Pip mobility planning and following journeys repeatedly

Hi Marvelguy,
Firstly try not to panic. I don't think there is a particular problem here. You have mentioned repetition which is relevant, and I'll come back to that in a moment, but I think that there is no real problem due to Regulation 7.
Reg 7 states that you only need to consider what happens for the 'majority of days'. So theoretically if you had a weird medical problem that only affected you 4 days a week but caused sufficient disability that you couldn't manage to perform PIP descriptor activities then you could still achieve a PIP award. Reg 7 recognises that some conditions vary across the day or week.
If I explain about the way descriptors work, I am sure that your concerns will be allayed. Repetition will form part of that. - each descriptor provides a set of points according to the level if disability. However the descriptors are trying to represent what should be able to be done across a day, rather than an isolated ability to perform a random activity. There are 4 criteria that must all be satisfied. Repetition is one - If one or more of the other criteria is not met then a claimant can't fulfil the required amount of repetition. Each activity will have its own repetition rate. So eg Descriotor 1 deals with preparing and cooking a meal.It is likely that this will amount to 3 meals being required. However if you personally have always had 5 meals or due to eg diabetes needs more meals then your personal repetition rate could be 5. Similarly, a person with incontinence is likely to need the toilet a greater number of times across the day, and hence will need to be able to manage more occasions using the toilet. Whatever the activity, if any of the repetitions can't be made to the correct level then you haven't been able to repeat across the whole day as many times as reasonably required. Any day where you can't 'repeat& save for a very insignificant amount of time will be a day to count towards the 'majority of days' per Reg 7.
If one or more of the other criteria - safety, acceptable standard and reasonable time are not met - then again this indicates you can't repeat.
I would like you to think about a typical day. Forget about disability, this is anyone's average day.
Take kids to school
Go to bank on way home
After bank, go to post office to get stamps
Fill car up with petrol
Go home
Post a birthday card at the post box at the end of the road
Pick up kids
Take one child to karate
Take the other to ballet
Collect each child
Visit Granny in the way home.
None of these journeys may be very long. They could be done on foot or via car or other. Remember that all car journeys will involve a few steps at either end.
Basically these are all separate short journeys. Or of course a journey could be a very long one.
So the question is can you perform all these sort of journeys across the day? None of these would be unreasonable, and indeed other journeys could also be reasonable as well.
Avoiding going out indicates that you can't go out more often, and if you avoid going out this will certainly indicate an inability to repeat and hence points should be awarded accordingly.
Since you only ever make 1 short journey per day maximum, I very much doubt that you are properly repeating. Moreover the effort causes problems for the next day too. If your health had improved so that everyday you could if you wished make 3 or 4 of the various possible journeys then I think you would have to concede that you might no longer qualify for points, as to go from scarcely being able to go out and then being able to do multiple journeys would suggest a change of circumstances.
Going from zero journeys to one on some days does not indicate repetition. (Even though mathematically no journeys to one journey looks like 100% improvement!)
Remember also, even if you do go out, or indeed perform any PIP activity more than before, if you don't stay 'safe' or are too slow or perform non - acceptably, these days are all days you 'can't' do an activity or will show a need for help. They all count towards the majority of days.
There is no need to report a small change in health that does not lead to a change in points. So, to give another example walking ability of 50-200m is the same points. But again if you could previously walk only 51m and now your ability has increased to 197m on paper it seems like a vast improvement but in reality you still qualify for the same Pip score!
I hope you now fell less anxious about this.
LL26

Hi Marvelguy,
I gave a list of the sort of little journeys that most people do across the day, ordinary things, several times per day going out, maybe not for very long. The simple answer is whether you could manage to do all these kind of journeys or similar ones. (There are all manner of other journeys you could think of.)
If you can't go out several times a day - provided the reason is connected with your poor health - fatigue/fear/breathlessness sensory overload etc (or any other relevant health problem) then you can't show that you can perform this activity over several times over the whole day. Equally if the fear of going out/or fear or becoming more ill/ getting increased pain or fatigue etc means that you don't go out at all, or you seldom go out to anywhere, then this has the same effect. Basically not to the activity as many times as people would normally do the activity, whether it is eating, communication, going out to somewhere (even for say, just 10 minutes) this shows you are unable to satisfy the 'repetition' test that is required.
The law requires you to be able to perform each task several times per day. However if there is a small part of the day, maybe at different times, or perhaps the same time each day where you can't repeat any particular PIP task or indeed perhaps all of them, then you won't be able to show you can't repeat the task. So if you always go to sleep (because of fatigue) for 5 minutes at 3pm, that won't stop you going out at 3.10pm, nor will it stop you going out at 4pm, or cooking at 5 pm etc etc. But if there are several periods of sleepiness throughout the day, this is clearly going to affect the ability to repeat one or more of the PIP activities.
concerning the majority of days principle - maybe a numerical example will make things clearer
over 10 days - just considering the ability to go out to make small journeys (as described earlier)either in a car or on foot ...
Day 1, 2 better health can do PIP activities with out help
Day 3 very poor balance, and fatigue - can't walk or make any journeys
Day 4 psychotic episode - very overwhelmed and can't leave home
Day 5 went out to newsagents in the morning unable to go out again - too overwhelmed and anxious scary dog outside....
Day 6 - A loud thumping noise (possibly from the building work next door) really scared me - I felt panicky and overwhelmed I didn't want to leave the house
Day 7 - Still feeling very overwhelmed and fatigued from previous day. Didn't want to go out, but it was best friend's birthday. I felt paranoid and totally scared. I came back from his house and went to get some milk. Then I went to the butchers as I had no meat for supper. I was so jumpy. So panicky... Had to walk the long way round to avoid the really scary dog...that meant that my back ache got really bad. This walk usually takes only 5 minutes. It took 20 today.
Day 8 - Much better today -went out to John's house, went to the bank, walked to the post office and then back through the park.
Day 9 - Feeling OK still- I went to the garden centre to get some bulbs, I didn't have enough I went back for some more. I then went into town to the cashpoint. There was a man in the street, he looked like the person who had been shouting last week. It scared me, I went home. I was supposed to pick up my Amazon parcel from the newsagents.I couldn't do this, I was too panicky and breathless...
Day 10 - my vision was very poor I went out to have coffee with Mike, and we went to Sainsburys but he had to come with me as I couldn't really see what I was doing. I then realised I had forgotten to pay the bill at the bank. Mike had gone. I went alone. Luckily I avoided the pot hole and didn't fall down. Phew.

Let's examine the days...
Day 1, 2 &8 no problems - all activities are repeated without help
Days 3,4, 6 unable to go out (too unwell etc)
Day 5 can't 'repeat'
Day 7 went out and did all necessary journeys but 'can't repeat' as due to panic and increased pain is not reaching an acceptable standard. He takes too long so also is unlikely to be within in reasonable time.
Day 9 - manage to do one journey - but then becomes overwhelmed - 'can't repeat'
Day 10 - needs to be accompanied due to poor vision - the journey made alone is 'not safe' - (risk of falling etc) because this journey is unsafe there is 'no repetition'

Hence how many of these 10 days will count as showing eg you can't do/need help etc
Days 1,2,&8 - no problems - don't count
Then 3 days of 'can't do anything', ie 3,4,&6) - however for points under Mobility Descriptor 1 - physically not being able to go out won't necessarily give rise to points (but would indicate 12 points under Descriptor 2 - walking ability.)
Day 4 & 6 - don't go out due to panic etc - too distressed/anxious to go out - if this amounts to overwhelming psychological distress - then likely to fall within one or more of Descriptor 1 activities

the rest of the week there are various problems - safety/not being acceptable standard being too slow - albeit these are different reasons on none of these days (5,7, 9 &10) repetitions aren't done
because the other 3 criteria have not been fully met across the day.
Here, the various days all suggest a need to be accompanied, to allay, ensure safety etc - these are all familiar journeys - this person needs to be accompanied on familiar journeys for the majority of days.
This is effectively how Regulation 7 works.
I hope this is now more clear.

LL26