Tribunal Advice Please

Dawn2ex

Good morning all, I recently filled out a PIP application and had my telephone assessment in December. I recieved the outcome in January and was awarded 6 points for the first part and 0 for the 2nd. When I recieved the outcome it stated that I rarely take my medication for depression which is incorrect, I am on very strong medication which I take daily the assessment nurse even said I take this on a daily basis, I also am unable to follow a route without my partner due to overwhelming distress. 7 years ago, whilst at work, a colleague with no driving experience drove a minibus without permission and killed a parent by reversing into her.  I was asked to give CPR by the ambulance control even though the lady was clearly deceased by the injuries to her head. I explained in as much detail on the application form as I could but they did not take this into consideration. I also have considered taking my own life twice which my GP and therapists are aware of. The nurse also stared that I have no intention of doing this again which although I'm not sure why, this comment really upset me.  I telephone the DWP and asked to have my reasons again for a mandatory reconsideration and am waiting for a review.  I know I over catastrophise situations but if my award doesn't change,  I am worried sick about going to a tribunal and wondered if anyone has any experience of going and if they will ask for your mental health issues in detail.  So sorry for the long post and I really hope I have not upset anyone who reads this, as this definitely not my intention. Thank you

nasturtium

Hello Dawn2x

It is advised to request a Mandatory Reconsideration (MR) in writting by letter. The majority of of descisions at MR stay the same but if you give a detailed written letter explaining why you cannot do the PIP activities "Reliably" (See information about "Reliably" bellow) then there is a greater chance of your award being changed either at the Mandatory Reconsideration stage or if you have to go to a tribunal appeal.

You are awarded points for each descriptor that applies to you for each activity that you cannot complete relaibly more than 50% of the time. The word RELIABLY is a very important word in PIP and you can find more information about that here https://pipinfo.net/issues/reliably

To understand on how to fill in the PIP2 form then you can use the advice on the CAB website and it will guide you through each activity on the PIP2 form and what you need to include for each activity. You can use the link here https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/help-with-your-claim/fill-in-form-pip/

It is advised before you start your claim or your Mandatory Reconsideration to keep a 7 to 10 day disability (mental health) diary that will show you all of the problems you have each day according to the PIP activities and descriptors. It will also help for an appeal if you need to one because it will show the problems you have daily with the PIP activities. You can get a list of the activities and the descriptors from this site https://pipinfo.net/#activities

You can use your PIP disabiity diary as evidence to show the problems you have with the activities each day. The evidence can be sent in with your PIP2 Form if you think it would support your claim.

If you have assistance from friends or family then you can ask them to write you a supporting letter to show what help you need and why you need that help. You need need to ask them to put in there supporting letter how then know you, how often each week they see you, how they help you and why they help you. The WHY they help you is the important part because it would backup and support what you have written on your PIP2 form.

It is also important to understand that PIP is not about the help you get but it is the help you need that is important. So if you need help more than 50% of the time and you do not get help then you need to explain what help you need but do not recieve.

You are being assessed as needing help for the majority of times. When writing out your evidence try not use the words "sometimes" "could" "might" "it can" because those words mean that your condition or problem is not constant and varies. If that is the case then it is good to say your condition varies. If you have problems for more than 50% of the time then that means you have problems completing that activity and you should score points but remember to keep to the activity descriptors.

If you need further help with your MR you can find it by putting in your postcode here and it will list all of the wealfare agencies in your area.  https://advicelocal.uk/welfare-benefits they will tak with you about your situation and they will advise you further if your PIP claim and MR.

I hope that this has been of help.
Good luck with your MR and remember if your descision is not changed or you are not happy with the descision made you can take it to Tribunal. The majority of tribunal are conducted by Telephone so if you cannot have a face to face hearing you will be able to request one on the telephone from the comfort of your own home.
Kind Regards
Nasturtium

Dawn2ex

Thank you Nasturtium

I really appreciate your advice and time taken in replying.  I will certainly look at these links. 

With kind regards
Dawn

L_Volunteer

Have you been able to look at these links yet @Dawn2ex and, if so, how has this gone for you? Please don't hesitate to let us know if there's anything else we can do to support you 

Dawn2ex

Good morning

I have now submitted my tribunal appeal.  Can anyone advise if I need to submit my evidence again from my initial application or would I only send new information since my MR?

Thank you
Dawn

calcotti

Dawn2ex said:

I have now submitted my tribunal appeal.  Can anyone advise if I need to submit my evidence again from my initial application or would I only send new information since my MR?

DWP will issue a ‘bundle’ of which contains all the information related to you claim. That will be sent to the tribunal and will be copied to you. When you get it you should that everything is there.

Any submission and additional information should be sent to the tribunal service. They will send a copy to DWP.

Dawn2ex

Thank you Calcotti

Dawn2ex

Good morning, 

My original PIP application gave me 6 points for living and 0 for mobility. I submitted a MR but the decision did not change.  I then submitted an application for a tribunal and was advised that DWP will send a decision to my appeal. I recieved an email advising DWP have now responded although I have not yet recieved any postal correspondence confirming this. 
I've got myself a little bit confused with the process.  Is the MR and tribunal appeal decisions the same thing or would the DWP have looked at my application again after I submitted my tribunal appeal?
Thank you

calcotti

The MR was a DWP decision.
You have then appealed to HMCTS tribunal service.
DWP are required to send information to HMCTS so that the tribunal has all the information related to the whole record of your original and MR application and all the supporting evidence. 

You should receive a copy of all the ‘bundle’ that DWP have sent to tribunal. You should check that everything you know of has been included in the information to tribunal.
If you want to sent more statements and/or evidence you should do this to tribunal, they will copy it to DWP.
Once you have your tribunal hearing it is the tribunal that makes the decision and this is completely independent of DWP.

Dawn2ex

Thank you Calcotti, this is a lot clearer now

Dawn2ex

Good afternoon all, 

May I ask for advise if possible please? 

I am currently waiting for a tribunal hearing and sent further evidence some time ago along with reasons why I disagreed with the original decision. I have today recieved a DWP Supplementary Response saying they have considered the new evidence and decided there are no grounds to revise the decision under appeal and that the position of the Secretary of State remains unchanged. 

Does this mean there will now be no tribunal or is it that the DWP are standing by their original decision. 

Apologies if this is deemed as a silly question.

Thank you in advance
Dawn

poppy123456

Dawn2ex said:

Good afternoon all, 

May I ask for advise if possible please? 

I am currently waiting for a tribunal hearing and sent further evidence some time ago along with reasons why I disagreed with the original decision. I have today recieved a DWP Supplementary Response saying they have considered the new evidence and decided there are no grounds to revise the decision under appeal and that the position of the Secretary of State remains unchanged. 

Does this mean there will now be no tribunal or is it that the DWP are standing by their original decision. 

Apologies if this is deemed as a silly question.

Thank you in advance
Dawn

It means the DWP still haven't changed their mind and continue to think you're not entitled to PIP. Your hearing will continue as normal.

Remember, it's in the hands of HMCTS to make their decision now and not DWP.

Dawn2ex

Thank you Poppy for clarifying 

Regards
Dawn

Dawn2ex

Good afternoon all

I am still awaiting my tribunal date but have a question that I hope someone may be able to answer on this forum. 

During my PIP assessment, I said I suffered from low back pain but as I didn't take medications, it was deemed no points should be given.  I knew I had a curviture of the spine from birth, but had completely forgotten about this as I thought the back pain was due to arthritis in the hip which I mentioned to the assessor. I chose not to take meds for this as I am on so many tablets which already takes its toll on me. 
I recently had an x-ray of my chest due to a dry cough I have had and it shows I have degenerative scoliosis which I now believe could be the reason for the back pain.  
An I right in thinking you cannot mention this at the tribunal as I did not say this on my original claim?

Thank you on advance
Dawn

poppy123456

Having a diagnosis for a condition they already knew about is fine and you can tell them about the diagnosis. However, PIP isn't about a diagnosis, it's how those conditions affect you against the 12 PIP activities.

Dawn2ex

Thank you as always Poppy

Dawn2ex

Hi, sorry to ask another question, but something has come up that I hope someone may be able to answer. 
My original PIP claim and MR were rejected and I am currently waiting for a tribunal date.  I sent additional evidence to the tribunal which was from Doctor/Hospital appointments made after my appeal application. I have now recieved a letter from DWP advising they will not consider this as all points raised were covered in the appeal response. I did not include all the rejected activities in my appeal as felt I could not prove they were correct so just stuck with the ones I could give examples of. Will the tribunal go by what I raised in my appeal only, or do they look at the original claim aswell? The reason I am asking is that some of the new evidence relates to the original activities.
Hope this makes sense
Thank you in advance
Dawn

Dawn2ex

Hi, sorry to ask another question, but something has come up that I hope someone may be able to answer. 
My original PIP claim and MR were rejected and I am currently waiting for a tribunal date.  I sent additional evidence to the tribunal which was from Doctor/Hospital appointments made after my Tribunal appeal application.  I did not include all the rejected activities in my appeal as felt I could not prove they were correct so just stuck with the ones I could give examples of. Will the tribunal go by what I raised in my appeal only, or do they look at the original claim aswell? The reason I am asking is that some of the new evidence relates to the original activities.
Hope this makes sense
Thank you in advance
Dawn

poppy123456

They will only take into consideration what your conditions were like when the assessment took place. You can send additional evidence but it must be related to when that assessment took place. Any changes or worsening of condition will not be taken into consideration.

Dawn2ex

Thank you Poppy

So just to confirm, the Tribunal will look at medical evidence that i send relating to an activity raised in my original PIP application even if I didn't mention this in my Tribunal application.

This is not a worsening or change of condition, but I do believe it has an impact as to why I am limited in what I can do. 

Many thane
Dawn

poppy123456

Dawn2ex said:

Thank you Poppy

So just to confirm, the Tribunal will look at medical evidence that i send relating to an activity raised in my original PIP application even if I didn't mention this in my Tribunal application.

Yes, that's correct. HMCTS will receive everything that you've sent to support your claim, this will include the original form, the assessment report, any extra evidence you sent, as well as the MR letter. You will then eventually receive everything in the bundle, which will also include DWPs response.