To appeal sister’s benefits?

Charitable organisations. Any money goes back into the organisation.

She should be on higher rate pip and mobility from what you’ve said (I assume she is incapable of planning a journey etc - it’s not just for walking)

you need help filling in the pip forms (there are various disability charities that help with this sort of thing) and you need to get yourself appointed as her appointee to speak for her

be prepared to go to tribunal

there are various pip groups on Facebook and have knowledgeable people on there (as well as some idiots) - you’ll get support and help (you can post anon)

you can also get more information there with her transition to uc, - I know nothing about it but being £400 worse off does not sound right. I really feel for you, it sounds an awful situation

I don't know where you live but your council may provide a service that checks her benefits to make sure she is getting everything she is entitled to and could advise on appeals

I didn’t say the higher rate for both components: I said the higher rate for care, and the mobility component - I didn’t specify which level of as there’s not enough info.

I can say for certainty she should be on the higher rate for care on the basis of OP’s posts as they’re quite detailed. One can see the level of care she requires (and indeed has had) and what descriptors she meets.

Whether she will get it is a completely different issue.

Your sister lives in a supported living scheme with 24/7 carers. Do you have power of attorney? Are you her appointee for UC and PIP? How does she fund this care (there will be a contribution). If she has supported living she will have a support plan and access to a social worker. I would contact SS and ask for this to be reviewed. I would ask for a updated needs assessment. I would appeal PIP and get support in completing any paperwork and provide evidence. You are fortunate that she has a number of clinicians (so something is working). Appeal and fight - you don't need a lawyer but you do need the right permissions and arm yourself with the right info.

"It is poor advice not to challenge PIP in the long run given the nature and scale of DSIS’s disabilities. There is no question that by rights she should be on the higher rate for the care and the mobility component"

I did not advise OP not to challenge PIP in the long run - I advised her to consult a benefit specialist first.

Its very irresponsible of you to claim that there is "no question" the sister should be on enhanced rates for both components; you don't know this for sure and none of us do without a more detailed discussed with OP and her sister, and without reviewing the evidence.

It’s not irrelevant to lifelong conditions. It’s not just about historic diagnoses but also historic capacity for work and historic care. DSIS has never had capacity to work and never will thus latest judgement is an error. If they are only sent 2 years worth of data they can’t see the full picture.

In the old days DLA would be awarded for life for people with lifelong impairments. Now they put these poor people through review but there is some recognition that there’s a difference between recent injury/disability/illness, fluctuating conditions, long term, lifelong or terminal conditions, which there wasn’t when the form was first redesigned.

Lifelong vs short term is key when deciding how long to leave before review, which is crucial here.

Ah, sorry, I misunderstood. I hope the appeal goes her way.

You should definitely appeal. They are counting on saving money by lots of people not having the fight in them to appeal their bad decisions. They know exactly what they’re doing, it’s entirely deliberate, don’t let them get away with it.

While I agree ESA should be addressed first, a good benefits lawyer could actually do PIP straight after as the data for the one is used for the other. For example a detailed dairy can be adapted to relate to the ESA and PIP questions; all the medical documentation is used for both. That way there’s not a lengthy time lapse meaning more work to update the diary and collect more medical documentation.

It is poor advice not to challenge PIP in the long run given the nature and scale of DSIS’s disabilities. There is no question that by rights she should be on the higher rate for the care and the mobility component and that should be argued out legally at tribunal if necessary.

Thank you for your answer. So would they assess every few years to see if there is any change then? Just seems a stressful waste of everyone’s time, including their own (DWP)

Sounds like you’ve described my sister, well before she was kicked out of supported living!

I successfully appealed is the short answer. Really really think about answers, for example one I remember was ‘can xxx use an alarm clock’. I thought about saying yes, she can physically operate it. The answer in context though is no- she cannot use an alarm clock for its intended purpose. She cannot plan ahead and choose an appropriate time to set it without support, eg for an early appointment she couldn’t manage her time ready to be collected. She would not use snooze or understand the significance of the alarm either without prompting. Same for example with using a microwave, another question. She could easily if told to set a two minute timer and press start. She can’t however use it safely for purpose, she wouldn’t remember what is safe to use in a microwave, she’d leave it unattended with the wrong time and wouldn’t read instructions from a ready meal. She basically couldn’t be left to use on. The questions are tricky- get support. For example, communication- communication of needs or facts, not just saying words at a stranger sometimes.

The job centre staff were actually decent and supportive. They agreed she couldn’t access their support to work, even logging onto the computer unsupported. Basically even if I drove her there she couldn’t access the support

Any evidence older than about 2 years is pretty irrelevant; obviously an original diagnosis of a condition that won't change is relevant; but the DWP is only interested in the claimant's condition(s) at the time of the claim or assessment. This is why a recent Patient Summary Record can be helpful along with evidence of current needs.

OP can I ask a couple of questions please?

When she was at school was she in mainstream with SEN support? Or even a school for children with moderate learning difficulties? Did she have a Statement of Special Educational needs back then?

I’m thinking if she’s always needed support throughout her life, why do they think one day she’s a fully functioning adult who can take care of all of her needs. So even if you don’t have reports etc if she had specialist provision then it should strengthen your case.

Read the OP's posts. She is not being migrated. If she was still on ESA, she would be migrated to UC, but her ESA was stopped after a WCA.

She's being migrated from ESA to UC. Everyone in the UK is, so basically ESA will no longer exist for most people.
Has she been given the migration letter? The money she receives now shouldn't change during this migration period. They can only change it with an assessment.
You should definitely appeal if they are trying to say she's less entitled. She's clearly the same if not worse than she was before.

So many posters are missing the key point which is that the sister's ESA has been stopped because she was found fit for work.

If she doesn't successfully challenge the decision she won't get transitional protection when claiming UC, because there is a gap in the claims, and it's not managed migration either. The best she will get is the transitional SDP element if she can get the WCA decision overturned.

There is no need to change or challenge the PIP award at this point; the sister already has PIP daily living component which entitled her to the SDP with ESA.

I would strongly advise against doing an MR/appeal for both benefits at the same time. Challenge the WCA decision first and sort out ESA/UC. Then once that is sorted if you have any mental energy left you can worrying about trying to increase the PIP award.

The difference between standard UC and UC with LCWRA and transitional SDP element is £566.64/month. The sister has nothing to lose and everything to gain by pursuing this.

The difference between standard and enhanced rate daily living component of PIP is £36.50/week (£158/month). OP didn't mention whether her sister gets the mobility component already; she might do. There is no guarantee she will get more than she already gets, though, and there's a risk of losing her existing award. I would strongly advise consulting a benefit specialist first.

What an awful situation for you to be in OP and your poor sister. No advice but just wanted to echo what others say and appeal. She’s not able to be independent clearly. Say you’re moving away and they’ll need to step up as she’s a vulnerable adult and needs support.

I work with adults with LD and I fill a lot of this paperwork out on their behalf’s.
Can I ask who actually completed her PIP form for her?

Also if she is migrating to Universal credit from the old style benefits she shouldn’t end up any worse off. Yes the ESA will stop but she will get an additional payment within her Universal credit to make up for this. Housing costs will also be claimed through UC.
Please just make sure she is currently receiving all the correct benefits and amounts prior to the migration to UC or she could potentially end up worse of, as the existing benefits are taken in to account when UC is being awarded.

Does your sister have an independent advocate, does she have an appointee who helps manage her money?

I didn’t say they didn’t I said they didn’t do MR.

The rate of MR is low because clients do it themselves and they don’t know how to. The MR should be part of the appeal strategy. If you submit the type of evidence gathered for appeal at MR stage and produce a clear and evidenced argument supporting the descriptors you feel you meet and why the original judgement was wrong - appeal can be avoided.

There used to be disability advice services who covered benefits before their funding was cut. They were able to give more time and attention to their clients than CAB as CAB is far busier and more generalist sp the quality/experience of the advisors can be a bit hit and miss.

For someone on UC temporarily it’s not worth paying a benefits lawyer and unaffordable. For a case like DD - lifelong care situation - it’s absolutely worth the investment if OP can find the money. There’s so much at stake here. It may be possible to repay OP at least in part from DSIS’s benefits if the appeal is successful.

Our benefit specialists do represent at tribunal actually.
And we do the occasional MR request but tbh it's not worth paying someone to do that because success rates are really low unfortunately.
Most people on ESA and/or PIP can't afford to pay for representation so it's not hugely helpful to insist they have to.
Our benefit specialists do a great job and it's free.

The crucial information will be in the decision letter the DWP sent her. Was ESA stopped because the desesion was made that she is fit to work- in which case you can dispute the decision.
Or has she been transferred to universal credit as part of the universal credit roll out?

OP - when you say “appeal” is this a new PIP decision or do want to ask for a re-assessment? The timing may be important to maximise your sister’s benefits when moving to the Universal Credit. That bit is definitely help to claim.

Get help from her Social Worker to complete the Appeal. Or from MENCAP. It's all in the wording.

Compared to benefits lawyers who also represent their clients at the tribunal.

CAB don’t even help with MR as you admitted, which is the first step and needs proper advice and support because if you do that well you can avoid appeal.