pip going to appeal — Scope | Disability forum
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pip going to appeal

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lucylou23
lucylou23 Community member Posts: 1 Listener
Hi my son who is 21 has epilepsy, autism, ADD, learning difficulties, OCD and severe anxiety has had his care part of pip refused. In 2016 after his last face to face he was awarded high rate care and low rate mobility for an ongoing period, we applied for high rate mobility as he has to be driven and accompanied everywhere he goes this includes a voluntary placement which unfortunately is 20 miles away which results in myself having to drive there and back twice in a day this obviously incurs extra costs which is affecting us greatly, because of my caring role and also having to be his driver whilst he was in education and also being a carer for my father I had to give up my work with vulnerable children and become a mid day supervisor as it was the only thing that would fit in.
After mandatory reconsideration he was awarded low rate mobility getting 10 points because of severe anxiety and difficulties getting around. The DWP has ignored the consultants letters the GP's letters and also his social workers letters. I have applied for an appeal and have been told that the letters for the date of the appeal are taking 38 weeks before they arrive and then the date for the appeal will be after that. My son is in receipt of ESA for the non working group and also direct payments which the rules of using and also finding a PA make it difficult to be of any use to him.   All this is causing us a great deal of stress my husband works overseas every two to three weeks for two weeks at a time, I am also supporting my father who is eighty and very ill. 
I have boxes and boxes of evidence is there any point in sending all of it to the court as i have sent what i thought was relevant to the DWP as i did before but they obviously feel that in the two years since my sons last face to face he has been miraculously cured!
I would welcome any help as really struggling to get any help and starting to worry about the future for our son should anything happen to us.




Comments

  • Pippa_Alumni
    Pippa_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 5,793 Disability Gamechanger
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    Hi @lucylou23, and a warm welcome to the community!

    I'm so sorry to hear about your PIP experiences, particularly the impact it's had on you all. The appeals procedure can feel overwhelming, but hopefully we can help. Do have a read of Scope's guidance on DWP appeals, and come back to us with any questions.

    We have lots of knowledgeable members here on the community who will advise wherever they can!

    https://youtu.be/4sOsiEFo-Ck
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 54,243 Disability Gamechanger
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    Hi,
    Lots of things going on here but i'll try to help the best i can. First of all the PIP Tribunal.

    Sending in mountains of evidence to the Tribunal is not going to help you because there could be things in that evidence that contradict each other. It's a case of less is more and producing the right evidence is key here. It's impossible to advise anything on an internet forum as regards to the evidence because no one knows exactly how his conditions affect him. Are you able to get advice from your local welfare rights or any other disability advice centre near you?

    Tribunal waiting times are huge and some are waiting as long as 1 year and more for a hearing date. Appearing in person will give him the best chance of a decision in his favour.

    As for the direct payments and finding a PA (support worker) does he have a social worker? If so are you able to speak to them about finding a support worker for him? As you receive direct payments then you can advertise for a support worker yourself or even use a company that's based near to you and use the money this way. I do realise it's very difficult to find a PA because i had the same problem myself, when trying to find one for my daughter. It did take a few months but finally i was able to contact a company near to me and they advertised for one on my behalf. I now employ this person and use the direct payments to pay her each month. I did actually speak to my daughters social worker who put me intouch with this specific company for help. It's even more difficult if you've never done this sort of thing before and had very little advice and support. I hope you're able to find the right support for your son. Good luck.


    I would appreciate it if members wouldn't tag me please. I have all notifcations turned off and wouldn't want a member thinking i'm being rude by not replying.
    If i see a question that i know the answer to i will try my best to help.

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