just received the news that I have been cut off my PIP

Hi @wackojacko45

First of all, get some advice, if you can, to make sure you definitely qualify for enough points to get an award. You never know, as the questions and definitions are pretty convoluted.

Then I'd call the DWP and ask for a copy of your assessment report (PA4). Also tell them that you *will* be requesting an MR in writing, but that this phone call is not an MR request (they sometimes do the MR right away, without waiting for you to send anything in, otherwise.)

Write to the DWP and tell them that you want them to do an MR, but that they should wait until you send in a submission and/or further evidence. You may want to reiterate your request for a copy of the PA4. (You can also ask for a 2 week extension, if you have any possible reason for it - mental health low, getting more evidence will take longer than the time you have left, a long wait to see your GP/another healthcare provider/someone for help with the MR, etc. etc.) It's best to send everything DWP-related Signed-For if you can afford it, so you can prove that it did reach their mail-opening depot. They lose stuff a lot. ALWAYS KEEP A COPY OF ANYTHING YOU SEND THEM, INCLUDING FORMS. You will almost certainly have to call them up to check that they received the letter and have logged it.

Did you send any evidence with the original form? The forms tend to be easy to misunderstand on this point: it is your responsibility to get and send evidence to the DWP; they very rarely contact your GP/consultants/MH workers. If you, like many others, didn't send any evidence, send some in at MR!

Feel free to point out any major mistakes in the assessment report (provable ones!) in order to discredit it, but don't focus on that! @Chloe_Scope posted a link to the PIP questions and descriptors - in order to get PIP, you have to show that you meet enough of the descriptors to get you 8 points (standard) or 12 points (enhanced) for either/both Daily Living and/or Mobility. I used pipinfo.net to look up the exact definitions of things: for example, "simple meal" means,"a cooked one-course meal for one using fresh ingredients". "Support", "prompting", etc. all have specific meanings.

In order to get points for a descriptor, you have to meet it at least 50% or more of the time: half the day, half the week, half the month, half the year... whatever. If your condition(s) fluctuate, write down how you're affected on bad, avg and good days, and estimate what percentage of the time you have those types of days. There are some complicated extra rules for if multiple conditions/symptoms affect you, so look it up.

A very important thing which assessors and DMs often overlook: being able to do things RELIABLY. You can only be assessed as able to do the activity described by a descriptor if you can do it reliably, which means: repeatedly, safely, in a reasonable amount of time, and to a reasonable standard. (See pipinfo.net/issues/reliably .) If you can cook one meal in a day, but then you're too exhausted to cook anything else, then you can't do it repeatedly. You should get points. If you can cook a meal, but you use out-of-date ingredients and undercook it, then you can't cook to an acceptable standard. You should get points. Make sense?

OK. So now you know what the descriptors mean, you have your form, evidence and the decision letter, as well as the assessment report when it comes. Go through each question and figure out which descriptor you fit. Now explain why, exactly, and point to evidence. Give examples of what happens when you try to do it. Try to think about the assessor's point of view. Maybe they think you can use a wheelchair because your hands work well, but you absolutely can't use a wheelchair because of back spasms! Say so!

Lastly, only ~18% of decision are overturned at MR, so be prepared for that. You might be one of those 18%, but if you aren't, don't take it personally. At appeal, 73% of claimants win.