Having been given a lifetime award of DLA, I now find myself in the precarious position of having to apply for this benefit, and I confess that I am extremely worried about doing so.
The form ( well, i say a ‘form’ ; its more like a small book! ) arrived on Friday and I have until the 22nd of April to complete it. I know that many of you kind people have faced this situation yourselves, so I wonder if I might trouble you with a couple of questions about doing so.
1: I have secondary progressive MS and use a power chair, because walking is both painful and difficult, coupled to a substantial risk of falls ( the most recent of which was only a few weeks ago and led to a significant relapse from which I am very slowly recovering). Were I to mention the use of a power chair, would I be classed as fully mobile? This seems a bit silly to me, but I wouldn’t put it past anyone at the DWP or its assessing agencies to do this, and take away my high rate of mobility.
2: I was successful in being allocated to the support group of ESA without having to undergo assessment. I based my response on the fact that pretty nearly every day is bad, these days, despite medication and support. Would the same response be relevant on the PIP form( i.e. every day is awful,where every action pretty much involves the use of one or other of my substantial collection of contraptions( ranging from adapted cutlery upward to an almost fully adapted house) to make life easier to live and otherwise bearable) or do I need to amend it in any way?
Very many thanks in advance for any response to my woes, particularly when I’m pretty sure that this horrid disease finds new and awful ways to confound everyone here on a daily basis.
Very worried, but trying to stay positive at the moment,
First of all, try not to worry about it. It’s a nerve wracking business and if you do it right, hopefully all will be well
Re your questions:
If you can’t walk, then the use of a power chair is ignored. The test is the distance you can walk, not the distance you can reach with any kind of wheelchair. So if the distance without your chair is zero (or anything less than 20 metres) then you’ll qualify for the enhanced rate of the mobility component. If it’s between 20 and 50 metres then you’d get the standard rate. And the test is to do it not once in a day, then collapse utterly exhausted, it’s to do it repeatedly.
the daily living component is more tricky. The use of aids and appliances has at least reverted to where we were, in that you will still accumulate points for their use. However, in the main, the enhanced rate of the daily living component of PIP is awarded to people who not only use aids and appliances to live their lives, but also need the physical help of another person for things like, washing, dressing, cooking, eating, toileting etc. It’s a different test to the DLA one and so you need to consider each of the points carefully. If you manage to get by on your own but using aids to help you, then you may find you only qualify for the standard rate for daily living.
If every day is as bad as the next then obviously complete the form as such. But if you have good and bad days, you need to estimate what percentage of each you have. The reason for this (rather than completing the form as if every day is a bad day if that’s incorrect) is that if you have to have a physical assessment, and you’re not on a bad day, it makes you look like you’re exaggerating.
I suggest that if you don’t have expert help completing the form for you, consider looking at and/or joining http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/ their guides are truly excellent, up to date and correct as well as very helpful.
Take your time over the form, consider every point in the light of the points the DWP award for each element and above all, before you post it off, take a photocopy of it.
Thankyou Sue and Boblatina for taking the time to explain all this to Kizzie and all of us who will be worrying our little sox off about going from DLA to PIP.
I’ve had a quick look at that DWP guide. To be honest, I don’t think it’s very helpful to most people. The most important thing about it that I’ve seen is something I wanted to check anyway with regard to supporting evidence. It’s that:
A) the DWP can make a decision without a physical assessment if there’s enough evidence in with the claim (therefore best put copies of letters and other evidence in with the claim form eg repeat prescription list showing what you take, doctors letters, your care plan from the council etc)
B) they will not necessarily write to your GP for a report like they always did with DWP (which means the evidence you supply is vital), they’ll go on the claim form, your DLA historical evidence (I think) and physical assessment.
I will have another look through when I’ve got a spare few days (!) and anything I think is helpful I’ll post on here.
Don’t forget that it’s written in typical DWP style, over wordy, over long, trying to cover all bases and done from the perspective of administration not claiming. They don’t intend that it’s something for claimants to use.
Stop reading complicated stuff about PIP. You will qualify for enhanced PIP for both elements, mobility and living. When you get the form you will have help to complete it.
I cannot quite believe that someone who is as disabled as you, who has carers to do everything related to personal care, who’s walking ability is zero and is hoisted everywhere, has had the wind put up her about this bloody PIP. The DWP have done some crappy things in their time (in whatever guise they represent themselves: DHSS, Benefits Agency, whatever) but this time they have really got it badly wrong.
And while I’m on me soapbox, where did they get the idea that someone who can’t cook a full meal by themselves, but can heat up a ready meal in a microwave is capable of feeding themselves adequately? And therefore only gets one point as opposed to two points if they can’t do either!!! (Sorry, it’s been bugging me for some time and sometimes these things just explode out!)
i would only think that no physical assessments would be on obvious cases where enhanced rates of both the mobility and daily living sections are obvious to the assessor after all the evidence is enclosed.
I think that the form asked if I wanted them to consider the DLA evidence. I had to tick a box for them to do this.
I don’t think you should have any problem at all with your application but i have attached a link that may be of use - it’s like a PIP calculator. Just be aware - i went for my assessment last November - luckily I had a lovely lady who actually pointed out things I had missed which would have meant i would have been entitled to nothing but not all assessors will be as nice.
Wow!! Many thanks EVERYONE for your very kind and thoughtful inputs. You’ve really given me a lot to build on and a lot to think about! I’m going to join the benefits and work group ( thank you tinker et al for your links) and make a start on this formidable , if ludicrous form.
I really dont see why we have all have to jump through such hoops( pardon the oxymoronic pun) to demonstrate the level of our disability and justify every absolutely every single penny we get when the richest 1% keep telling us all that we must live within our means or get a job because we are all lazy spongers. This said, I very much doubt that David Cameron and his family are paying us much attention right now - they are all busy on the phone to their offshore laywers/companies desperately getting them to shift their millions elsewhere before they get caught!!
