Lose yoPIP = Lose your DREs

Camellia

Hi

Just wondering if anyone has experience of this

I have recently lost my PIP and am appealing it with the expectation of a positive outcome.

Given my sudden drop in income of £444 per month - not including other things that the PIP helps me be eligible for - I asked my local council for a recalculation of my affordability assessment for my package of support .

Two issues arising

The council say that they will not recognise any Disability Related Expenses for the purposes of the aforementioned affordability assessment because I am no longer on PIP - is this lawful??

They have also cut my MIG Minimum Income Guarantee from £180ish to £115 - why might this have occurred?

I lost my PIP in the middle of migrating from ESA to UC and wonder if that may have anything to do with it.

Thanks in advance if any one has any insights or experience of this.

Camellia

Strawberry1

Wishing you so much luck in winning your case @Camellia .

We are all rooting for you and wishing you the outcome you deserve .

They have stopped mine too .

Im not sure i have the strength to fight my case though .

I wish you all the luck in the world

Andi66

If you are on Facebook there is a group called Fightback which helps people with pip claims

Strawberry1

That info is interesting to know @Andi66 .

chiarieds

Hi @Camellia - I'm so sorry for the circumstances you're going through. I don't know, but wonder if your local council are equating proof of having an award of PIP as in reflecting you actually have a disability, which is so wrong on many counts. Can you engage with your GP about your needs?

Sadly I don't know much about DREs & would challenge their decision. You may have lost your PIP award but you are challenging that decision; losing a PIP award does not mean your needs have lessened. Let them know, if they think it's pertinent, that you are appealing your PIP decision.

One thing I do know is that Fightback for Justice has caused some of our members real monetary concerns, so personally I woudn't use them. There's info freely available on the internet about PIP, including here.

When I searched for DREs, Carer's Advice came up; perhaps they can help: https://www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice/financial-support/benefits-if-you-are-disabled-ill-or-injured/disability-related-expenses/

I could see no mention of PIP being a criteria for being awarded this.

MW123

@Camellia

If I were in your position, I would  challenge the council using the Care and Support Statutory Guidance. It looks like your council are reading the rules in a way that doesn’t match what the guidance actually says.

Councils are supposed to take disability related costs into account when they work out what you can afford to pay towards care. The guidance even gives examples like special diets, extra laundry, higher heating bills, transport, equipment and other regular costs that come directly from living with a disability.

The important bit is this, the guidance doesn’t say you have to be on PIP, DLA or Attendance Allowance to qualify. Councils often use those benefits as quick proof that someone has extra costs, but the rules themselves say they should look at the actual expenses you can show, things like receipts, GP letters or OT reports.

So I’d gather your evidence together, then email the council and point them to Annex C, paragraphs 39 to 41 of the Care and Support Statutory Guidance. That gives you a strong basis to challenge them and ask why they’re not following the rules.

See link to guidance. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/care-act-statutory-guidance/care-and-support-statutory-guidance

Camellia

Hi @MW123

Thanks so much for insights - I suspected it was unlawful so will be looking into the sections of the guidance you have given here.

I will be definitely challenging the council…as well as challenging the PIP people

Camellia

Hi @chiarieds

Thank you so much for your supportive and empathetic response.

Yes it is a struggle, as a result of the PIP loss and the Council’s ‘interpretation’ of the law regarding DREs and the MIG - after paying my House Service Charge and travel to my studio for mental health purposes, I have no money left over for food or utilities or anything else after I have paid for my PA and other self funded DREs.

Am getting a referral for a food bank and have been told the food bank may give vouchers for energy poverty. Have also put in a request for my gas to be cut off. So am doing everything to get everything as in hand as is possible.
I am in ‘tea bag mode’ - best in metaphorical boiling water which ‘forces’ me to fight back.

And thanks for your input on F4J - have had amazing input from them in the past when I turned up in person at their office, but the remote input I have received through their form filling service and their assessment buddy service this last time has been no where as strong (cost me £150 in total and didn’t get the outcome I was hoping for). Suspect there is a pool of people taking on the tasks and it is a matter of luck who you get.

Camellia

Hi @Strawberry1

I hope you can find the strength to fight it. You could well succeed.
The Disability Law Service have a phone advice line open for a couple of hours a couple of times a week that I have found to be extremely helpful - free advice - but you need to ring up bang on 2 when the lines open to be in with a chance of speaking to someone