Pip - mandatory review

[brighterstarer]

Can anyone tell me what's happens and how I request a mandatory review. I've been awarded standard but should have been enhanced. Can't get through on the phone. Should I should write them a letter?

https://www.gov.uk/mandatory-reconsideration/how-to-ask-for-mandatory-reconsideration

You could also look at information on the Citizens Advice website at Challenging a PIP decision - mandatory reconsideration - Citizens Advice. A local advice agency such as CAB or Welfare Rights may be able to support you to write an MR.

Whatever you do DO NOT PHONE THEM for a MR

They will take the call as your MR and you won't have an opportunity to put in writing why you want one.

You need to take the report and lay out by each criteria, in writing, how they have scored you incorrectly AND provide evidence to back up what you think you should have scored.

Agree with @comedownwithme - you need to go through the decision letter and set out exactly why they have gone wrong and how many points you think should have been awarded under each heading, with reference to the detailed info on CAB website referred to above. You have 30 days from the date of the decision letter to seek MR

I have just requested a mandatory review for my DH. He scored zero despite having a stroke that has left him with subtle but significant cognitive issues and also very obvious motor issues. The interview was a joke, it was an online interview and despite repeatedly saying that walking was the issue the assessors only attempt to confirm his motorbility issues was to ask him to lift his arms above his head.
I filled in an online form and printed it and sent it in. I went through each area and corrected the “assumptions” the assessor had made.
To score zero after a stroke is ridiculous. Unfortunately it seems that if you can wipe your arse and touch the top of your head you don’t need help.
DH has never claimed any sort of benefit since starting work at 16. He’s now 62 and can no longer work because of his stroke. It seems that benefits are for those who know how to work the system. We don’t have a lot of supporting documents because DH hasn’t been offered anything other than the initial assessment. I suspect because I’m an HCP they didn’t think he needed any support. In addition getting a face to face appointment at the GPS is impossible. Any problem has been sorted out over the phone.
I think if he isn’t awarded anything I’m going to push for psych evaluation and go down the mental health route. He is suffering from mild depression but it seems that mental health is considered more of an issue in PIP assessment than actual physical illness.

Oh @Angrymum22 I’m sorry to hear this. I absolutely agree with everything you have said. I know there are some groups that offer support and help, although I’ve not used them myself. Fight back4justice is supposed to be a good one, you could see if they can help you

In my experience they are reluctant to award after stroke because their is a significant chance of things improving within the nine months. They probably make you string it out to appeal to see if things improve.

@Angrymum22
”It seems that benefits are for those who know how to work the system. We don’t have a lot of supporting documents…”

I am sorry your DH was turned down for PIP, however it most certainly isn’t for “those who know how to work the system.” PIP requires a lot of medical documentation and proof to acquire and even then many still have to appeal to be awarded it.

The pp makes a good point because part of the documentation has to include a prognosis saying that your husbands cognitive and mobility difficulties are expected to last for at least another 12 months. They won’t give PIP if the patient is expected to recover in the next year. It’s viewed more as a temporary injury or illness than a disability.

I would highly recommend you contacting Headway and getting help putting together a new PIP application with supporting documents.

I've successfully claimed PIP in the past on mental health grounds (not claiming now and haven't for a few years due to lots of recovery) and in general I still agree with you tbh. I'm so sorry to hear of your husband's predicament.

A PP recommended Fightback4Justice and I can personally vouch for them. They got me a big PIP award and backpayment years ago at tribunal.

A close relative of mine has stage 4 cancer and was awarded 0 points for everything. Didn't have it in them to even request a MR.

@Angrymum22

It seems that benefits are for those who know how to work the system.

PIP isn't a 'work the system' benefit. As you have seen you need to provide evidence. People can't provide evidence of nothing. Your attitude is a huge problem for disabled people. They are not working anything they just have evidence to back up their application.

I'm sorry for your DH circumstances but as pointed out already it is almost certainly because his condition is likely to change and improve within the next few months, which can only ever be a good thing.

Most people who claim PIP have no chance of improving.

I know someone who did it through citizens advice, said they were brilliant and had more legal power? X

Why do you think you should be entitled to enhanced rate? Have you gone through all the descriptors with an adviser? If not, challenging an award without having very good reason to think it's too low is risky. You are risking losing the award you already have without having any reasonable prospect of the award being increased.

The descriptors aren't that easy to understand without training and experience. Lots of the words have very specific interpretations, and you have to understand case law etc.

They have no legal power to change the DWP decision.

i think sometimes people think PIP eligibility is connected to a diagnosis. The reality is that it requires a diagnosis but also evidence that that illness/condition impacts ability to undertake various everyday tasks. So the PP’s friend with stage 4 cancer would not qualify on that ground alone: they would have to demonstrate that as a result of that diagnosis they are unable to for example cook a simple meal, get dressed, bathe and use the toilet, walk 200m or less, find their way around outdoors, communicate effectively with people etc etc scoring sufficient points under each of these headings to cumulatively meet the eligibility threshold.

I would advise the OP to go to CAB who will advise on how to word the application and/or seek MR and Appeal

I thought it would be self-evident from my post that my relative with S4 cancer has significant limitations to both daily living and mobility. I'm not sure how many people with cancer you've met or what you know about it but nobody is going to be stage 4 without it having a significant impact on their life!

I don’t disagree with you - however if those limitations don’t meet the narrow criteria used by PIP (or more realistically are not parsed in such a way as to tick DWP boxes) or when added up don’t cross the points threshold then an application will not be successful. My MIL who died of cancer only 6 months after diagnosis would not have qualified because until a few weeks before her death she was able to look after herself quite well (she lived alone) and while her mobility was impaired it would not have been within the parameters set by PIP

The problem with DWP and PIP is that at no point in the process is anyone medical making the decision. They really do need it spelled out for them in basic English by a consultant/GP exactly what descriptors apply to the person applying for PIP.

I understand your point but we deliberately waited for 18 mnths before applying to see the longterm affects of the stroke. His condition is complicated by copd and arthritis. But since it is not about the disease but about how it affects you day to day I felt that the considerable mobility and cognitive deficits he has been left with would score at least one or two points.
We rarely go out because unless there is parking within 100yds he really struggles. He needs help with planning activities and cannot organise his drugs. When he is running out it just does not occur to him to order a new prescription. It’s not a memory issue it’s just his brain no longer makes logical connections.
As I said the report we had back had a lot of mistakes and assumptions made.

I think @Angrymum22 your best bet is to contact Headway and ask for assistance gathering more documentation of how his stroke has affected his daily living and capabilities, then how to write a mandatory reconsideration request to go with the extra evidence. If it comes down to it, you can appeal and go to tribunal and still add more evidence at that point.

Hi all!
I applied for PIP Nov 2023, gor declined end of feb! Sent in for MR , i didnt sent anymore forms as i have no printer and no one that has one! On monday i had a call from a lady to ask abit more. She said she would be making the decision and i only needed 2 points to get it! Im sure she said which shell be giving me them today? She then asked if my bank details are the same. And a letter will be with me within 10 days.
so will she be the one who decised or does it have to be pst to others? X