Affects of PIP claim on ESA?

Anon2023

Hi All, 

So ill start with a back story incase it's relevant to anything. 


So my partner has been suffering for Anxiety/Depression for years, I had to leave work to support her and our little ones on the basis she attended counciling.

It was concluded in her initial CBT session that my partner was somebody who wouldn't necessarily return to her normal ways, but they could potentially help her cope better with it. I believe this was due to the huge amount of time she was silently suffering with it (years) and the reasonings as to how it was triggered.

As the years went by, and more sessions where offered by different groups through the job center, my partner unfortunetely has never improved. 

This has resulted in us being on a

joint claim for ESA income related, Child Benefit, Child Tax Credit and I claim Carers Allowance for her mother which also removes the Benefit Cap. 

So throughout the years we have actually been told that we are eligible to apply for PIP, but as we all know, the PIP assessments can be horrendous and the pass rate is extremely low unless the decision is taken to a tribunal so my partner has always put it off and missed out and a huge amount of additional money over the years. 

With the ever increasing costs my partner has actually considered now applying but my partner and I would just like to double check that a rejected PIP claim cannot affect any other benefits? I feel she has a reasonable chance as she has years of proof that tablets, counciling and just time in general has had no positive impact, if anything she has got worse.

Apologies for the long post, I just wanted to make sure whoever reads has a good idea of the circumstances. 

JBS2022

Being in the Support Group or Work Related Group for ESA does not automatically entitle someone to PIP, the criteria are completely different, PIP will not negatively impact your other benefits whether awarded or not. I would advise you to check the PIP descriptors online to see if there is a likelyhood of an award before applying. A minimum of 8 points for either Daily Living or Mobility is required for an award. 

poppy123456

No, it won't negatively affect her ESA claim.

Anon2023 said:

So throughout the years we have actually been told that we are eligible to apply for PIP, but as we all know, the PIP assessments can be horrendous and the pass rate is extremely low unless the decision is taken to a tribunal so my partner has always put it off and missed out and a huge amount of additional money over the years. 

Anyone can apply for PIP but whether there's any entitlement will depend on how exactly her health conditions affect her against the PIP descriptors. As she's never claimed you haven't missed out on any money. No one is automatically entitled to PIP unless you're claiming under special rules because of end of life.

When filling out the PIP forms make sure you include a couple of real world incidents of exactly what happened the last time she attempted each descriptor that applies to her. Adding detailed information such as where she was, what exactly happened, did anyone see it and what the consequences were. You should aim for at least half an A4 side of paper per descriptor that applies to her.

Anon2023

JBS2022 said:

Being in the Support Group or Work Related Group for ESA does not automatically entitle someone to PIP, the criteria are completely different, PIP will not negatively impact your other benefits whether awarded or not. I would advise you to check the PIP descriptors online to see if there is a likelyhood of an award before applying. A minimum of 8 points for either Daily Living or Mobility is required for an award. 

Thank you very much for your reply! Sorry I probably didn't word it too well but a couple of staff from the Job Center said she may be eligible for PIP so while I know she wasn't "entitled" as such, I just assumed she had a chance given they knew her circumstances and still advised to apply. I will certainly check the descriptors to see realistically how/if she is affected by either the Daily Living or Mobility. 

Anon2023

poppy123456 said:

No, it won't negatively affect her ESA claim.

Anon2023 said:

So throughout the years we have actually been told that we are eligible to apply for PIP, but as we all know, the PIP assessments can be horrendous and the pass rate is extremely low unless the decision is taken to a tribunal so my partner has always put it off and missed out and a huge amount of additional money over the years. 

Anyone can apply for PIP but whether there's any entitlement will depend on how exactly her health conditions affect her against the PIP descriptors. As she's never claimed you haven't missed out on any money. No one is automatically entitled to PIP unless you're claiming under special rules because of end of life.

When filling out the PIP forms make sure you include a couple of real world incidents of exactly what happened the last time she attempted each descriptor that applies to her. Adding detailed information such as where she was, what exactly happened, did anyone see it and what the consequences were. You should aim for at least half an A4 side of paper per descriptor that applies to her.

Thank you very much for your response, it has some great advice. And apologies, by missing out on money I just meant that theoretically if she did meet the criteria and wasn't too anxious to have applied she would have been better off years ago had she applied and was accepted. 

I'll certainly look into each section and then decide if she meets the criteria for DL or Mobility, if she does I will get as much information as possible. 

Many Thanks! 

poppy123456

One thing that will definitely help before you start a claim is to try to have some understanding of the descriptors and what they mean. You can have a read of this, it's long but worth reading. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-assessment-guide-for-assessment-providers/pip-assessment-guide-part-2-the-assessment-criteria

calcotti

Anon2023 said:?….a couple of staff from the Job Center said she may be eligible for PIP so while I know she wasn't "entitled" as such, I just assumed she had a chance given they knew her circumstances and still advised to apply.  

I wouldn’t place any reliance on the ‘advice’ from JobCentre staff because they are often not very well informed about such matters. Having said that it is definitely worth investigating and then applying if it may be applicable.