PIP review - mostly great news & some questions

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66Mustang

Hello.

I have just had my PIP renewal decision. 16 points for daily life and 12 points for mobility.

I was hoping for, and thought I deserved, the mobility. In my view I only deserved to be awarded standard daily living. However, they are the experts, I am not complaining, and I can see why I scored more points.

I have been awarded for 2 years, 9 months. This means in around 2 years I will be starting the process all over again. Several of my conditions are lifelong and are unlikely to change.

In honesty I would have rather been awarded lower daily living but for a longer time period. Alas, I know this is not possible now and the award amount is set in stone. However… I believe I can have the length of award looked at.

I have a few questions…

- is it true you can ask for the length of the award to be re-considered, without affecting the award itself?

- if yes, is there a possibility they could shorten the length of the award, as well as lengthen it?

- if yes, based on your knowledge & experience, would you ask for the award length to be looked at or would you be happy with 2 years 9 months and worry about renewing again when that time comes?

The process has caused me some anguish, but looking back, I believe I was unnecessarily stressed and would not be as stressed next time. It was a relatively smooth process.

Thank you.

poppy123456

Although you didn't think you were entitled to Enhanced daily living, it's not unusual to be awarded more points than you expected. It can happen if you don't fully understand the descriptors and what they mean.

Yes, you can request the MR based on the award length itself. You will need to make sure you make it clear that you're happy with the award itself and just explain why you think you should have been awarded for a longer time. Make sure you go into full details of why your conditions are very unlikely to change too.  Even if they do look at the whole award again, the most likely outcome of the MR decision will be it won't change.

Thinking back to my daughters first review in 2019 when i asked for a longer award length, they awarded for just 2 years again. I spoke to a decision maker who told me that it's totally normal for someone so young to be awarded for a shorter time because there's more chance of changes happening. Of course this was complete and utter rubbish. ASD and a learning disability doesn't improve with age and she already had the highest award at the time. My only problem was i just didn't have the energy to challenge it so left it as it was. Her next review she was awarded for 7 years so much better.