PIP Decined

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JuliaBird1

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Hi, just wondered if anyone could offer any advice? My 16 daughter was approved for DLA just 9 months ago. We have had to apply for PIP now re her age, had a letter yesterday saying her application was declined as she only scored 1 point. I will request a mandatory reconsideration but would welcome any guidance if anyone has had a similar experience? Thank you.
 
It might be worth you calling the Diabetes UK help line, the number is at the top.
 
Thank you, I did look at the website but it seemed to indicate they cannot advise on benefits, but I will call them to see.
 
Have you seen the diabetes uk fact sheet for pip? It has some helpful points that you need to make sure have been made clear in the application. Things like lack of hypo awareness matter for pip. They basically need proof that she needs extra care. Her diabetes team may well be able to provide a covering letter - is she still under the paeds team? Appeals for pip tend to be more successful than initial applications so do go through the appeal but make sure you have as much information as possible to give reasons why she need the award. The whole system for pip is terrible. Good luck.
 
Thank you, the whole system seems a most unfair process! I'm sure many of you already know this but I was somewhat naive clearly and thought she would just be transferred over! How wrong was I? I have contacted her Paeds team today, they did provide a super letter for the application so I will see if there is anything further they can do. I'll also look at the fact sheet, thanks again
 
PIP is very different than DLA with regards to what they are looking for. I don't have any specific experience with regards to claiming it for diabetes, but consider how it affects each question. Answer specifically the things that the decision maker has said "I have decided x.." with "actually yz" in your letter requesting mandatory reconsideration.

Citizens Advice Bureau may be able to help, but possibly not in time for the MR response. Are you your daughter's appointee or has she officially applied on her own behalf?
 
Out of three people I know who have applied for PIP and were entitled to it only one person's application went through straight away. The other two got denied with zero points. Both went through mandatory reconsideration and still got denied with zero points and then progressed to the full appeal where both got accepted - one with lower care and mobility and one with standard care and higher mobility.
I am afraid that it is standard for them to deny and say there are zero or one point only and then you just have to jump through the hoops to get to the appeal - often they don't stick to their own rules.
The important thing is to keep a cool head and try not to take it personally and just make sure you have the information you need to succeed in the appeal. The crucial thing in the appeal is that it depends on the decision of three Judicial professionals who do not work for the DWP but are independent and work for the judiciary - made up of a Tribunal Judge, a Doctor and a Disability Specialist. The other thing to remember is that at appeal you need to present the statement of appeal correctly and address the points with facts and drawing attention to the way that the applicant's condition and experience of that condition corresponds with the DWP rules and how the DWP assessment does not properly take those facts into account.
For that you need to know what criteria and rules the DWP use (or are supposed to) in order to make their assessments and decisions.

A good place for this information is the Benefits and Work website. They have all the information you need to ensure you get what you are entitled. It has a forum and you can get full and thorough guides to help you work all the way through the process and avoid common pitfalls. It has a fee to become a member but the wealth of information and the increased likelihood of succeeding in my opinion makes it worth the money.

PIP claim help, plus ESA, DLA & Universal Credit

Get the benefits you're entitled to: help with personal independence payment (PIP), universal credit (UC), employment and support allowance (ESA),disability living allowance (DLA). Claims, assessments, reviews, appeals.
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk www.benefitsandwork.co.uk
 
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Wow, thank you all so much for your help and replies. I will certainly look into the websites, fact sheets etc, and need to crack on with it all this weekend (decision letter dated 24/9 and it arrived on 4/10 - already 10 days of my allowed one month to appeal - yet another frustration). I am my daughter's appointee to answer the previous post.
 
I would comment on that in regards to managing complex budgeting decisions. I'm waiting for the outcome of my 16 year old's MR (for other reasons) and my reply to "I have decided they can manage complex budgeting decisions" 😡 was along the lines "the reason I am appointee is that it was already agreed 6 months ago that they  cannot manage complex budgeting decisions because <my child's reasons>, this has not changed in the past 6 months".
 
Benefits and Work is a great resource for Pip applications, their Pip book guides you re what examples and evidence to give to score points in applicable areas. They have knowledgeable moderators to ask questions to and a supportive forum. It is normal to be scored low at the beginning, this may also happen at mandatory reconsideration, if success to occur it may need to be at tribunal. Remember basic things: send post recorded delivery with proof of posting, keep photo copies of everything
 
A health professional filled in my sister's application and that's the only reason she was accepted. You have to be exactly specific. Talk about jumping through hoops. They refused my special needs cousin and they had to appeal and go before a board before she was accepted. :(
 
JuliaBird1 said:
Wow, thank you all so much for your help and replies. I will certainly look into the websites, fact sheets etc, and need to crack on with it all this weekend (decision letter dated 24/9 and it arrived on 4/10 - already 10 days of my allowed one month to appeal - yet another frustration). I am my daughter's appointee to answer the previous post.
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Contact your CAB asap. They can be very helpful, and quickly. See https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/b...rs/pip/appeals/mandatory-reconsideration-pip/ . Good luck!
 
It does seem that persistence and determination are required, alongside additional factors that make daily living more chellenging.

Simply having diabetes, and the faff it usually entails isn’t sufficient as far as I am aware. You need to be able to show additional evidence to support your claim.

Good luck!
 
My daughter (21) gets PIP and (unfortunately) its more based on how the disability/medical condition affects the ability to live day to day vs the disability/medical condition itself (all be it a pain in the backside to manage some days).

Its a stressful process and you have to answer every question as if its a "bad day" e.g. my daughter can sometimes walk 500m+ unaided on a good day but on a bad day, she's on crutches to walk to the toilet and still needs help to get up and down. There's just no boxes to tick for that variant.

Good luck with the appeal.
 
gll said:
its more based on how the disability/medical condition affects the ability to live day to day vs the disability/medical condition itself
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That is what I expect. PIP is not a consolation prize for having diabetes.
I understood it to be to fund additional expenses (or lost earnings) due to having it.
For example, if it affects your ability to do daily tasks or to get around so you have to pay for someone else to help.

For many people, there is no significant additional expense or loss of earnings and they require no additional assistance.
Unfortunately, others find it has a huge impact on their life.

It is incredibly frustrating that you have to prove the impact diabetes (or other conditions) have on your life and compassion seems to be lacking from some administrators of it.
 
helli said:
That is what I expect. PIP is not a consolation prize for having diabetes.
I understood it to be to fund additional expenses (or lost earnings) due to having it.
For example, if it affects your ability to do daily tasks or to get around so you have to pay for someone else to help.

For many people, there is no significant additional expense or loss of earnings and they require no additional assistance.
Unfortunately, others find it has a huge impact on their life.

It is incredibly frustrating that you have to prove the impact diabetes (or other conditions) have on your life and compassion seems to be lacking from some administrators of it.
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PIP has nothing to do with lost earnings. Which is why it is not means tested and even millionaires are entitled to it.
It is to do with providing people with the means to cover costs that are associated with giving them an independent life. So it is to help people who would otherwise be housebound to afford taxis or cover the extra costs of needing to pay for someone else to travel places with them or take them places, or to enable them to afford an adapted car so they can drive themselves places. It is to enable people to have aids and adaptations they need to manage at home. Basically it is to help disabled people stay in their own homes and save the state the money it would cost to accommodate them and care for them in a residential facility. That is why it is called Personal Independence Payment and it is therefore aimed at people who otherwise without it would struggle to live independent lives. That does not mean would not survive independently it means have reasonable lives with a reasonable quality of life.
 
JuliaBird1 said:
Hi, just wondered if anyone could offer any advice? My 16 daughter was approved for DLA just 9 months ago. We have had to apply for PIP now re her age, had a letter yesterday saying her application was declined as she only scored 1 point. I will request a mandatory reconsideration but would welcome any guidance if anyone has had a similar experience? Thank you.
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Hi,People when applying for PIP should always answer the questions asked based on your daughter being at her worst health wise. Say for instant does your daughter require help when washing. Now if you have to help say just once or twice a week put down she needs help when washing, washing her back and drying herself off base this on her worst day. Same as walking if most days she can walk 30 -50 steps most days of the week but one day she can only walk a few steps with assistance base it on her worst day only. After getting PIP you will have to be assessed maybe once every 5 or 6 years again base her disability on her worst day. I use to be on Maximum care allowance and maximum Mobility. Have been for nearly 15 years. I had to go for a assessment just before the Covid Pandemic and I was reduced too average care and mobility . A nurse assessed me And it was passed onto the doctors who decide if you get PIP or not. I’ve never met the Doctor and how does he know my disability issues. I’m still waiting for this down grading to be reviewed. The doctor stated I was still going too work so I cannot be that bad to receive maximum PIP. Since the appointment I unfortunately caught Covid 19 in early April 2020 and was put on a ventilator for nearly 2 Months. My health had deteriorated after Covid and now I cannot walk more than 2 steps now before Covid I could walk about 5 steps before I had to stop with my neuropathy . I need constant need when washing and dressing now and have trouble holding objects now and my short term memory has gone. I applied to PIP again to be assessed again and have been told they won’t be looking at my PIP renewal until November 2023 at the earliest. It absolutely stupid how PIP is assessed properly .
 
PIP or personal independence payment is just that.
So basically, you have to convince the DWP that your daughter needs help and why she needs help with her diabetes. It's not the condition she has it's the way it affects her everyday life.
Even though at 16 the DWP deem your daughter is capable of managing her diabetes, IMHO this is quite often the age group that needs extra help.

As I understand it there's not a cat's chance in hell of having PIP if you have diabetes unless you have complications.
 
I agree with @Pumper_Sue. It isn't the diagnosis that leads to PIP entitlement, It is awarded on how any medical condition affects your day to day living, or your mobility. Day to day living questions refer to whether you can prepare your own meals, whether you can dress without help or use of aids, mobility depends on how far you can walk, either with or without aids like crutches. Or if you need help finding places or become lost without help. Managing diabetes would qualify, but may not be sufficient to obtain PIP on its own.

I have had PIP for around 8 years, like @Pumper_Sue I have severe mobility issues caused by a neurological condition completely unrelated to Diabetes. I need aids to help me put socks on, and occasionally need to use a grabber to pull my underpants on.(TMI maybe?).So I get Higher Rate Mobility, and lower rate day to day living awards. Over time I have moved from lower rate mobility to higher rate mobility. I use higher rate mobility to access Motability to provide me with a road going Mobility Scooter.

Those awards, I have been told, will not be reviewed unless there are any changes in my condition, so essentially they will follow me to the grave.

And as @Pumper_Sue graphically says, you will never get PIP awarded for uncomplicated diabetes.
 
JuliaBird1 said:
Hi, just wondered if anyone could offer any advice? My 16 daughter was approved for DLA just 9 months ago. We have had to apply for PIP now re her age, had a letter yesterday saying her application was declined as she only scored 1 point. I will request a mandatory reconsideration but would welcome any guidance if anyone has had a similar experience? Thank you.
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Hi Julia

I don't think anyone has mentioned a crucial aspect of the PIP assessment process: you can be awarded points only for aspects of your condition that affect you for the majority of days (so less than four days a week scores no points regardless of the severity of symptoms and their consequences). If you have an in-person PIP assessment, you need to remember this when you're being asked questions, because they'll try to catch you out – that's the assessor's purpose, to deny claims where at all possible. This point, in conjunction with using the experience of an aspect of the condition on the worst days, is the best way to qualify for points.

Cheers

Pablocity
 
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