Pip result

Didn't actually know ESA, worked on a points system i was,only aware of PIP being poits based

Both are point Based the asments are lie Based 

ESA is based on the Work Capability Assesssment (WCA). There are two categories of award, in both the income based (means tested) ESA, which can also be paid as a premium on Universal Credit, and the contribution based (non means tested) ESA.  The categories are Work Related Activity  Group (WRAG) and the Support Group.  As with PIP, the assessment looks at how your condition affects your ability to carry out a range of activities - however these activities are very different from the PIP assessment as the WCA seeks to assess your ability to work, not how you  manage your daily life. If you score 15 or more points you are assessed as having limited capability for work, you will be placed in the WRAG and you will be compelled to undertake job seeking activity and preparation for work, as per a plan which will be drawn up by yourself and an adviser assigned to you at the Jobcentre.  You can only claim ESA for one year if you are placed in the WRAG.  After this you will need to claim Jobseeker's Allowance or universal credit.  You will also be subject to benefit sanctions if you fail to comply with any agreement drawn up with your adviser, fail to attend or are late for job interviews or jobcentre appointments without good reason or fail to satisfy the Jobseeker's agreement which forms the basis of your claim to benefit.

During your WCA interview, the assessor will be looking for any indication that you should be placed into the Support Group.  There are additional categories in the WCA which attract 15 points each and if you satisfy any one of them you will be placed in the Support Group and will not be required to undertake any jobsearch activities - neither will you be subject to benefit sanctions.  If you are on the means tested income related ESA rate, then you will still be limited to one year on the benefit and will need to apply for other appropriate benefits once this expires - contribution based ESA is not time limited.

Your claim will be reconsidered from time to time whichever rate of benefit you receive, depending on the length of the award - currently the maximum is three years, after which your claim will be reviewed.  However, the DWP may review it by writing to the healthcare professionals listed on your application form.  If they can confirm that nothing has changed, then your award will continue.  If the DWP need more evidence they will invite you to attend a further WCA.

A full list of the descriptors and points system for the WCA is available on the disability rights UK website.  Hope this clarifies things a bit.

Thanks Chris, so basically they can't just say they disagree, only if the tribunal got the law wrong, which I don't think they will have, the judge seemed very methodical and professional. So now, just wait for my money, anyone have an idea how long that is likely to be, broken cooker I can't afford to replace until I have some cash.

Yep, the DWP can't do anything on the basis of disagreeing with the decision, although they will most likely still try to be a pain in the backside. I can't say how long it will take to get the money. Some get the money shortly after the tribunal, others are forced to wait a while because the DWP purposely take as long as possible.

If you feel the PIP isn't enough to help you, you could try applying for ESA. I got rejected for PIP, despite 15 years of evidence and reports from GPs, Specialist doctors, therapists and social workers, so I thought I wouldn't even stand a chance for ESA. I applied for ESA after suffering severe depression coupled with the severe anxiety which I claimed DLA for, sent a letter from a GP and 2 months later, I phoned the DWP to get an update and was told I was in support group and that a letter was sent out.

While I dislike the private firms involved in assessing disability benefits, I will credit Maximus though. Unlike Atos with my PIP claim, Maximus actually contacted my GP and got enough info that I didn't need to attend an assessment.

Both DWP and claimants can apply for a tier 2 tribunal hearing if they do not agree with the tier 1 panel's decision.  However, both parties can only apply if they consider the decision to be wrong on legal grounds.  The case is prepared and sent to an adjudicator who then decides if there is a case to answer.  If so, the tier 2 panel will be arranged and as far as I am aware, the claimant remains on the original DWP award until a final decision has been made.  If the adjudicator decides there is no case to answer, a tier 2 hearing will be refused and the claimant will receive the level of award decided on at the tier 1 hearing, along with any back pay to the date of the original award, if appropriate - for example, if an award is increased, the back pay would consist of the difference between the original award and the increase.  There is no facility to challenge a tier 2 tribunal - their decision is final.

If you have an existing PIP award any increase should be included in your next scheduled payment and any back pay should be paid with the scheduled payment after that.  Put simply, you get your new award within four weeks of the decision and any back pay due within 8 weeks.  I read somewhere - possibly in the decision makers' guide, that if it is a new PIP award from scratch, payments have to commence within 28 days of the tribunal decision.   You will get the tribunal award backdated to the date of the original DWP PIP decision.

  Claimants can apply for a tier 2 tribunal, and so can the DWP, but tier 2 tribunals can only be used to challenge the decision of the tier 1 panel on legal grounds.  You make an application for a tier 2 hearing, setting out your case, to an adjudicator who decides if you have a case to answer.  If they agree, you will get a hearing, but you will remain on the PIP level originally awarded by the DWP, until a final decision is made.  If the appeal is successful your award will be adjusted to the level decided by the tier 2 panel and any increase backdated to the date of the original DWP award.  If the adjudicator decides there is no case to answer, the application will be rejected and the tier 1 decision will stand - again any increase will be backdated to the date of the original decision.  All claimants need to be aware that if you ask for a reconsideration or appeal a decision, the WHOLE award will be looked at again, not just the part you are appealing, so you risk losing benefit if the tribunal decides any other aspect of the award is wrong.  For example, if your original award gave ten points for mobility component and eight points for care component, you would qualify for standard rate in both components.  If you wanted to challenge the mobility component because you believe you need the higher rate, any reconsideration or appeal would need to award a further two points for mobility, to get you to the twelve points required for the higher rate.  HOWEVER.  in the process they would look at the care component award again, and if you only have eight points, this is the minimum amount for the standard rate. A reduction of even one point would be enough to lose you the whole of the care award, and any increase in the mobility award would still mean you would be worse off.  Sorry to be so negative, but lots of people are finding this out the hard way.  Basically,in the example given above, unless your priority is access to the Motability scheme (for which you require higher rate mobility component) you would need to seriously consider your position and be absolutely sure that your claim to the other component is warranted.

I don't know how.long ago you applied for PIP, but if you have been placed in the support group for ESA since then, it might be worth you reapplying for PIP.  To be in the support group for ESA you need to have satisfied one or more of the descriptors which indicate a severe level of disability - which you have done, and there may be a case for a PIP award at the standard rate.  I would reapply and mention on your application that you are in the ESA support group, because I believe the DWP are now using evidence held for other benefits in considering PIP applications.  In a PIP claim, it is not the disability itself that counts, but how it affects your ability to carry out the activities assessed, and the ESA descriptors for the support group can sometimes provide the appropriate evidence in support of a PIP claim. Worth thinking about at least.  I would also advise that people in the ESA support group should mention this clearly on the PIP application form and again at the assessment.

Additional info on backdating, just to clarify.  If you make a fresh claim for PIP, any award will be backdated to the date of your application.  Currently, PIP claimants have to contact the DWP by phone or PIP 1 form, to establish their basic entitlement, after which the claim form is then sent to the claimant by the DWP.  The claim date will be shown on the application form - this is the date to which any award will be backdated. However, those claimants being migrated from an existing DLA claim onto PIP will not be entitled to  backdating of any increase as a result of the new PIP decision - the PIP award can only be paid from the date of the actual DWP PIP decision, not the date you started migration from DLA. This is because you remain on your existing DLA award until the PIP decision is made and if DWP policy allowed any increase to be backdated, then it would also have to allow any reduction to be backdated and this would result in overpayments and repayment of such by the claimant.

However, if the claimant is successful at reconsideration or appeal to a tribunal then any increase in award would be backdated to the date of the original PIP decision.

 

Hi Pam, thanks for your advice, I'm not claiming ESA, I have part time job- sympathetic employer, and I am desperate to stay working as long as I can, as I know, for me, not working has a really bad impact on my depression. So, now with PIP, and earnings, and small disability pension from previous full time better paid work, before I got ill, plus now I'll qualify for some tax credit, I have just enough to stay working, and hopefully keep more or less stable with my health. And, of course this way I cost the state less money as well.

Hi Pam.

In my case (migration from.DLA to PIP)

I was awarded PIP (enhanced for both) on the 25th august didn't get the letter till the 30th ,.....but payments DO NOT commence until the 12th of OCTOBER , I am being paid the previous amount (DLA care mid -mobility high)

This seems a bit odd, that means i am entitled to PIP but they are delaying payment for a month ?

You should still get your Dla until then as pip is paid a mouth in areas as Dla is