Will lowering of PIP affect my ESA?

Hi Yorkiegal73

No a change in your PIP from enhanced to standard does not count as a change in circumstances for UC.

When you have the assessment report you will have a better understanding of how the DWP Decision Maker has come to their conclusions and you will now be able to argue against them.

I usually use a highlighter to highlight any inaccuracies, once you have gone through the report you then set out why you are applying for a MR and go through each descriptor one at a time why you disagree with the assessor and try and match it with any supporting documents you may have sent in.

Understand that the assessor is offering an opinion when they say 'in my opinion' you can do the PIP activities, tackling these head-on is unlikely to be successful, you need to show that the basis of that opinion is founded on incorrect information, so try and refer to your evidence to undermine what they have said, remember they are just an opinion which is not based on fact.

Also, try and stick to issues that lead to your scoring points, I often hear members referring to the assessors spelling, as an example, whilst it may show a lack of professionalism, raising it as an issue isn't going to help you get an award.

Your primary task is to show that you meet the criteria, there are many reasons you may have failed, you need to address each of these but don't get bogged down in criticising the assessment report unless you can clearly show that it is incorrect, it is a lot easier to argue the facts of the situation.

Lastly, make sure that you understand the criteria that you are being assessed against you can put the best case forward that is possible but you won't score points if you do not meet the PIP Descriptors.

The first stage to challenging a Decision is for you to request a Mandatory Reconsideration, this needs to be done in writing to the DWP, within one month of the Decision, to the office that dealt with your claim, have a look at our PIP MR & Appeal guide; benefitsandwork.co.uk/guides-for-claimants/pip

For the CRMR1 form to initiate your MR; www.gov.uk/government/publications/chall...ork-and-pensions-dwp

When you have a better idea of the issues with your claim, come back to the forum and we will do our best to help.

Gary

Hi Yorkiegal173

You are not any sort of failure, and don't let someone who knows nothing about you make you feel that way.

There are plenty of people who struggle to manage their daily life for similar reasons to the ones you have listed. The assessor has given their opinion, which is their job, and you have an absolute right to disagree with them.

You know your struggles, and you need to try and see if you can get someone to understand them better. Although you are supposed to put in for a Mandatory Reconsideration within one month of the decision letter, you could leave it and apply later to submit a late MR.

Your reason for putting in a late MR is that you were too ill to do it immediately. The DWP don't have to allow people to submit a late submission, but they rarely turn them down. You can do this up to 12 months after the date on the decision letter.

Obviously, your mental health is paramount, and you can only do it when you feel well enough or if you really want to fight on.

Come back and ask if you have any other questions and we will try to help.

BIS

M

The Severe Disability Premium is dependent on the claimant having a Daily Living award, it does not matter what it is. There are other criteria but I assume this would have been met previously.

The Enhanced Disability Premium can be dependent on an Enhanced Daily Living award but can also be paid if the claimant is in the Support Group.

Gordon