# Pip/dla



## bev (Jun 4, 2014)

Hi all,

I paid to join this website and here is the latest news regarding PIP/DLA issues - thought some of you may be interested - especially Allison.The bottom section shows costs of joining which is worth every penny if you need to make a claim.Bev



 PIP is in a mess. We all know it and only the DWP try to deny it.

But the surest signs that panic is beginning to set in is the fact that Capita have now more than doubled the pay they are offering to assessors in their attempt to get on top of the backlog. Capita health professionals now have a ‘new incentive scheme’ which means they can earn up to £900 a day. Not bad for physiotherapists more accustomed to earning £40 an hour.

In addition, the DWP have rewritten their guidance to assessors in the hope of persuading them to carry out fewer face-to-face medicals and assess more people just on paper evidence, backed up by a telephone call to the claimant to get additional information where necessary.  Currently 98% of PIP assessments are face-to-face, but the DWP is aiming for this figure to drop to around 75%.  This means a big increase in the number of PIP claimants who will be getting a call out of the blue from an Atos or Capita health professional.

We’ll be updating our guide to claiming PIP with more information about how decisions will be made about who gets a face-to-face medical and also with suggestions about how to deal with a phone call from a PIP health professional, by the end of the week.

In some cases the changes will mean claimants with substantial impairments getting an award of PIP without having to attend a medical, which can only be a good thing.

But in other cases the guidance makes it clear that assessors can refuse to make any award of PIP based simply on the claim pack completed by the claimant, with telephone clarification of specific issues if required.

It makes it even more vital that PIP ‘How your disability affects you’ forms are completed in as much detail as possible and that you get medical evidence if you can.

Unfortunately, Citizens Advice have discovered that half of all GP surgeries are now charging for evidence for ESA appeals and there’s no reason to suppose that things are any different when it comes to PIP.

In this edition we also have news of more truth-bending by the DWP, unsubstantiated rumours of changes to the PIP criteria, a dramatic rise in ESA sanctions, plans to cut the income of new ESA and JSA claimants and the truth about what Professor Harrington thought about Atos and the DWP.

Plus we have news of new DWP ESA documents available in the members area.

Oh, and we reveal how many of our readers would recommend us to others.



20% OFF ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP FOR CLAIMANTS AND FOR PROFESSIONALS - ENDS MIDNIGHT FRIDAY
If you’re not already a member, join the Benefits and Work community before midnight on Friday and you can get 20% off the cost of your annual subscription

Just type the following code into the coupon box when you pay: 9742

Claimants and carers get an annual subscription for £15.96, down from £19.95. Professionals get an annual subscription for £77.60, down from £97.00.


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## AlisonM (Jun 4, 2014)

No link Bev or site address, and while that all sounds really useful I, like many others on benefits can't afford to spend that much on something I might only use once. Thanks for highlighting this though, maybe some of the others can make use of it.

I'm a member of a free forum called You're Able that gives comprehensive advice and support to folk dealing with claims for ESA, PIP and DLA. And of course, I have the support of the wonderful CAB.


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## Copepod (Jun 4, 2014)

Like AlisonM, I'd like to know from which website the text you cut and pasted came, Bev - otherwise it sounds like copyright infringement. I guess it might be Benefits and Work, which has a good reputation, but charges for membership, whereas there are lots of places (online / telephone / face to face) that give free advice, including CAB, welfare rights departments of many councils etc. 

Plus, it's worth knowing that DLA will continue for children until 16th birthday, then they will need to apply for PIP.


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## bev (Jun 4, 2014)

http://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/

Here is the link. It isnt copyright infringement - its information for all as long as you are a member. I take the view that £20 is a tiny contribution if it can help toward any claim of PIP or DLA. The difference between this and the free information (I think anyway) is that it is written from a legal point of view and goes into great detail using certain words and phrases that are required by the DWP that not everyone would know.Bev


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## bev (Jun 4, 2014)

*Plus, it's worth knowing that DLA will continue for children until 16th birthday, then they will need to apply for PIP.
_________*_

Hi Copepod,

That isnt necessarily the case for everyone. If PIP hasnt yet been rolled out in your area you are 'parked' in DLA and have to renew as a DLA claim until such time as PIP is rolled out in your area. Also some young adults are still being awarded DLA until they are 19 or 20. Eventually everyone will be on PIP but not quite yet.Bev


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## Copepod (Jun 4, 2014)

Good that you gave the link from where you copied the information, thanks, Bev.

OK, I gave the simple version. DLA (Disability Living Allowance) to PIP (Personal Independance Payment) changeover depends on area, but I reckon that children with type 1 diabetes who are awarded DLA at say age 14 or 15 now, until age 19 or 20 are very unlikely to still be receiving DLA by the time they reach 19 or 20, as by then they will have been told to apply to PIP, and are less likely to qualify. That's not what I necessarily think SHOULD happen, but what I think WILL happen. The real point I was making was that DLA will continue for children, while it will replaced by PIP for "working age" people, aged 16 to 65 years. AA )Attendance Allowance) will continue to be the benefit for people who claim after they turn 65 years.

There's plenty of good advice and information available without paying a subscription.


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## Flutterby (Jun 8, 2014)

Interesting reading, thanks Bev.  I had my (Capita) pip face to face interview 2 weeks ago - now awaiting a decision.


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## bev (Jun 9, 2014)

Flutterby said:


> Interesting reading, thanks Bev.  I had my (Capita) pip face to face interview 2 weeks ago - now awaiting a decision.



Hi Flutterby,

I will keep everything crossed for you!I dont understand why they make people jump through so many hoops - well I do in a way as there have been many people abusing the system - which sadly means those that fit the criteria find themselves having to fight harder for what they need.Bev


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## Flutterby (Jun 18, 2014)

Thank you Bev, still waiting!


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## bev (Jun 18, 2014)

Latest newsletter from B & WBev


t’s true that there is such a massive backlog of ESA claims now that these figures may change when all the assessments have been done: there has been a particularly big rise in support group percentages in the last three quarters that statistics are available for.

But this isn’t just a blip: the proportion going into the support group has risen every single quarter since IDS took over. It had more than trebled by the beginning of 2012.

Elsewhere in this newsletter you’ll see:

    that the DWP now privately believe universal credit, with its fewer than 6,000 claimants, is dead;
    that there is a massive backlog of 700,000 ESA medicals, leading a top judge to declare that the WCA process has virtually collapsed – we have an update on which groups are currently having assessments and which will be left in relative peace;
    that three quarters of PIP claims are still undecided, but that PIP success rates are now higher than under DLA;
    that the DWP is overturning more than half of its own DLA decisions under mandatory reconsideration;
    that an IDS aide bullied the Trussell Trust foodbank into toning down its criticism of benefit cuts.

IDS likes to portray himself as a great reformer, weaning millions of sick and disabled claimants off their supposed benefits dependency.

The reality is that he is a startlingly incompetent failure protected by a discriminatory and unprofessional press office.

And, one day soon, even the hate-mongering tabloids he feeds will grow tired of covering up his catastrophes and turn on him.



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Improve your chances of getting the benefits you’re entitled to and, at the same time, help us to carry on discovering the truth about what the DWP are up to.

Plus, if you’re not already a member, join the Benefits and Work community before midnight on Friday and you can get 20% off the cost of your annual subscription.

Just type the following code into the coupon box when you pay: 6743

Claimants and carers get an annual subscription for £15.96, down from £19.95. Professionals get an annual subscription for £77.60, down from £97.00.



ESA NEWS
There has been a massive fall in the number of employment and support allowance (ESA) appeals according to official figures released today. ESA appeals lodged in the January to March 2014 quarter were down by 89% on the same period last year.

As well as the introduction of the mandatory reconsideration before appeal system, another cause of the unprecedented fall is likely to be the huge slowdown and resultant backlog in dealing with ESA claims. The number of ESA claims awaiting a decision is now over 700,000.

The result is that IB to ESA reassessments are now down to 5,000 a month and very few claimants with existing awards are likely to be re-referred. There’s more details on which groups are likely to have an assessment here.

It is not surprising then that Judge Robert Martin, the outgoing president of the social entitlement chamber which deals with benefits tribunals, has claimed that the work capability assessment (WCA) process has virtually collapsed as the DWP goes into a welfare reform induced meltdown.

It’s a claim which has led DWP minister Mike Penning to – somewhat bizarrely - accuse the Judge of being paid by the session and therefore having a conflict of interest.

Finally, the fifth and final independent review of the work capability assessment is now taking place and Dr Paul Litchfield has invited individuals and organisations to give their views.



PIP/DLA NEWS
Fewer than a quarter of the of personal independence payment (PIP) claims submitted between April 2013 and March 2014 have been decided, the DWP has revealed in its first official statistical report on PIP.

However, the award rate for people who are not terminally ill has increased to 50% - up from 36% according to earlier experimental statistics. This is something which the DWP are likely to be extremely worried about, given that disability living allowance awards were only made to around 45% of new claimants.

Meanwhile, the DWP is overturning a huge 55.9% of its own DLA decisions under the new mandatory reconsideration before appeal system, it has been revealed by the same Judge Robert Martin we mentioned above. The rates for other benefits have also been disclosed.



OTHER BENEFITS NEWS
It appears that the DWP believes that universal credit (UC) is dead. Officially the department insists that ‘the vast majority’ of around 7 million recipients will move onto the benefit during 2016-17. Privately, however, the department is no longer predicting that there will be any universal credit appeals between now and 2019.

Yet only last year the DWP estimated there would be 77,926 UC appeals in 2014-15.

Their lack of faith is perhaps explained by the fact that the DWP have so far succeeded in getting just 5,610 claimants onto universal credit (UC). This means they would have to transfer more claimants to UC every single day than they have managed in the whole of the last year in order to meet their target of 7 million UC claimants by April 2017.

Either that or, at the present rate, it will take until the year 3262 to complete the transfer process.


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## bev (Jul 16, 2014)

Hi all,

This is the latest from Benefits and WorkBev



ESA NEWS : SANCTIONS
In the last newsletter we revealed that ESA sanctions had increased fourfold in the space of a year, up to December 2013 and are particularly targeted at claimants with mental health conditions . Whilst we had no doubt that the reason for this was to cut the cost of ESA we had no evidence to support this.

Now, however, the first shred has appeared with Polly Toynbee claiming in the Guardian that she has had discussions with an anonymous jobcentre manager:

“She told me how the sick are treated and what harsh targets she is under to push them off benefits. A high proportion on employment and support allowance have mental illnesses or learning difficulties. The department denies there are targets, but she showed me a printed sheet of what are called "spinning plates", red for missed, green for hit. They just missed their 50.5% target for "off flows", getting people off ESA. They have been told to "disrupt and upset" them – in other words, bullying. That's officially described, in Orwellian fashion, as "offering further support" . . . In this manager's area 16% are "sanctioned" or cut off benefits”

Members can download a detailed guide on how to prevent and overturn ESA sanctions from the ESA section of the members area – it might be a good idea to have a quick look through it in the near future, particularly if you are in the WRAG.

The manager also claimed that:

“Tricks are played: those ending their contributory entitlement to a year on ESA need to fill in a form for income-based ESA. But jobcentres are forbidden to stock those forms. These ill people's benefits are suddenly stopped without explanation: if they call, they're told to collect a form from the jobcentre, which doesn't stock them either.”

Although we have found copies of the ESA3 form online, there does not appear to be a downloadable version of the current form, suggesting that the DWP is indeed making it as hard as possible for people to make a claim.

These targets and tactics come as no surprise. What Toynbee claimed that was new to us, however, was the manager’s allegation that:

“As all ESA claimants approach the target deadline of 65 weeks on benefits – advisers are told to report them all to the fraud department for maximum pressure.”

The idea that all ESA claimants are now being reported to the fraud department when they have claimed for 65 weeks seems preposterous and almost inconceivably discriminatory. Yet the ugly lawlessness that now characterises the DWP’s attempts to cut claimant numbers means that an accusation like this has to be considered seriously.

We are now working to try to establish the truth of this claim – we’ll let you know what we discover.

Meanwhile, we’ve begun compiling a collection of ESA sanction examples taken from various online sources to illustrate how easily, and unfairly, ESA claimants can be sanctioned.



ESA NEWS: MANDATORY TREATMENT FOR WRAG CLAIMANTS
Even more troubling than any of the issues above, however, is the report that the DWP are now considering changing the law to oblige ESA claimants in the work-related activity group with mental health conditions to undertake treatment or have their ESA sanctioned. Reports in the Telegraph claim it will be part of the next Conservative manifesto.

The paper quotes a Tory source as saying they hope to reduce the number of claimants with a mental health condition in the WRAG by 90% with this measure.

We’ll keep you posted about any developments with this shameful idea, which would no doubt involve bargain basement group CBT sessions provided by some multinational outsourcing company.


PIP NEWS: MOBILITY GUIDANCE CHANGED
The DWP have also moved the goalposts for PIP mobility to make it much less likely that claimants with mental health conditions such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder or agoraphobia will qualify for any award at all if they are able to go out, provided they have someone with them.

Guidance issued to Atos and Capita at the end of May in the PIP Assessment Guide instructs health professionals that claimants who need accompanying by another person when following the route of a journey, because of a mental health condition, are covered solely by descriptor 11 (b). ‘Needs prompting to be able to undertake any journey to avoid overwhelming psychological distress to the claimant’.

This descriptor scores just 4 points, not enough for an award of PIP mobility to be made.

The higher scoring descriptors 11(d) and 11(f) will not be awarded ‘to claimants who require someone with them for support only, as this is covered by descriptor B. The accompanying person should be actively navigating.’ for these descriptors to apply.

We are now hearing in the forum from people who are being caught out by this changed interpretation of the law.

But the guidance appears to be at odds not only with the actual wording of the regulations, but also with detailed undertakings given by the DWP when they finalised the text of the PIP descriptors.

We have published a written submission in Word format in the PIP appeals section of the members area that anyone affected by these issues can make use of at appeal stage. It sets out the grounds on which we believe the guidance given to assessors is wrong and why relying on the assessment will lead the decision maker to commit an error of law.

Clearly we can’t guarantee that the submission’s conclusions will be accepted by any given tribunal. But they are definitely worth arguing and will at least give you the possibility of appealing to the upper tribunal and getting professional support via the legal aid scheme if you are unsuccessful.



OTHER BENEFITS NEWS: DVLA’S 'SNOOP ON YOUR NEIGHBOURS' SERVICE
Just after the last newsletter went out we reported that a new vehicle check service on the DVLA website allows anyone to find out whether their neighbours are receiving the higher rate of the mobility component of disability living allowance (DLA) or either rate of the mobility component of personal independence payment (PIP).

We urged our visitors to complain to DVLA and the information commissioner if they were unhappy with this situation - and it seems that many of you did.

Whilst DVLA refuse to back down, the information commissioner’s office is investigating the issue and has received so many complaints that they are now saying that they are no longer looking at individual concerns and people should watch the DVLA website for news.

Meanwhile, a national expert in data protection has supported our argument that DVLA is breaching the rights of disabled claimants, calling our analysis ‘excellent’ and adding ‘I hope the DVLA will rethink.’

We’ll keep you posted


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## Flutterby (Jul 17, 2014)

Thanks again Bev.  Makes interesting reading - where's it all going to end I wonder.


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## Copepod (Jul 17, 2014)

Bit of confusion in last section - I'm pretty sure they mean DWP not DVLA.


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## AlisonM (Jul 17, 2014)

Nope, I think they reported correctly, it's the DVLA all right.


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