Hi, my name is samicfa!

samicfa

Dear S=,

As a private hire taxi driver, I've been experiencing right hand shoulder pain after driving more then 4-5 hours per day, which has impacted my earnings and I applied for Universal Credit last year. Additionally, my wife's sleep is disrupted by my loud snoring during the sleep in night. 

My question is, Can I apply for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and would like to know the procedure? 

However, I'm concerned about potential implications for my taxi license. Can Transport for London (TfL) ban my private hire license if I'm on PIP or tell them about it? 

Thank you for your guidance.

Sami

poppy123456

PIP is not awarded based on the condition itself or a diagnosis. It depends on how those conditions affect you against the PIP descriptors, which include activities such as washing, dressing, using the toilet, preparing and cooking food, budgeting, taking nutrition, engaging with others etc etc. You need to score at least 8 points in either daily living and/or mobility for a standard award and at least 12 points for Enhanced. 

You certainly won't score any points because your wife is kept awake by you snoring. You must also have had the difficulties for at least 3 months and expect it to last at least a further 9 months. 

You can see the descriptors here. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Global/Migrated_Documents/adviceguide/pip-9-table-of-activities-descriptors-and-points.pdf

There's also a very good guide here pip-assessment-guide-part-2-the-assessment-criteria I'd advise you to have a read of this before you apply. This will hopefully give you a little more understanding to see if you would qualify. 

If you do decide to start a claim, details are here. https://www.gov.uk/pip/how-to-claim

PIP do not contact anyone if there's any award. It won't affect your license. 

Jimm_Alumni

Hi @samicfa, welcome to our community

As Poppy mentions, PIP is not awarded based on diagnosis or the condition itself, but on how the condition affects your day to day living.

And Poppy also correctly mentions that it is how you yourself are affected, so how it affects your wife wouldn't be included. Though, if you do not get good sleep due to the snoring, and that affects your ability to do things during the day, then that could count towards PIP. This can happen if you have sleep apnea.

PIP does not contact anyone if you receive it. They also cannot ban you just because you receive PIP. That would likely be a form of discrimination. They should, I believe, only question your ability to perform your job if any of your conditions do actually cause a potential danger. This is usually handled by the DVLA under their medical assessing criteria which you can look up here: Medical conditions, disabilities and driving

samicfa

Thank you so much for both of you for the above info.