Pip assessment and being an appointee

[Jesslou37]

So my daughter has a telephone assessment coming up, we've received the paperwork with the appointment time etc and I've noticed she can have me there with her but I can't speak on her behalf. It's down she suffers with mental health, anxiety and doesn't socially mix with people or talk to new people. She's more than capable of managing her own money so when went from child dla to pip I said I didn't need to be her appointee. Has anyone else been in this situation and actually been able to help on the call or have you applied to be appointee and what the process actually is/ how long it takes to change to me being an appointee

Many thanks

Without being appointee, it isn’t that you can’t speak at all. You can still chip in and speak, but they will primarily want to hear from DD.

If DD is unable to manage the claim herself, you can request to become appointee. You do this via calling DWP. This will take a few weeks but the assessment can be postponed. If you become appointee, you would be able to speak on DD’s behalf. Although some assessors would still try to insist on speaking to DD even though they can speak to you.

Being an appointee is so much more than the young person being able to manage their own money. Many people believe it’s about the money side of things but it’s really not. It’s about whether the young person can advocate for themselves, can they understand and communicate their own health issues and difficulties adequately, can they handle the claim form, phone calls, assessments themselves, do they understand what their condition is actually all about and how if affects them? These are the reasons you need to be an appointee. I’d ring up and try to get that changed asap.

We have just had a call and I spoke a lot. I am not my daughter's appointee but there was no issue. I never asked if I could be there and it wasn't questioned.

For the PIP assessment? You’ve been VERY lucky to have been allowed to talk given you’re not the appointee. If you’re going to need to talk in the future (renewals etc) I’d strongly advise you to become her appointee. Next time you may get a stickler for the rules and you’ll not be able to talk on her behalf. Just as a further example, at Tribunal stage, a person accompanying the claimant is only allowed to say a few words at the end if they’re not the appointee.

@frazzledbutcalm Thank you for letting me know, I had no idea. I will look into it.