Been advised not to claim UC?

beckyboo14

Hello,

i am am a carer for my sister who was assessed for pip last year and was awarded enhanced for both.

im confused the award letter says she will be awarded from 5 April 2018 to 15 June 2020.

the letter states they will contact my sister  whilst she is receiving PIP after 15 June 2019 to see if her needs have changed.

i didn’t relieve until today that they seem to think my sister will improve. 

My question will will my sister have to reapply or will they send a AR1 form?

im reading different accounts of some having to reapply or getting a AR1 form.

any advice to explain would be appreciated. 

Ami2301

Hi @beckyboo14 welcome to the community! 

This is a standard routine procedure with all claims, your sister should receive a form at some point asking if her circumstances have changed. This will not be about if her condition/illness has improved or worsened but if her ability to carry out daily tasks and mobility has improved or worsened.

Hope this helps

beckyboo14

So is this the AR1 form or another PIP2 form? 

CockneyRebel

It should be an AR1 form but you should still complete it as if it were a PIP2. Send supporting evidence even if it is the same as before. Even a review can and often does trigger a new f2f

beckyboo14

Thank you, just getting so confused as some saying my sister would need to reapply for pip as she got only 2 years but in letter stating they would contact my sister after 1 year someone was just notified 14 weeks before to reapply not a review. 

my sister condition is not going to improve. Just because of her age they think she will improve. 

CockneyRebel

If a decision was made by a tribunal then normally they will need to reapply with a PIP2, 14 weeks before the end date

If the decision was made by a case manager the it is usually a review AR1 a year before the end date

beckyboo14

Thank you it was case manager. 

It’s so hard dreading my sister completely broke down last time. 

beckyboo14

Has anyone found they have had 2 years awards then they try and get you off it to meet targets?

my sister was breaking her heart and the assessor who thinks they are qualified wouldn’t let people talk at the assessment. 

beckyboo14

My sister get ESA support group contribution based. Tried to apply income related ESA but was told it would be a UC claim.

can anyone advise what should she do? Been saying not to apply for UC.

please know she gets full pip but lives with my parents who get pip. She claims no housing etc.

can anyone help?  I’m so confused. 

poppy123456

beckyboo14 said:

My sister get ESA support group contribution based. Tried to apply income related ESA but was told it would be a UC claim.

can anyone advise what should she do? Been saying not to apply for UC.

please know she gets full pip but lives with my parents who get pip. She claims no housing etc.

can anyone help?  I’m so confused. 

Is her claim all contributions based or part contributions based with an income related top up? Contributions based is £110.75 per week. Is this what she claims or is it more than that?

beckyboo14

Only contributions based ESA no income top up.

was told need to apply UC. 

Any my advice would appreciate. 

poppy123456

It depends which ESA she's claiming. If it's New style ESA then you can't claim the income related top up on this because it's not possible.

If she's claiming the old contributions based ESA then she'll need to request a supersession to be able to add the income related top up.

beckyboo14

Can you tell me what is the old and new ESA?

can you tell me will she moved to UC if it’s only contribution based support group?

poppy123456

New style ESA has replaced the old legacy contributions based ESA and is only payable as contributions based. An income related top up on New style isn't possible and to claim any extra then you'll need to claim UC. If you claim UC then the ESA is deducted £1 for £1 from UC.

The old contributions based was before UC started and claiming if you're claiming this then an income related top is possible BUT she will need to ask for a supersession on the ESA this is because all areas are now a full UC area and it's not possible to claim the income related top up any other way.

It really depends on when her ESA claim started. If she's unsure which one she's claiming the she needs to ring DWP to ask.

If it's the old contributions based then she'll need to get expert advice on requesting the supersession.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/benefits-introduction/problems-with-benefits-and-tax-credits/challenging-a-benefit-decision/challenging-a-dwp-benefit-decision-on-or-after-28-october-2013/changing-a-benefit-decision-by-revision-and-supersession/changing-a-dwp-benefit-decision-by-supersession/

beckyboo14

I’m sure it’s the new style ESA as she applied in May 18.

was assessed and placed in contribution ESA support group in October 18.

she didn’t tick both income/contribution based when she completed the form so they said she can’t get income related top up. Never got letter confirming this had to get MP to chase this.

my question will ESA for contribution based people be moved to UC.

Not keen as I know less money for my sister and totally unfair system. 

beckyboo14

Thank you Poppy for replying and answering my questions. 

poppy123456

It's most likely New style, which means it's definitely not possible to claim any income related top on this. New style ESA isn't part of UC and never will be. However, if she needs to claim the housing element of UC in the future than she'll need to claim UC.

People think that UC LCWRA is less money than ESA support group. It's actually more money per month if you're over 25. It's only less money if you're under 25 and were claiming SDP in the past.

A benefit calculator will prove i'm correct here. People think it's less money because ESA is paid fortnightly and UC is paid monthly. When working out both benefits as a monthly figure then UC LCWRA (ESA support group equivalent)  pays more.

beckyboo14

Can I ask what are people experiencing with the AR1 form?

hearing mixed results. My sister was just assessed in June last year and I don’t think it’s fair to put her through it again.

They humiliated her made her cry and didn’t bother. The way they treat people is awful. 

Can an anyone please tell me there experiences. 

poppy123456

Unfortunately, everyone has to go through PIP reviews. The AR1 form is a shortened version of the PIP2 form. However, don't be fooled by this, you need to treat is as a new claim and put as much information as possible about how her conditions affect her. Use extra paper if needed and don't just put "no change"

That's how i filled in my daughters AR1 form which was returned at the beginning of December. I managed to achieve a paper based assessment for her this time. I sent in extra evidence with the form to support her claim. I'm still waiting for a decision for my daughter but report recommendations say Enhanced for both parts, same as she has now.

Send in evidence to support her claim because they rarely contact anyone for this. She should expect another face to face assessment as most people have them, even for reviews.