PERSONAL Independents Payment awards are a benefit designed to help people with long-term health conditions or disabilities.
Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of the MS Society said: “It’s insulting that so many people who are diagnosed with a long-term condition are being told they don’t qualify for support. Alternatively, this could be because you’ve focused on the wrong thing without following the assessment guidelines.
Kate Smith, senior benefits expert at Citizens Advice, told the Sun: “There are many reasons for Personal Independence Payment claims to be rejected. For example, the healthcare assessment might not have recorded, or misunderstood, all of your needs.” If you want a mandatory reconsideration, you need to apply within one month, although there’s no time limit for the DWP to respond.
When an assessor is deciding whether you can carry out an activity, they must look at whether you can do it reliably. This means you must be able to do it:in a sensible amount of time, typically taking no more than twice the time it would take someone who did not have your condition I don’t believe all the findings from my medical assessment are accurate. The assessor asked me if I could lift a cup. I did as asked but it caused shooting pains up my arm that took several hours to subside and meant I struggled to hold anything else for the rest of the day. I wasn’t given the opportunity to explain this in the assessment.
It’s free and confidential, and will give you a good indication of any benefits you should be able to apply for.If your mandatory consideration doesn’t change your award, you can consider going to tribunal. You will be asked if you want to join a handy “track your appeal” service. Agreeing to this is a good idea as you’ll get email updates and reminders.