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Advice

donnap79

Ive read today that due to virus that no face to face consultations will go a head for at least 3 mths for PIP does anyone know how this will work now regarding them making a decision cause I’m in the process of about to reapply well my husband is for our son who got turned middle of last yr but this is a new claim with a lot more medical evidence

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Comments

poppy123456

Hi,

More information here https://www.gov.uk/government/news/face-to-face-health-assessments-for-benefits-suspended-amid-coronavirus-outbreak

I can only guess that for new claims there will either be huge backlogs while face to face assessments are suspended or it could be a telephone consultation or paper based decision.

wilko

Hello, I expect the assessments will be in depth paper based with telephone questioning for additional information.

Galarboy

poppy123456 said:

Hi,

More information here https://www.gov.uk/government/news/face-to-face-health-assessments-for-benefits-suspended-amid-coronavirus-outbreak

I can only guess that for new claims there will either be huge backlogs while face to face assessments are suspended or it could be a telephone consultation or paper based decision.

wilko said:

Hello, I expect the assessments will be in depth paper based with telephone questioning for additional information.

If that’s the case why have the DWP persisted with the nonsense that the vast majority of people need a f2f assessment? No, I reckon that existing claimants just won’t be assessed at least for this year and they’ll be huge backlogs for new claimants...

donnap79

Thanks ppl for the advice

poppy123456

Galarboy said:

If that’s the case why have the DWP persisted with the nonsense that the vast majority of people need a f2f assessment? No, I reckon that existing claimants just won’t be assessed at least for this year and they’ll be huge backlogs for new claimants...

I don't make the rules. I'm just here to advise people...

skullcap

Paper based assessments can only be carried out in any great depth if the information contained on the claim form is conclusive and that there is evidence submitted proving the descriptors claimed. By virtue of the virus I would imagine that these 'help' agencies will be suffering with staff losses thus making waiting times that much longer. It will be even worse if they are forced into lock down by the government.The knock on effect could well be that claimants just complete the forms themselves with a hope and a prayer - not good for the chance of a paper based assessment.

As for a telephone interrogation I know many people who would be tongue tied in those circumstances

cristobal

"The knock on effect could well be that claimants just complete the forms themselves with a hope and a prayer - not good for the chance of a paper based assessment."

@skullcap - another of Yadnad and Twonker's favourites - claimants can't fill in the forms themselves.

There must be some positive angle to this isn't there??

donnap79

I have a feeling this is going to make the time scale longer for them to process especially as some of the staff may even be off sick etc , another random question if a person PIP is due to end or be reviewed toward September time how will they deal with it now as they usually start the process early on in the mths prior to check if you want to reapply etc does anyone have any information please

poppy123456

donnap79 said:

I have a feeling this is going to make the time scale longer for them to process especially as some of the staff may even be off sick etc , another random question if a person PIP is due to end or be reviewed toward September time how will they deal with it now as they usually start the process early on in the mths prior to check if you want to reapply etc does anyone have any information please

The only information that's been given is here. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/face-to-face-health-assessments-for-benefits-suspended-amid-coronavirus-outbreak

skullcap

Sorry but it's a well known fact. The majority of benefit claimants can't fill out the claim forms correctly. I don't see why you are so surprised.

cristobal

Yadnad/ @Skullcap etc...

I don't agree that the majority of claimants can't fill a form out.

However, rather than repeating the doom and gloom (of which there is enough of at the moment) do you have a positive solution?

How do they help themselves?

Would it be helpful to do a little bit at a time, maybe one activity per day?

Or photocopy the form and do a draft version first, or do it on a separate page on a computer where they can use the spellcheck and grammar check?

If they have difficulty with literacy would specialist software work - i.e. dictating it and printing it out?

What do you advise?

skullcap

Username_removed said:

skullcap said:

Sorry but it's a well known fact. The majority of benefit claimants can't fill out the claim forms correctly. I don't see why you are so surprised.

Well know by whom? Let’s do some maths rather than offering vague unsupported assertions.

DWP stats as of now - https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/873332/pip-statistics-to-january-2020.pdf - show 57% of new claims for PIP result in an award whilst 78% of DLA to PIP conversions result in an award.

Are the majority of those claims supported by advice agencies? It would be physically impossible. 4.8m claims to PIP since 2013. That’s 686,000 pa. Let’s say we do 60%. That would be 411,000 pa. Citizens Advice have 21,000 volunteers. Putting aside that nowadays most don’t do welfare rights (debt being the bigger issue) then that would be 20 claim packs per year or one a fortnight. Most advisers don’t do anywhere near that number. Assume that 50% of those volunteers do form filling it’s still less than 1 a week.

In reality we probably do 10% of those claims which are submitted. Cut backs in advice over the last decade make little difference to that in as much as we only ever deal or dealt with the tip of the iceberg.

Whichever way you dress it up the majority of claim packs are completed by claimants themselves and the overwhelming majority are successful.

Do you have a better source of data? I’d appreciate seeing some links to it.

None other than my own personal situation together with the number of claimants on these websites that are looking for advice agencies.
When I first claimed DLA and the following renewal, these were completed by the County Council Welfare Officers simply because I had involvement with Social Services, I did absolutely nothing with those two DLA forms apart from sign them. Then when I was moved over to PIP and no longer involved with Social Services I had to fill out the PIP on my own with no advice or help.
I had a continuous DLA awards for 17 years for High Mobility and High Care.

On transfer to PIP, and yes I know that they are two different benefits, I was offered just Standard Care. It took me months of arguing with the DWP and sending additional evidence in on a weekly basis after what they were telling me they needed. The next 'offer' was Enhanced Care. After putting in for an appeal some months later they upped the award to Enhanced Care and Mobility.
Obviously I am now waiting for the review form.

It does appear that had I had the same professional help with the PIP claim as I had with the two DLA ones then all of that messing about and continually looking for more evidence would probably not have happened.

What I would also say is that the completion of Welfare application forms and the knowledge surrounding such claims is poorly lacking - it is not my subject.

skullcap

Username_removed said:

The plural of anecdote is not evidence.

I agree
An anecdote is a type of story that may or may not be true. Evidence is a hard fact confirming that what is said is true.