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1.6 million PIP claims to be reviewed
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Welfare rights worker - Community Law Service, Northampton
Total Posts: 83
Joined: 22 June 2010
So what are people’s thoughts about contacting PIP to prompt this review for individual clients? We have already been getting lots of calls about this. I am wondering if contacting PIP is just going to slow everything down (!) or perhaps any requests in respect of this will be put to a “special team” so would not expedite the process for an individual anyway.
I’ve been wondering about this. On one hand I can completely understand why in practical terms the govt is asking people to wait to be contacted.
But I’m very uneasy about advising clients to do nothing and rely on the DWP correctly identifying their own errors.
At the moment I’m leaning towards advising clients to contact DWP and request superssessions. Yes that might slow things down, and I don’t expect those cases to be dealt with any quicker but at least clients will have done all they can to get their decisions corrected.
If we advise clients to wait, then how long? 2 years? 4 years? before raising it themselves?
Will clients be informed if their case has been reviewed and the DWP have chosen not to change it?
Jane
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Mental health & welfare rights service - Wolverhampton City Council
Total Posts: 2262
Joined: 15 October 2012
DWP told me they were already on with the review and a recon/supersession request may well just be put in the queue.
https://www.rightsnet.org.uk/forums/viewthread/12350/
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WRAMAS, Bristol City Council
Total Posts: 240
Joined: 24 August 2017
Just thinking and shoot me down in flames but re-reading Daphne’s post (#12) is there a risk that if you do contact the DWP ahead of time this will be treated as a CoC request as per normal and would thus trigger a re-assessment and the inevitable potential loss of benefit (albeit applying the new guidance) that this could bring (until the tribunal sees sense and makes the appropriate award). I think the reading of the statements means that there will be no loss / reduction in benefit for those that the DWP contact as this is meant to be an administrative exercise. Or is that just the wary cynic in me?
Chrissum - 05 February 2018 01:39 PMJust thinking and shoot me down in flames but re-reading Daphne’s post (#12) is there a risk that if you do contact the DWP ahead of time this will be treated as a CoC request as per normal and would thus trigger a re-assessment and the inevitable potential loss of benefit (albeit applying the new guidance) that this could bring (until the tribunal sees sense and makes the appropriate award). I think the reading of the statements means that there will be no loss / reduction in benefit for those that the DWP contact as this is meant to be an administrative exercise. Or is that just the wary cynic in me?
I think it is important that people are clear when they contact DWP that they are asking for a SS of their award on the basis of this law change, not a SS due to a change in their care/mob needs. We’re planning on doing a template letter to enable people to do this, otherwise I think there could be a risk of people ringing up the PIP helpline and being misunderstood and accidentally reporting a change of circs.
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Welfare rights - Halton Council
Total Posts: 104
Joined: 13 July 2010
I have a couple of appeals pending which would come under this and was wondering if it is worth asking for a direction that the case be relooked at prior to listing.
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The Brunswick Centre, Kirklees & Calderdale
Total Posts: 1366
Joined: 22 July 2013
I have been thinking along similar lines Gail but in my cases Daily Living is also an issue. I think therefore that any revised award of the Mobility Component would lapse the appeal and put the client to the back of the queue for a hearing on the rest of the claim. As people are already waiting 12 months plus for PIP appeals round here I’m reluctant for that to happen. What do others think?
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Welfare rights - Halton Council
Total Posts: 104
Joined: 13 July 2010
Yeah Billy my cases also cover DL element, the tribunal would follow the rulings so may be quicker just letting the tribunal continue. dilemmas Eh :)
House of Commons Library briefing on the PIP changes to Mobility Activity 1 -
On 19 January 2018 the Government announced that it accepted a High Court ruling that controversial changes made in March 2017 to the criteria for the PIP mobility component for people experiencing psychological distress were unlawful. This briefing gives background information to the changes that have now been overturned. It will be updated in due course to take account of subsequent developments. In the meantime, this page gives information on what the latest announcement means for PIP claimants.
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Mental health & welfare rights service - Wolverhampton City Council
Total Posts: 2262
Joined: 15 October 2012
Considering their document retention policy states most, if not all, of the refused claim docs will have been destroyed I wonder how they’ll assess all the refused claims.
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The Brunswick Centre, Kirklees & Calderdale
Total Posts: 1366
Joined: 22 July 2013
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Senior welfare rights officer - Salford City Council Welfare Rights Service
Total Posts: 3138
Joined: 17 June 2010
“... seems to have rather more presentational substance than reality”.
Well, yeah, like UC etc…
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Benefits adviser - Isle of Wight CAB
Total Posts: 511
Joined: 4 March 2011
The acceptance and review was announced by the DWP on 19th January. Yet I’ve just seen an MR from the 29th January refusing to increase an award of 4 points though the facts clearly justify it, no reasons given beyond ‘I agree you have difficulties with this activity’.
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The Brunswick Centre, Kirklees & Calderdale
Total Posts: 1366
Joined: 22 July 2013
I haven’t heard anything about the revised guidance to DMs being issued yet. Anybody else have any ideas as to what guidance they are currently working to on these cases?
This is a document DWP have just sent stakeholders with FAQs about implementing MH
File Attachments
- FAQ_doc_for_stakeholders_-_March_2018.pdf (File Size: 346KB - Downloads: 3148)