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How likely is having a face-to-face appt, after submitting a PIP Review AR1 form?

ESABenefitsUK123

I got the impression that after submitting the main initial PIP2 claim form, a face-to-face appt was mandatory. But my question is: is this still the case after submitting the follow up PIP Review AR1 form? Or is there a possibility that this AR1 form does not necessarily require a face-to-face appt? Thanks a lot for any comments.

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poppy123456

Most are now done by telephone, some are face to face or video call. Home assessments no longer exist. Even for reviews another assessment is most likely.

When you return the review form it will first be sent to the decision maker to have a look to see if a decision can be made without needing to send it to the health assessment providers. You should expect your file to be sent to them as the majority are but some have a decision without needing it to be sent across.

There could also be a very long wait for the decision because backlogs are quite long in a lot of areas so you could be waiting several months, potentially longer.

ESABenefitsUK123

Thanks a lot.

>>Home assessments no longer exist.

I had no idea! So, only phone, video, or face-to-face at an assessment centre are the only options. So, if the person cannot visit a centre, then phone or video are the only options. That suits me actually, as I am not comfortable with a home visit, and would prefer either the phone or video. Thanks.

poppy123456

Home assessments stopped at the start of the pandemic and never started again. They continued with telephone assessments and it's unlikely home assessment will ever start back.

Leigh14

poppy123456 said:

Most are now done by telephone, some are face to face or video call. Home assessments no longer exist. Even for reviews another assessment is most likely.

When you return the review form it will first be sent to the decision maker to have a look to see if a decision can be made without needing to send it to the health assessment providers. You should expect your file to be sent to them as the majority are but some have a decision without needing it to be sent across.

There could also be a very long wait for the decision because backlogs are quite long in a lot of areas so you could be waiting several months, potentially longer.

If the review form is sent to the DM and decides it doesn’t need to be sent to the health assessment providers, does this mean no assessment will be done?
Are there any disabilities that doesn’t require any reviews again?
Thanks.

poppy123456

Leigh14 said:

If the review form is sent to the DM and decides it doesn’t need to be sent to the health assessment providers, does this mean no assessment will be done?

That's exactly what it means.

Leigh14 said:

Are there any disabilities that doesn’t require any reviews again?
Thanks.

There's no such award for PIP. The longest PIP award is 10 years with a light touch review.

kitkat23

Leigh14 said:

poppy123456 said:

Most are now done by telephone, some are face to face or video call. Home assessments no longer exist. Even for reviews another assessment is most likely.

When you return the review form it will first be sent to the decision maker to have a look to see if a decision can be made without needing to send it to the health assessment providers. You should expect your file to be sent to them as the majority are but some have a decision without needing it to be sent across.

There could also be a very long wait for the decision because backlogs are quite long in a lot of areas so you could be waiting several months, potentially longer.

If the review form is sent to the DM and decides it doesn’t need to be sent to the health assessment providers, does this mean no assessment will be done?
Are there any disabilities that doesn’t require any reviews again?
Thanks.

I got my award reviewed recently.....no assessment....just a call from DM ....who asked for confirmation of a couple of things...then I got my decision letter....award unchanged....4 years this time....last time was 2 years

ESABenefitsUK123

I just wanted to do a very quick update on my original post. The DWP received my AR1 form over 7 months ago, and I haven't heard from them since. (They did receive it OK.) From an older letter from them, I understand that my PIP award was extended until Jan 2024. I guess that means that I will expect some kind of update about my award from them soon. I am guessing that I will require an assessment, presumably over the phone...

Albus_Alumni

Hey there @ESABenefitsUK123 good to hear from you again!

I'm in the same boat, I sent mine back in February and just get occasional "We're still reviewing your forms" texts.
But they will still pay your PIP until they have finished their review. So you may not have any changes, in which case all that will change will be your new award date. It's also not certain if you will need another assessment or not. Sometimes they do ask, sometimes they don't. Sorry I can't give you a better answer.

Albus_Alumni

Oh that's excellent news @woodbine, I love a happy ending.

poppy123456

ESABenefitsUK123 said:

I guess that means that I will expect some kind of update about my award from them soon. I am guessing that I will require an assessment, presumably over the phone...

You may not hear anything from them to tell you that your award will be extended when you get closer to the end date of the award. It will just continue as normal until a decision is made on the review. Most assessments are by telephone, some are face to face or video. If you prefer telephone and you receive any other appointment you can ring to request the telephone one.

BrettW

I sent my review paperwork back in November 2022 and then after that I received a letter saying that I had a temporary extension until July 2024 then heard nothing for months.

Around July 2023 I then received a further letter from the assessment company to say they had been passed my details and would be in touch shortly if they needed any more information. In August I received another letter to say that an assessment had been arranged for 20th September which was cancelled on the day with no explanation as to why and a new review arranged for 11th October. Had the review and then last monday (23rd October 2023) received a text from DWP to say a decision had been made and I would receive a letter within 2 weeks. I contacted the PIP helpline on the same day and was informed my mobility award had been increased from standard to enhanced and that a letter explaining everything had been sent out.

Received said letter yesterday (28th October) which confirmed the increase in my award and also states that this award has been backdated to 16th November 2022 (date when they should have initially done my review) and is a pleasant surprise. It appears that the DWP now owe me some backdated pay which hopefully they will notify me of shortly. My normal payment is due 6th November so will have to wait and see if the backdated pay is included with that or not.

BrettW

woodbine said:

@BrettW the back-dated payment will go separately into your bank and probably sooner rather than later, the first indication OH got was a large payment unexpected last week followed by letter 2 days later.The difference between standard and enhanced is around £45 per week.

Thanks for that @woodbine. Did she get an award letter then a second letter explaining the back pay? Currently I've just received the initial award letter with an explantation on it from the DM saying they have backdated my award to 16 November 2022

BrettW

ok thanks

ESABenefitsUK123

I just wanted to do another quick update on my original post. The DWP received my AR1 form over 9 months ago now, and I just received a letter from them today about this. It says:

The review of your PIP award is not yet complete. To make sure you continue to get your payments we have extended your award.

Your PIP award end date has been extended up to 30 January 2025.

(It was Jan 2024. Before that, it was Spring 2023!)

That's pretty incredible - I'm guessing this is purely to do with a backlog of work at the DWP?

ESABenefitsUK123

Quick update. I got a phone call today from the DWP. They said could they ask some questions about my AR1 form. (This form was received by the DWP about a year ago.) The call lasted around 15 minutes. I was asked various health questions. She said that the purpose of the phone call was to avoid me having to have a full assessment. Are these "quick assessments" fairly normal? Thanks.

poppy123456

They are not normal, they are quite rare but do happen. If a decision can be made without the need for an assessment then this is what will happen and you will receive the decision letter in the post.

ESABenefitsUK123

I was able to avoid the full assessment, as I got the PIP award. I couldn't quite hear what the PIP case manager was saying, but I think she called the "mini assessment" PAY3. Something like that. (And that the full assessment was called PAY4 - from what I could hear.)