Pip assessment

Hi Kimnfrank,
You'll probably hear something a few weeks after the assessment. It's possible you'll get a mobility component as it sounds as if you wouldn't be able to move very far (or at all) more than 50% of the time.

They might ask you lots of questions about what you do in your life, eg whether you go to the shops by yourself. So be careful when answering & make it clear if you can't usually do something, what the normal pattern is for you, and how often you can't go out at all.

You have to have had the mobility problems for at least 3 months in the past & expect to have them for 9 months going forward. So, if you told them about your problems, you'd expect to get back pay going back to when you met that condition, as long as you told the DWP within one month. If it was later than that (eg when you filled in the review form, it was more than 4 months since you'd had mobility problems), then it might only be backdated to the date you told them, unless you could show some good reasons you didn't tell them before.

ESA can't use PIP results, but there is case law that says if someone gets one benefit that may be evidence which is relevant to another benefit (eg if you get the mobility component of PIP, that could be relevant to the mobilising activity in ESA). But the 2 benefits have different conditions & different ways of describing what you can and cannot do, so you'll need to be just as comprehensive with your ESA claim & think about what is specifically asked for there, NOT just refer to your PIP award or claim.

Lot of work I know!

Will