PIP "tentative" award and Mandatory Reconsideration

Hi Andy

Thank you for your kind words. I'm so glad to hear that you have found the forum useful.

With regards to your mobility issues. I understand what you are saying with regard to the distances - 171.m is considerably less than 200m, but that's not the point you want to be arguing, because you would still only be awarded 4 points. You have talked about the pain and discomfort and having to stop and the time that is taken up to do this. Go back to page 88 of the manual and make sure you have covered every aspect of safety and reliability. There is good advice there on how you should make your argument. You could argue that because you have to stop for so long because of the pain, it is not the same period of walking and therefore you actually can't walk 200m. benefitsandwork.co.uk/guides-for-claimants/pip

BIS

Hi Andrew
To add to BIS' excellent reply. The PIP walking test is not about the absolute maximum you can walk. You may seen the advert for duracell batteries where the toy rabbit is wound up and goes on forever and ever until it finally runs out of power - this is not how PIP works.
Any walking done with 'severe discomfort' has to be discounted. So, theoretically you could walk a mile or two if you clenched your teeth and and kept grinding on through the pain and still get points for mobility.
You use the words
"Before I get to the garden gate my back is killing me and by the time I get to the drive gate, the pain is unbearable. I regularly have to stop and rest on the way there and on the way back."
If your back is killing you then this suggests more than severe discomfort, which is considerably less than what you appear to describe, and is definitely less than the unbearable level you describe moments later. You garden gate and drive way are a maximum of 15 m from your door. This is clearly well within the 1-20m to provide 12 points under 2e. (You have unfortunately fallen into the duracell trap of describing your maximum walk!)
BIS is right about whether or not the entire 'duracell 'walk is actually one long walk or a series of smaller walks.
Under reg 4(2)A all PIP activities have to be done reliably ie safely, repeatedly, to an acceptable standard and within a reasonable time. Whether the walk to the shop is one long walk or a series of short walks. (It will depend on the length of stops.) However whether 1 or more walks, you may wish to consider the time taken. Reasonable time is no more than twice the time for a non disabled person.
Severe discomfort isn't just about pain, it can comprise breathlessness, dizziness etc as well as pain. The pain doesn't even have to be leg or back pain.
Additionally, think about the way you walk. Do you have falls or stumbles? Remember a stumble is only a footstep away from a fall! Do you have an impaired gait, such a looking like a drunken man, or dragging your foot. Poor walking may also be indicative of not walking to an acceptable standard. Stumbles etc will show you may not be safe when walking.
Finally, PIP is awarded on the basis of what happens for the majority of time. Thus you are having a better day, or just need to go to the shop, and go for a walk, this doesn't exclude the possibility of points, even if you can go well over 200m and have no discomfort or safety issues etc.
The very occasional walk you describe to the shop clearly isn't the majority pattern for 'over 50% of days', and therefore also has to be discounted.
Lastly, since you are totally exhausted after this occasional walk, it is doubtful whether you could fulfil the repeatability criteria. All activities have to done repeatedly as required across the day. Although for walking this might be somewhat a theoretical test, it would not be unreasonable for someone to go to the shop in the morning, realise that you had forgotten to get a birthday card, and then go back to the shop and onwards to the post box. You might then want to walk round to a friend's place later.
This is the sort of 'normal life' (that needs to be considered in accordance with caselaw) that anyone might wish to adopt, but of course requires more than one walk per day. Hence, if you can only do one very short walk, let alone more than one, you would also fail the repeatedly criteria. Note, all 4 criteria must be satisfied.
I hope that the above gives you a better insight into mobility awards, which can be added to the further information in the members guides.
Good luck.
Let us know how you get on.
LL26