria for

b. Needs prompting to be able to undertake any journey to avoid overwhelming psychological distress to the claimant. 4 points.

you need to be able to show that you meet

e. Cannot undertake any journey because it would cause overwhelming psychological distress to the claimant. 10 points.

If you feel that you can do this then the first stage to challenging a Decision is for you to request a Mandatory Reconsideration, this needs to be done in writing to the DWP, within one month of the Decision, to the office that dealt with your claim, have a look at our PIP MR & Appeal guide for details of the process, the PIP area also has template letters that you can use to make the request with.

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

You should contact the DWP for a copy of the assessment report if you have not already done so, I would phone them but again follow up the request in writing. Once you have the assessment report you will have a better understanding of how the DWP Decision Maker has come to their conclusions and will then be able to argue against them.

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;

"the assessor recorded that I walked 50m, I did but they have failed to document that I had to stop every 10m for a rest due to breathlessness"

than their opinions

"based on my observations of the claimant walking I believe that they can reliably walk more than 200m.

When you have a better idea of the issues with your claim, come back to the forum and we will do our best to help.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems

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7 years 4 months ago #174738 by cw
Replied by cw on topic pip award
hi can you tell me if "cannot undertake any journey because of overwhelming psychological distress" means you do not go out at all.

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7 years 4 months ago #174756 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic pip award

lilliegez wrote: hi can you tell me if "cannot undertake any journey because of overwhelming psychological distress" means you do not go out at all.


You should be able to argue that "cannot undertake any journey" does not mean that you can never leave the house, but I think the standard you will need to meet will be well in excess of the normal "majority of days". Remember you must be able to undertake and complete the journey reliably.

Also, you must take the phrase "overwhelming psychological distress" as is, we often have members hoping to meet this criteria who talk about anxiety, being anxious, these are not phrases that I believe would be construed as meeting the criteria.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems

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7 years 4 months ago #174788 by cw
Replied by cw on topic pip award
just found this in the pip handbook its helpful with the example

Cannot undertake any journey because it would cause overwhelming psychological distress to the claimant.
10
130

Applies to claimants who cannot undertake any journey on the majority of days, even with prompting or assistance, owing to overwhelming psychological distress.
‘Prompting’ means reminding, encouraging or explaining by another person. ‘Prompting’ can take place either before or during a journey.
‘Any journey’ means any single journey on the majority of days.
‘Overwhelming psychological distress’ means distress related to an enduring mental health condition or intellectual or cognitive impairment which results in a severe anxiety state in which the symptoms are so severe that the person is unable to function.
This descriptor is likely to apply to claimants with severe mental health conditions (typically severe agoraphobia or panic disorder) or cognitive impairments (typically a person with dementia who may become very agitated and distressed when leaving home to the extent that journeys outside the home can no longer be made either at all, or on the majority of days).
If the claimant cannot go out even with prompting on most days, so despite encouragement or support, they still fail to make any journey on most days then this descriptor will apply.
For example, a claimant who only manages to go out once a week to the 24hour supermarket at 2am. They choose this time because it is quiet and they do not usually see anyone they know there. The rest of the week they remain at home due to their agoraphobia and anxiety. They have friends and family visit them at home, but even with encouragement and offers of support, the claimant is too anxious to go out at any other time during the week. Therefore, on the majority of days, they cannot make any journey even with prompting.

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