I just about read the ‘20m rule’ being upheld in assesing for the PIP mobility component.
“Under these plans, if disabled people can walk more than just 20 metres – even using aids such as sticks – they will no longer qualify for the highest rate of the benefit”.
I find this quite worrying. Is the word ‘walk’ clearly defined? Like a lot of people I know with MS there is a huge difference for me between ‘walking’ with sticks and hauling my self along on crutches using mostly upper body strength to do so. Will the assesor recognise the difference? I see people walking with sticks regularly. Walking round garden centres, shops, town etc. This is hugely different from being able to haul yourself along for a few metres whilst endangering life and limb with the risk of tripping over, especially on uneven surfaces outdoors.
The loss of my car would have a huge impact on my life. It would render me housebound. It is my lifeline and with my hoist and mobility scooter I can retain my independance and sanity.
It is going to be up to you to be very explicit when you fill in your form.
The form asks about standing and moving not walking, (Although it does mention walking at one point I think the definition will be to do with moving) When you decide how far you can move with your crutches you have to consider such things as safety, reliability, repeatability and in a reasonable time period. It is also in relation to normal outside conditions including bumpy pavements and curbs so you can talk about the problems they cause. You might be able to drag yourself 30M but if it is not safe/reliable/repeatable/completed in a reasonable time period then actually you can’t and should pick a shorter distance.
When it comes to a medical you are within your rights to say “That’s it I’ve gone as far as I can” You are not expected to drag yourself to exhaustion.
For my own point of view I think I might be able to move more than 20M with my rollator but I will be saying less than 20M because I know that I would be exhausted at the end of it and getting there is one thing – how do I get back? Don’t worry it sounds to me as though you can honestly tick the less than 20M box.
Hi Su - This ruling is very worrying - and will affect a lot of people adversely - like you my motability car enables me to retain my independence - even if I can’t walk when I get there! I also have a hoist and mobility scooter.
Lets hope that the point you raise about the word ‘walk’ is taken into account - DLA had some time constraints applied to the walking speed - but they would not take into account any gradient or surface change. We will have to see what happens now - I don’t know if there are any further legal challenges available?
The safely repeatedly and reliably thing comes into to play here-can you walk 20 metres or more every single time? Probably not, even when i could walk with RRMs it was hit or miss, so my answer would be no, and just for the h€ll of it when doing my ESA form it was no to everything-I am 2nd progressive now but I wasn’t going to give them anything they could use to deny me-support group 3 year review first time, it took 6 wks start to finish,no medical my advice? You can’t walk 20 m.end of.
The safely repeatedly and reliably thing comes into to play here-can you walk 20 metres or more every single time? Probably not, even when i could walk with RRMs it was hit or miss, so my answer would be no, and just for the h€ll of it when doing my ESA form it was no to everything-I am 2nd progressive now but I wasn’t going to give them anything they could use to deny me-support group 3 year review first time, it took 6 wks start to finish,no medical my advice? You can’t walk 20 m.end of.
@Whammel…I’m starting to understand why you get up 30 minutes earlier to hate the Tories a little longer!! Well written article, its truly an eye opener when you venture into the world of the disabled.
With the greatest respect Ged this petition is doomed to failure.
The government will never agree to automatic transition to PIP even for people with indefinite awards. I was last examined for DLA over 10 years ago. I am in fact much worse now than I was at that time but DWP will not be confident about any assessment that was made so long ago. Indeed part this whole PIP exercise is to look again at people who have not been assessed for a long time. The Gov will tell you that many claimants have got better but have failed to report the change in their circumstances. To try and change this mindset is a waste of effort.
I would be happier to see a move to halt the re-examination of claimants for both ESA and PIP who have degenerative conditions. Once a PIP determination has been made for MSers (for example) it is at this point that the procedure should become automatic. We are not going to get better – to have to reapply every 2 or 3 years is ridiculous.
I can understand the sentiment behind this petition and sympathise with it but I think that we need to be realistic about what can be achieved.