Pip

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dannistar

Hello

My brother receives pip & it’s due to end in October so he has a new claims form, both times he claimed pip before he was turned down but won both times. He has Schizoid personality disorder, social anxiety, depression, dyslexia and lumbarization of the S1 disc, he also wears hearing aids as he can’t hear and even with the aids you need to be next to him to hear you, he also has a speech problem because of his hearing, He can’t go on public transport as he is left extremely distressed if he even thinks about it. He takes medication for his conditions.
Any tips to help strengthen his case for pip without the fight he has the first 2 times, I’m going to try help him this time as my Dad helped him first 2 times but he’s in his 70’s and it’s a lot to do espcially with his own health needs even tho he’s more than happy to help any of us kids(adults).
Please be kind with any help as I get anxious with negative conflicts. But I know you all mostly great people :) Thank you

chiarieds

Hi @dannistar - this website may help: https://www.mentalhealthandmoneyadvice.org/en/welfare-benefits/pip-mental-health-guide/help-with-your-pip-claim/how-to-fill-in-the-pip-form/

Then, as far as his hearing problems go, he should 'score' for 'washing & bathing' as he'll have to remove his hearing aids & consequently might not hear a smoke alarm (so would need supervision), & for 'preparing food,' as he might not hear a timer go off, so might burn food. Remember it's about the help he needs, even if he doesn't get that help.

As ever, with all of the PIP descriptors you should try & give a couple of examples as to the difficulty faced recently (what exactly happened, when, did anyone see this, & were there any consequences with attempting/doing the activity?), or what has gone wrong perhaps with the activities such as the above previously.

He would also be at risk with the mobility component. With the 'following a journey' activity, not just because of his mental health issues, but because he couldn't reliably use public transport as he'd need someone with him due to his hearing loss if something happened & he needed to hear how he might need to change bus, get on an alternative train, etc. He'd also be unsafe navigating any traffic, as he wouldn't be able to hear vehicles approaching.

Not all of the above may apply, just trying to give some instances where it might not be obviously thought to apply beyond difficulty with the 'communicating' activity which should at least mean an award of 2 points, tho it might be more.

In general, give as much detail as possible. There's not much space with a review form so add extra pages ensuring you say which question it's continuing from, & putting his name & National Insurance number at the top of each page; it's fine to type it all out.

If you've got this far, then this is really worth reading, especially the section about 'reliability.' If he can't do something safely, causes him pain, etc. then he shouldn't be considered to be able to do that activity at that level. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-assessment-guide-for-assessment-providers/pip-assessment-guide-part-2-the-assessment-criteria

Keep everything relevant to the PIP descriptors: https://assets.ctfassets.net/vms0u05139aw/pip_descriptors.pdf/93820be60dcc6420191292ed56e2c95f/pip_descriptors.pdf

Please come back with any questions