Requesting a review

HI tiggy,
To add to Gary's excellent advice - just a bit of historical information that might help you. PIP is obviously very different from DLA.
DLA would be awarded if you could show sufficient care needs across the day. If you had care needs at night as well as day then you could get the high rate care. However there was a problem deciding exactly how much help would constitute sufficient to give rise to a DLA award. It wasn't at all clear. PIP was brought in largely to simply disability benefits. (Yes, perhaps it was also designed to reduce benefits, but in my experience most people stayed the same, some were worse off, others better off, so it very much evened out across everyone.) I guess the main problem is that if you had care need/s that lasted across the day and night, the correct level of DLA would be High rate. Under PIP you get the same amount of points irrespective of whether the care need happens at day or night, and there is no longer a place to argue general supervision, unless it falls within one of the descriptor headings. Unfortunately it may therefore be that your level of disability/need for care assistance genuinely didn't score sufficient points to allow the enhanced rate.
From what you say, it does sound as if your ability to do PIP activities has become worse. However as Gary says don't instigate a review unless you are sure you can achieve more points. For example, if previously you could walk 175m, and now you can only go 60m, on paper there appears to be a huge reduction in your walking ability. But you would still fit within the 50-200m range, and hence same points. Likewise, if you previously needed help with toilet needs let's say 10 times per day, but now it's 20 unless you need different help, or some other problem occurs you will still get 4pts -5d. (This is very different to DLA, where if you received low or mid rate care, proving you needed more caring time across the day and/or night could allow a higher rate.)
Particularly for walking, but also for daily living tasks, a disability diary can be very helpful. Write down what you can/can't do across a week or two. List the help you need. Whether you feel better or it's a bad day. What is pain/breathlessness like on each day etc. This can be really helpful in writing a clear and concise PIP form. So if you had 3 falls, you can say so. If you say you need help with toilet needs, explain what help you need and then you can say eg 'last Wednesday - 11 times, Thursday 6 times' - this is much stronger than saying simply that you need help several times per day.
Many people haven't a clue about distances, so if there is somewhere local that you go, eg shop, post box or even to a friend's house, see if you can measure the distance. If you have access to a long tape measure or a trundle wheel device great, if not get a friend to pace it out, walking normally, and if need be you can then get him to measure his pace by walking over a shorter measured distance several times and averaging out the paces. So let's say the shop is 200 paces and paces are 50 cm long - the distance you can go is 100m. Walking isn't just about the absolute maximum. What I call the 'duracell' test (remember the tv advert where the toy bunny keeps going for ever due to the duracell battery?)- this not how to measure walking for PIP. As Gary said - you need to think about safety - do you fall or stumble, do you sidle along using the fence to hold onto? Do you stop, are you in pain, do you feel out of breath or exhausted? If you are in pain/out of breath etc then it is likely that you can't do the task to an 'acceptable standard'. If you stop and pause, then potentially you are not within a reasonable time, or alternatively the pause creates a new piece of walking. If you get breathless, need to stop, note where this is on the journey, and measure this. (Again with help if need be. )The ultimate 'duracell' walk that takes you 100m from home may actually be a PIP walk of 15m, if you either take too long, or just ignore the pain to get to your destination. You do need to ignore 'severe discomfort', and that is somewhat below the level of absolute agony, even though some people just grind through the pain, and appear to go further than their stated PIP ability.
Also remember the one off longer walk, once a week, is OK, it does not comprise 'the majority of days'. Moreover you might do the once a week walk and have to stay in bed for the next three days. (no 'repetition' here!
Whilst I have described problems with assessing walking the criteria of safety, time, acceptable standard and repetition apply equally to all PIP activities, and much of the above analysis will be equally relevant to everything else.
Remember that PIP is awarded for difficulties with set activities. If you say you struggle to do housework, this isn't relevant. Furthermore, this is likely to give DWP the opportunity to say, can still do light housework, and therefore can do XYZ etc (ie all PIP activties!) However, it may be worthwhile saying that previously you were able to do dusting or hoovering etc but now you can not. However, you do need to be careful because if you day you can't do housework, this is bound to be something the assessor will ask about and try and get you to admit you can do some housework - so maybe don't mention it at all?
Again, if you absolutely don't drive anymore (note the same comments would apply as per housework above,) then say so, say why - poor grip, poor cognitive ability or poor sight etc, this could be important.
I hope this helps.
LL26