Tips invited on how to address PIP assessment criteria in a submission

Hi x333xxx,
All descriptor tasks have to be done safely, in reasonable time, to acceptable standard and repeatedly. If you can't achieve all four of these you legally can not do the task and should score points at the appropriate level to your disability.
Whilst I am all too aware that many assessments do not reflect the severity of disability and use tenuous analogy to suggest the activities can be done, I wonder if you haven't properly explained your disability in accordance with the above criteria (from Regulation 4(2A) PIP regulations 2013. (If you don't explain properly, this will just create more justification for a negative report from the Assessor!)
Don't worry, many claimants don't know about reg 4, and the Assessors and decision makers ignore it!
Let me explain reg 4 in more detail...
Safety- can you complete the activity without a risk of substantial harm to you or another. Even if the likelihood of harm isn't often, it doesn't matter. Think epilepsy- fits are seldom, but risk when eg using bath or cooking is very great if you have a fit at this time. But safety refers to all activities so eg mobility if there is a risk of a fall.
Reasonable time is no more than twice the time of non disabled person. So if the 'normal time' is 10 minutes, but your disability means it takes 30 mins you fail the reas time test and then can't do that activity and should get points.
Acceptable standard this isn't defined in the regulations but is the standard you would normally expect. So under descriptor 1 can you cook etc - if you always burn food and ruin pans, even though you can peel chop vegetables. This would indicate assistance or prompting is required and hence you should get the points that are relevant to your disability.
Pain must also be taken into account. Whilst tasks don't have to be pain free, high levels of pain will suggest non acceptable standard. Specifically fir mobility 2, any walking done with severe discomfort must be discounted. This means if you have severe discomfort at the start of any walking your PIP ability is actually zero even though you may actually be able to walk say 50m! You said your feet scream pain and this suggests that your PIP ability ie your 'legal' ability not absolute ability is very little and hence you fall within the 12 points category.
Even if you can walk fir a few metres without pain consider why you need to stop, breathlessness, fatigue etc all fall within 'severe discomfort' - so think about this too.
If your stop is a longer one, then it is possible you will fail to be in a reasonable time.
Final criteria - repetition- you need to be able to do each activity throughout the day meeting the other 3 criteria as often as reasonably required.Each activity will have different repetition rates. Cooking might be 3 or 4 times per day. Toilet needs could be 8 times per day but maybe 20+ if you have incontinence. Communication is 24/7. Maybe mobility is 200m 4 or 5 times per day.Eg walk kids to school, rest come back.Walk to post box. Later realise need to go to bank. Walk to friends house. Etc None of the above would be unreasonable across the day. Remember, even though it sounds implausible all these places would be 200m or less, they could be less than 200m from the disabled parking place!

Last thing to consider- regulation 7. There are various different values within each descriptor section. Reg 7 stated that highest value should apply when one or more of the activity levels apply equally, otherwise the most prevalent activity score should be awarded if your disability levels vary.

Reg 7 also says that points are awarded for the activity you can't do for the majority if time, so having a better day won't preclude points.

Basically considr each descriptor. Look at the first one and go down. Which one applies for majority of days? Take into account the safety, repetition etc, at each level to determine whether you can perform the activity. Work out eg do you need an aid/appliance, may be you need assistance or support, or prompting, maybe because you can't repeat, can't be safe, you can't do it at all!

Criticise the assessor ' but try and group criticisms into 4 or 5 bullet points and give examples of worst. Dont accuse assessor of lying, you can't prove it, but he may have misunderstood or written down incorrectly, so say that, because you can prove that.
You can explain your disability and say what points you should have got as per above.

I hope this helps.
LL26

Hi x333xxx,
I'm glad that you found our hints helpful. Well done for enhanced mobility!
But....
Do you wish to try and gain a Daily Living award?
If so, there is nothing stopping appealing to the tribunal for this. Await the decision letter and lodge an appeal. No need to do MR again, you have already done this. Fill out the SSCS1, make it clear that you only want to appeal the Daily living award. Exolain the DWP offer. Go through all the relevant descriptors and explain what you can't do and give examples as you did before.
Why not go for it?
LL26