PIP: Personal Independence Payments. (Helping Towards Some Of The Extra Costs You Might Have Because Of A Long Term Health Condition Or Disability) UK ONLY

The system for the PIP payments has once again changed in the UK and i have recently been given information from my work about the changes. I have detailed  PDF documents with more information that can be obtained by sending me a message via the contact section of this blog; or simply by commenting below. I have split the information into easy to read sections; if you don't wish to read all the information simply look at the sub-headings for the information you require.

PLEASE NOTE MOST INFORMATION IS TAKEN DIRECTLY FROM THE INFORMATION LEAFLETS THEMSELVES

The information in the leaflet given to me is for people aged UNDER 65. You can't get Personal Independent Payment if you were aged 65 of over on the 8th April 2013 or UNDER 16. However, if you have been getting Disability Living Allowance or PIP payments until recently ring the contact number at the end of this post.

If you're UNDER 16 you may be able to get disability living allowance for children. If your aged 65 OR OVER you may be able to get attendance allowance instead. Visit... www.gov.uk

What is Personal Independence Payment?

Personal Independence Payment is a benefit to help you with some of the extra costs you may have because of a long-term health condition or disability. Personal Independence Payment replaces Disability Living Allowance for people who are aged 16 to 64 when they claim. You cannot get Personal Independence
Payment and Disability Living Allowance at the same time.

The amount of Personal Independence Payment you may get is based on how your health condition or disability affects you, not on the condition you have. You can get Personal Independence Payment whether you are in or out of work. Personal Independence Payment is a tax-free benefit and is not affected by
your income or savings.


How is Personal Independence Payment Made Up?
There are two parts to Personal Independence Payment:
•  Daily Living
•  Mobility.
If you qualify for Personal Independence Payment, you will get money for one or both parts. The amount you get is based on how your health condition or disability affects how well you carry out the ‘everyday activities’ shown below, the difficulties you face and the help you would need to do them - even if you
don’t actually get any help. For each part of Personal Independence Payment there is a list of activities.

Daily Living part activities include:                       Mobility part acitivties include:
* Preparing food                                                *Going out and moving around
* Eating and drinking
* Managing your treatments
* Washing and bathing
* Managing your toilet needs
* Dressing and undressing
* Communicating
* Reading
* Mixing with other people, and
* Making decisions about money.


How Is Personal Independence Payment Worked Out?
For each activity, there is a list of ‘descriptors’. Descriptors are sentences which describe how much support, and the type of support, you need to do the activity. Each descriptor has a point score.

You will get the most points if you can’t do the activity at all. You will get some points if you need special equipment, or if you need prompting, supervision or help from another person to do the activity. You won’t get any points if you can do the activity without any help.

The number of points you get will depend on how much help you need. Your scores for the activities are added together to give a total for each part. If you qualify, you can be paid for each part at either the
‘standard rate’ or the ‘enhanced rate’. For each part, you will get the standard rate if your scores add
up to 8 to 11 points. For each part, you will get the enhanced rate if your scores add up to 12 points or more.


Can I Get Personal Independence Payment?
Questions to help you decide if you might get Personal Independence Payment.

Do you have difficulty doing daily living and mobility activities because of a health condition or disability?
By this we mean how much does your health condition or disability affect how you carry out the daily living and mobility activities?

How long have you had your health condition or disability, and how long do you think that your health condition or disability will last?
You can claim Personal Independence Payment at any time if you need help doing daily living activities, or have problems with your mobility (or both), because of a health condition or disability. However, to be paid Personal Independence Payment, you must have needed help with these activities for at least three months - although you can put in a claim during this time. You must also be likely to need help with daily living activities, or have problems with mobility, for at least another nine months.

These rules do not apply to people who have a terminal illness and are not expected to live for more than six months. If you have a terminal illness you should apply straight away.

Are you in a care home?
If you’re in a care home when you claim, we can usually pay the Mobility part of Personal Independence Payment but not the Daily Living part. However, we may pay the Daily Living part if you’re paying for your care home privately and none of your care is paid for by the council or from public money.

Are you in hospital or a hospice?
If you’re in hospital when you claim, we won’t usually pay Personal Independence Payment until you leave. However, we may pay it if you’re a private patient and you’re paying without help from the NHS. We may also pay Personal Independence Payment if you’re claiming because you are terminally ill and you are in a hospice.

Are you living in Great Britain?
To get Personal Independence Payment you must normally live in Great Britain. You won’t usually be able to claim Personal Independence Payment if you’re subject to immigration controls, although there are a small number of exceptions. Check your passport or other travel documents from the Home Office or UK Border Agency to see if they say you’re subject to immigration controls.

What if I am living abroad?

You’ll need to have spent a minimum of at least two out of the last three years in Great Britain before you can claim Personal Independence Payment. However, if you’re living in another European Economic Area state or Switzerland, you may be able to get the Daily Living part of Personal Independence Payment.

What if I go abroad for a short time?
You must tell us if you go abroad for more than four weeks. We can pay Personal Independence Payment for the first 13 weeks that you’re temporarily abroad (or up to 26 weeks if you’re abroad specifically for medical treatment).


How Do I Claim?
To start your claim for Personal Independence Payment:
Phone: 0800 917 2222
Textphone: 0800 917 7777

Someone else can call on your behalf to make the claim but you’ll need to be there too.  We’ll only ask for some basic information at this stage, including your:
•  National Insurance number
•  full address, including postcode
•  date of birth
•  bank or building society account details, so we can arrange any payments if you qualify for the benefit
•  daytime contact number, and
•  GP or other health professional’s details.

We’ll also ask if you’ve spent time abroad, and whether you are in a care home or hospital, or have been recently.


What Happens After I Start My Claim?
We’ll send you a form so you can tell us how your health condition or disability affects your daily life, both on ‘good’ and ‘bad’ days and over a range of activities.

When you post the form back to us you should also send us any information you have that explains your circumstances. This might be information from your GP, or the professional that you see about your health condition or disability, or from anyone else who supports you.

Only send in copies of things you already have or can easily get hold of. Don’t ask for other information which might slow down your claim, or that you might be charged for (for example, a letter from your GP). If we need something like this, we’ll ask for it ourselves.

When you send in the form, we will pass your claim to a ‘health professional’. The health professional works for an organisation that carries out assessments for us - the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).They may be an occupational therapist, nurse, physiotherapist, paramedic or doctor.

The health professional will look at the information you’ve provided. They may ask your GP or other contacts you’ve given on the form, for extra information they need.

Sometimes we can make a decision by using just the written information, but most people will be asked to go to a ‘face-to-face consultation’ with a health professional. If a face-to-face consultation is needed then the health professional will contact you direct to arrange it.

The consultation will give you the chance to explain your needs in your own words. You can take someone with you for support and they can take part in the discussion too.

Once the consultation is finished we consider all the information, including the advice from the health professional and any information you’ve sent us. We (not the health professional) will make a decision on your claim and write to tell you how we made the decision.

If you qualify for Personal Independence Payment, we will look at your claim regularly to make sure that you are getting the right support. We will look at your claim if we think it’s likely that your health condition or disability will change, or you might need more or less support.

You must tell us straight away if you need more or less help to look after yourself, or if you find it easier or harder to get around.

If you are not sure whether to tell us about a change, do it anyway. If you don’t, you could lose out on money you should get. Or you could be paid too much and have to pay it back.


What If I Am Terminally Ill?
We have special rules for people who have a terminal illness and are not expected to live for more than six months. These rules mean that your claim will be dealt with more quickly, you will not need to go for a face-to-face consultation and you will get the enhanced rate of the Daily Living part straight away. You may also get the Mobility part, depending on your mobility needs.

You can make a claim for someone who has a terminal illness without them knowing and without their permission. However, we will write to them with the results of our decision on the claim. The letter will not include any details about either the person’s health condition or that the claim was made under the
special rules.

To claim under these special rules for terminally ill people, you’ll need to Direct Gov on 0800 917 2222. It’s important to send a DS1500 form from your doctor, specialist or consultant to support your claim (unless you have sent one for this or any other benefit in the last six months). The DS1500 is a report about your medical condition. You won’t have to pay for it. You can ask the doctor’s receptionist, a nurse or a social worker to arrange it for you. You don’t have to see the doctor.