Top tips for PIP
Rhianon Gale
June 2013
What is Personal Independence
Payment (PIP)?
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New benefit for people with disabilities and long term
illnesses, for people aged 16 – 64
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Face to face assessment for most people
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Regular reviews
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Assessment will consider how impairment affects an
individual’s life (not what the impairment is) and assessing on
that basis
How much is PIP?
Daily living:
Standard rate
Enhanced rate
£53.00
£79.15
Mobility:
Standard rate:
Enhanced rate:
£21.00
£55.25
When will PIP be introduced?
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New claims are being taken now (people who don’t already
claim DLA)
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October 2013 – reassessments begin for:
- fixed period DLA awards coming up for renewal
- young people turning 16
- DLA claimants who report a change in their condition
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October 2015 – DWP will begin to contact all DLA claimants
to tell them they need to claim PIP. People who turned 65
after 8 April 2013 will be prioritised
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March 2018 – transfer to PIP complete
Use www.gov.uk/pip-checker to see the date you are likely to be
affected by the transfer
What about people turning 16?
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If your son or daughter turns 16 on or before 6th October
2013 and their current DLA award is ending, they should be
sent a DLA renewal pack
They will be invited to claim PIP at a later date
If they turn 16 after 6th October 2013, the DWP will contact
them shortly after their birthday to invite them to claim PIP
They will not have the option of staying on DLA instead,
unless they get DLA under the special rules for the terminally
ill
If someone’s current DLA award is due to end on their 16th
birthday, the DLA payments will continue for a temporary
period until a decision has been made on their PIP claim
How do I apply for PIP?
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Telephone call to DWP
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Complete paper form
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Attend an assessment
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A decision letter is posted to you
How is PIP assessed?
Two components:
Daily Living
Mobility
Two rates for each component:
Standard – 8 points
Enhanced – 12 points
Descriptors of activities give an amount of points towards an
individual’s score
Points scored = which rate and how much money you will receive
PIP Descriptors - example
PIP Descriptors
Daily living – 10 activities
Preparing food
Taking nutrition
Managing therapy or monitoring a health condition
Washing and bathing
Managing toilet needs or incontinence
Dressing and undressing
Communicating verbally
Reading and understanding signs, symbols and words
Engaging with other people face to face
Making budgeting decisions
Mobility – 2 activities
Planning and following journeys
Moving around
How the descriptors are chosen
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Consideration of a 12 month period
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1 descriptor applies > 50% of the time, it is chosen
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If 1 or more descriptor applies > 50% of the time, the descriptor
that applies for the greater proportion of the time is chosen
If 1 descriptor does not apply for more than 50% of the time, but
a number of different descriptors in that activity together are
satisfied for more than 50% of the time:
the descriptor satisfied for the greatest proportion of the time
should be chosen
eg B = 40% and C = 30% B should be selected
Activity descriptors - reliability
Assessors must take into account whether each activity
is carried out:
• Safely
• To an acceptable standard
• Repeatedly
• In a reasonable time period
Key words!
If someone cannot reliably complete an activity in the
way described then they should be considered unable to
complete it
Activity descriptors - reliability
Assessors must consider for each activity:
• Approach
• Outcome
• Impact
• Variability
The fact that an individual can complete an activity is not
sufficient evidence of ability
Activity descriptors – support
Assessors must look at support needed to carry out an activity, whether
support is available or not:
• Supervision
• Prompting
• Assistance
Aids and appliances:
• Aids: e.g. walking sticks or spectacles
• Appliances: e.g. artificial limbs, collecting devices (stomas) and
wheelchairs
PIP – completing the form
- 6 questions to ask yourself for each activity
1. What is the health condition and what are the symptoms that cause
you problems with [activity]?
2. Describe the problems you have, giving details and examples if you
can
3. If you use any aids or appliances, list them and explain why you use
them
4. If you need physical help, supervision or prompting, whether you
actually get it or not, explain what you need and why you need it,
including if you need help with using aids or appliances. If you can’t
manage with help from another person and have to have everything
done for you, say so
5. Say when during the day or night you have problems. Is it all the
time, mostly in the morning or just in the evening?
6. If your condition varies, from day to day or week to week, explain
how much it varies and what problems you have when you are at
your best, worst and average
PIP – completing the form
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Wherever you can, complete the ‘extra information’ box, even if you think
you are stating the obvious!
Say when you need help, even if you don’t get it
With your form, send in any evidence you have; letters from doctors,
physiotherapists, speech and language therapists, psychiatrists etc
Do not mark any additional evidence as “confidential” or “in confidence”
Staple any additional pages or evidence to your form, so they do not get
lost when the envelope is opened
Do not delay sending your form because you want to gather more
evidence – you will give information on the form about professionals you
see. The DWP will contact them for more information.
Keep a photocopy of your form and any additional pages or evidence
you have sent
Make an appointment with the GP, tell them how your conditions
affect you, it will enable them to give an accurate report to the DWP
PIP – face to face practicalities
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Location of assessment – do you/your relative have accessibility
issues? Is a home visit needed?
Do you need to rearrange the appointment?
People can take support to face to face assessment
Recording of assessments
Taking extra evidence to assessment
Copy of report can be requested from DWP after the assessment –
the assessor cannot give you an opinion on entitlement, nor can they
give you a copy of your report
The assessor should give an overview of the findings they have
taken from the consultation and answer any questions or concerns
you have
PIP – face to face assessment
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You will be asked to describe a ‘typical’ day
Are aids, adaptations or support needed to carry out any task?
Can an activity be done once but not again for the rest of the
day/week? Remember the important PIP word “reliability”
Is support needed at night as well as day time?
Give as much detail as possible
Take notes of what the assessor says, especially if you think you
might need to challenge anything later
PIP – face to face assessment
When considering inconsistencies, [assessors] should
bear in mind that claimants can often underplay the impact
of conditions…..
Where the claimant has a mental, cognitive or intellectual
impairment…the claimant may not be able to give an
accurate account of their health condition or impairment,
through a lack of insight or unrealistic expectation of their
own ability. In such cases it will be essential to get an
accurate account from the companion…
PIP – the decision notice
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The Case Manager at the DWP (the decision maker) will make their
decision based on:
- your ‘How your disability affects you’ form
- the report from the Atos assessor
- any additional evidence, eg supporting evidence from GP, consultant,
relatives and friends
You will receive a decision letter stating:
- what components, daily living and/or mobility, you have been awarded
- what rates
- for how many years your award is
If you have not been awarded PIP, or you have had a reduction moving
from DLA to PIP, you will also get a phone call from the decision maker
to help you understand how the decision was made
PIP – following the decision
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If you’re happy with your award, consider getting a benefits check done
as you may now be entitled to additional amounts in the benefits you
already receive or you may be entitled to benefits you haven’t received
in the past
Ask for a copy of the assessment to use as a reference point (even if
you’re
happy with it)
If award is for a fixed number of years you should be sent another claim
form before it runs out
If award is indefinite you may still receive review forms to complete
every few years
Appeals
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If you’re unhappy with your award, you can apply for it to be looked
at again – a mandatory reconsideration - must be done within one
month of the date of the decision letter
The DWP does not have a time limit to carry out the mandatory
reconsideration
You will receive two copies of a mandatory reconsideration notice
Appeal to the Tribunals Service must be made within one month of
the date on the mandatory reconsideration notice
‘Passporting’
Carer’s Allowance:
Standard or enhanced rate of daily living component
Disabled person’s parking permit (blue badge)
Standard rate (8 points or more) of ‘Moving around’ activity
Vehicle Excise Duty reduction (road tax)
Enhanced rate of mobility component – full exemption
Standard rate of mobility component – 50% reduction
Motability scheme
Enhanced rate of mobility component
What to do now?
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Write down the ‘typical day’ as a base to work from and add to
Talk to people who know you/your relative; family, friends,
support staff
Keep a notepad handy so when you notice or think of
something to include, you can jot it down before you forget!
If online, check www.gov.uk/pip-checker to get an idea of
when you will need to go through the process
More information? Support?
0117 906 1751
rhianon.gale@hft.org.uk
www.hft.org.uk/familycarersupport
Thank you!