Just applied for PIP,Medical condition cerebral palsy on one side

tristan100

On my health condition do you think I will be successful with my claim?

chiarieds

Hi @tristan100 - & welcome to the community.

As far as PIP goes, it's not about any diagnosis, but rather how your disability affects certain activities of daily living &/mobility. Have a look at the activities/descriptors that are looked at with PIP:  https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/asset-library/personal-independence-payment-descriptors-and-scores-april-2023.pdf
I don't know if you've filled in the claim form, but what you should do is try & give a couple of recent, detailed examples as to the difficulty you face for each applicable descriptor, i.e. when did it happen, where, what happened, did anyone see this, & were there any consequences to attempting/doing an activity?
Say if you can do each applicable activity 'reliably,' i.e. safely, to an acceptable standard, repeat as often as one would reasonably expect, or if it takes you much longer than someone without a disability. See this mentioned at the end of the link above.

Hannah_Alumni

@tristan100

Welcome to the community! As Chiarieds has said, PIP is not about diagnosis. I am keeping everything crossed for the outcome of your claim! Please keep us updated  

I also wanted to tag @Richard_Scope.Richard is our Cerebral Palsy Network Lead. The CP Network is a group of people with lived experience of CP. The network supports the cerebral palsy community in England and Wales. He'll be able to tell you more if you'd like to join and speak to more people

tristan100

Thankyou guys for the information 
how long roughly is before I get asked to attend a assessment?

poppy123456

tristan100 said:

Thankyou guys for the information 
how long roughly is before I get asked to attend a assessment?

There's no timescales. Some wait a few weeks and others a few months, possibly longer.

tristan100

Attended assessment this morning,just the wait now on decision,she said about 8 weeks

Albus_Scope

Heya @tristan100, how're you feeling after the assessment?  Make sure you take some time to decompress and do something fun.  

tristan100

Anxious really,should I said this and that etc

Albus_Scope

That's totally understandable. Try not to panic too much, I'd say the worst part is done, now it's just waiting.  So try and find something to take your mind off things.

tristan100

What can happen next if mines not a success?

Albus_Scope

Up next if unsuccessful or you think they scored you too low would be a mandatory reconsideration (MR) which doesn't really have a time frame, they only ask you ask for one within a month of receiving your assessment result. 

Then if unsuccessful there, you can go to a tribunal.  Which sounds a lot worse than it is.  I found the tribunal to be very thoughtful and helpful.  There's currently a 68% success rate there, so it's well worth doing if needed.

But let's not look that far ahead just yet.  The assessment is done, so now we just wait.  Please keep us in the loop, we're all here to offer help and support if and when you need it.  

tristan100

Got my letter back today from DWP
They scored me 0 on both,i cannot believe this
What is my next step?

Albus_Scope

Oh no, I'm so sorry to hear that @tristan100, many people aren't successful on their first attempt, which is utterly rubbish.  

The next step would be to ask for a copy of your report and have a read through and see where the issues are. Only then apply for a MR (mandatory reconsideration) in writing.   We're all here to support you where we can.

tristan100

Can I ring them for a copy of my report?

Albus_Scope

You can indeed.  You can ask for a copy of your report a week after your assessment.

There's lots of information about MRs etc on our website here.   But the PIP number if you need it is 0800 121 4433.  We've got lots of people who can help advise on how best to fill in the forms as well, so I'm sure the regulars will appear if you need help with that bit.   


EDIT - Please listen to Poppy as she has more up to date advice.

poppy123456

I disagree with @Albus_Scope about requesting the report for the MR. This isn’t needed because all it causes is a distraction to what you should do at this stage. 

You need to put the MR request in writing stating where and why you think you should have scored those points. Please do not ring to request it.

If you didn’t give a couple of real world examples of exactly what happened the last time you attempted each descriptor that applies to you then you should do that now. Adding detailed information such as where you were, what exactly happened, did anyone see it and what the consequences were.

You have 1 month from the date of the decision to request this. If you’re outside of that timeframe then you’ll need to give a reason why you’re late. You have 13 months in total. 

There’s also a form here in this link you can download and print off. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/appeals/mandatory-reconsideration-pip/

tristan100

I haven’t got a printer,am I able to get the request form from the post office?

poppy123456

You can just write a letter. The post office will not have access to that form. 

tristan100

Thankyou everybody 

tristan100

I’ve just phoned them and gone through all the questions again,so now it’s just a waiting game

tristan100

What happens if it comes back 0 a second time?