living on own

1984cathy

i have a telephone consultation soon as i have recently filled in a PIP application I am really worried about the first question on prepqring food as mt conditions have become really bad.I am type 1 diabetic and this has really impacted on my life I have continual pain in all my body which impacts on me,I called the DWP and said i mainly eat food from food from tins  as i find it difficult to prepare from fresh i look for tis with ring pull tops and using conventional can openers is out .:In the pip forms it makes no mention of living on my own and all the question in the form seem to be against me,I was told over the phone that i would get 4 points for using tinned food i dont know how they can come to this conclusion i just need to know what answer should i give the assessor to give my max points award   pls help

poppy123456

Hi,

You won't score any points for eating food from a tin because that's not part of the descriptors. Whether you'll score any points here will depend on how your conditions affect you and why you are unable to prepare and cook a simple meal for yourself.

Will an aid help, maybe a perching stool ? so you can sit down while you prepare that meal? Maybe assistance is needed, even if you don't receive it. 4 points is given if they think assistance/supervision is needed.

Preparing and cooking a meal is just 1 descriptor, there's a further 9 to consider. It does help to understand the criteria and what the descriptors mean because it may not be possible to score as many points as you think, likewise, it may be possible to score points you didn't think you would score points for.

When filling out the form did you explain why you can't do that acitivity and your reasons why? You should have done this for all the descriptors, not just the preparing and cook food.

No one can tell you how to answer the questions because no one knows how your conditions affect you.

During the assessment you will need to verify what you wrote in the form, as well as any other additional information they need.

1984cathy

i have told them that i have continual constant pain in my body i have pins and needles in both hand and over the last 6 to 8 months my type 1 diabetes has  become worse.I suffer from arthritus ,cervical spine problems and the pain is really bad.Surely if these conditions are getting worse over time then this should be reflected.Sorry but health conditions get worse over time,unless they have invented a miracle tablet , dont think so? 

1984cathy

i have claimed PIP for 10 years 

Wini1960

1984cathy Hi is there anyway you can get someone to fill the form in for you. My CABA support officer filled mine out for me and a nurse printed off my paper work as I couldn't do it as my depression was so bad. All the best?

1984cathy

what is the best way to be awarded high points for preparing food has anyone any good ideas on this i live on my own 

Chloe_Scope

Hi @1984cathy, here is some information about how PIP assess eating and drinking. Hope this helps.  

janer1967

Hi and welcome, Sorry but it isnt about how to score the most points it is about how your condition affects your ability to carry out the daily activities.

As advised you need to explain why you cant do a task do you need to use an aid, what happens when you try to do it eg you cant cut veg due to the pain in your hands and this puts you in danger of cutting yourself

Give a couple of real examples of what happened when you last tried to do the task. Also mention as you are unable to prepare a balanced diet this has an affect on your diabetes control

As advised it may be better to get some help filling in the forms or at least having a good read of the descriptors as you could possibly score points in other areas too

Hope it all goes well for you

poppy123456

1984cathy said:

i have claimed PIP for 10 years 

I think you mean you have claimed DLA for 10 years and not PIP. PIP was only introduced since April 2013.

Please remember that PIP and DLA are totally different benefits, with different criteria.

Have a read of this, it may help to have more understanding. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-assessment-guide-for-assessment-providers/pip-assessment-guide-part-2-the-assessment-criteria

1984cathy

i mean i have changed to PIP from DLA i was on top award as my doctor wrote to the DWP and expressed his medical opinion,when i had my PIP assessment they pulled the rug from under my feet and awarded me middle,The female who carried out my assessment was a mental health nurse how on earth can she be an assessor i wrote to DWP and they said she carried out the assessment correctly this i dispute.I took the report to a physio  who said she had no idea what she was talking about as well as other items it just fell on deaf ears.I have recently been to a tribunal about my uncontrouble bowel movement and he told me to get a commode,How can i get to the commode when it just happens without warning,these tribunal people are really a waste of space of time thinking such thing and are paid lots of buck ,also they say they dont work for the DWP but they get paid from the DWP if anyone goes to a tribunal and the judge says that you need to use my reply ,theyquicky try and steer away from that question 

poppy123456

There's no middle rate of PIP, it's Standard and Enhanced. There was middle rate for DLA.

The HCP doesn't have to have any knowledge of any conditions because PIP isn't about a diagnosis, it's how those conditions affect your ability to carry out daily activity based on the PIP descriptors.

The Tribunal is most definitely not part of DWP and i'm unsure why you think that. There's also Judges that are not paid for what they do, I'm no expert with Tribunals but i know a member that posts here often who gives amazing advice and he's been reprenting people at Tribunals for about 30 years. I'm sure he'll be able to give you the correct information regarding Tribunals.

@mikehughescq Could you help here please. Much appreciated and thanks in advance, as always

1984cathy

dont kid yourself they dont do it for free what about the other panel members like a doctor and a so called proffesional health reps,sorry you are wrong my nephew is employed at the DWP for over 25 years

poppy123456

The Tribunal most definitely isn't part of DWP, sorry.

laurapeach

Tribunal's aren't part of the DWP, they are part of Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunal's Service. The panel's normally comprise of a doctor and a disability specialist. 

In regards to your question, you would need to explain how you eat if you are unable to cook and prepare food for yourself. As an example I cannot cook anything from scratch so my boyfriend does it for me, and if he is not here I can make a sandwich or have a bowl of cereal. If you were unable to cook a meal for yourself what would you then eat? That is the sort of the stuff they are looking for, they don't look at your diagnosis only how it affects your ability to do the things they are asking about. 

It is also about what you need even if you don't already have it. So if you could cook a meal with the assistance of someone else then that is why you would score 4 points on that descriptor. If you can't cook a meal even with assistance then you need to explain why you can't do that.

janer1967

DWP are only part of tribunal if they send someone to represent them which they dont do very often 
They are not part of the panel or the decision they are only there to put forward their case for not giving the award 

The panel are independent and no part of the DWP 

mikehughescq

1984cathy said:

dont kid yourself they dont do it for free what about the other panel members like a doctor and a so called proffesional health reps,sorry you are wrong my nephew is employed at the DWP for over 25 years

Gosh. So many misconceptions on here it’s hard to know quite where to begin.

1 - I would guess we’re talking diabetic neuropathy combined with arthritis so I would guess there’s an issue with hand pain and limited movement? However, unless you explicitly say so, it’s not going to be clear to a HCP why that might inhibit peeling, chopping and slicing if you retain enough dexterity and grip to open a can. 

I’m not sure why the focus on prepping food and 8 points. That suggests you’re looking for a shortcut to enhanced rate having identified only 2 to 4 points elsewhere. In fact I would expect you to score points from prepping food, bathing, toileting, dressing at minimum but that would likely leave you with standard rate. 

2 - living on your own is irrelevant and the PIP questions are most certainly not against you. You’re being asked whether you can do things reliably. 

3 - the answer you give to a HCP is the truth. No more and no less. Your aim sh;luv not be the highest points but the correct points. In many cases the correct points are not the highest. The onus us on you to make the case. 

4 - health conditions may well get worse over time but the only thing PIP look at is what you were like on your date of claim. Getting worse since then will not help your claim. The implication of your suggestion about worsening is that your DLA award rates should at least be equalled/replicated by PIP. That’s simply incorrect. Entirely new benefit with different rules. Some people with unchanging conditions may be worse off on PIP and some may be better off. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. In some cases it  is definitely fixing some issues with DLA.

5 - it’s not difficult to pull apart a HCP report but that in itself is rarely enough to get PIP. Look at the strength of your own evidence rather than for weakness in theirs. It doesn’t matter how weak the HCP report is if your evidence is also weak. Nice as it was if your physio to pull apart the views of a mental health nurse the HCP assessment is about functtinal ability. It requires no expertise in your condition at all. 

6 - you are correct in saying that tribunal judges are paid as are other tribunal members but only some judges are salaried. Most are fee paid like the medical professionals and disability qualified member i.e. they don’t get paid unless they get a days work. Many get a day or less per month and many go months on end without getting any so that £500 session fee doesn’t go too far! During lockdown many have taken 2nd Jon’s to pay their bills and some are on UC. Worth remembering that the £500 is for the hearings but they don’t get paid for preparation which can often take a day and they only get paid half that for statements which are again done in their own time. 

Don’t suppose your nephew told you any of that?!

Yes the salaried judges are on £112k pa but that’s for a 60 hour week; plenty of weekend work and more. 

It used time be the case that tribunals were indeed funded by DWP at the very top end but DWP have never had any say in the running of appeals. However, since HMXYS was created the funding from DWP doesn’t really exist any more. 

cupcake88

Hi there I’m not good at factual advice as I don’t know much bout this subject I’m very new to pip I have only just had my assessment and waiting for a answer  but I can speak on my experience. For example I can’t cook a meal because im scared to turn on oven , I don’t like ready meals because I don’t know what has been put in it my partner prepares me a salad or a sandwich before he goes to work and I usually drink Cola and snack . 

My assessor asked me why I didn’t like the oven I explained she asked why I didn’t like helping in the kitchen I explained I drop things a lot since being on my medication and I’m scared Of knives so I avoid the kitchen I explained how I like the same fork and spoon she asked what the reason was and it’s because it’s my fave spoon I don’t like change . She asked for a lot of reasons behind things . 

When you say tinned food do you mean like soup ? Because then you will be asked how you heat it up ect ? 

You have got some great more practical advice from above . I don’t think my advice is much useful im just speaking from what I experienced . 

cupcake88

Also and please correct me if I’m wrong any one but you can’t say what sort of points you will get because what we may give our selves might not be right if I’m making sense . They answer the same questions in different ways So you can never really work out want points you can get . I thought The highest for preparing food was 4 not 8 . 

I think it would be impossible to answer questions in order to get the score you want because you never know what’s going to happen I mean I was really nervous and not well when I have my phone assessment thank god for my amazing man I don’t know what I would do with out him he was with me and I would walk off a lot give him the phone the assessor told him off a few times lol because she wanted to speak to me .

i didn’t make any notes well I did but on the day I just answered from my heart and how I struggle and that’s all you can do .