pip letter changes

[freedomeagle]

Just got a letter from pip saying change in law affecting pip and then says doesn't affect me so why send the letter and what are these changes? Just wondered if others got them and what is the point if doesn't affect someone?

[nukecad]

What changes does it talk about?

The only thing I can think of currently is the LEAP excercise following two High Court decisions a couple of years ago that have a bearing on the MH descriptors, which means that some awards should be revised.

But with that excercise they are not automatically looking at everyones award, particularly if your award was made at tribunal then you may get a letter that 'invites' you to ask for a review.
I've never seen one but I doubt it will be a very clear invitation. (No doubt they are cleverly worded to imply that you are not affected so it's not worth asking for a review).

Or they may have already done an automatic review and the letter is just informing you?
Does it say anything about a right of MR/appeal?

[walker]

so far as i am aware - the Leap review letters ARE very unclear, and many do not mention what they actually concern - which is most likely the 'planning and following journeys' question - and the new rulings following cases MH and RJ

it should say that you can ask for an MR (written somewhere but probably not screamingly obvious)

You may consider that it DOES affect you, if you have difficulty making journeys due to your mental health and to 'overwhelming psychological distress'

[freedomeagle]

It's says personal indepentence payment changes in pip law then underneath as dear my name there have been some changes in pip law that affect how the dwp decides pip claims. The main health conditions we have for you on our system indicate your pip claim are not affected by these changes.
It then goes on about conditions mainly mental health then brain and nervous system with symptoms such as blackouts its faints with loss of consciousness. When you look at the www address they've put at the end it asn't been updated since 2020 it's oddest thing i've just had text from someone i know they had same letter today

[StarBright]

I had this letter a few months ago, it's the LEAP one & they said it does not affect me, which is correct it dose not so I filed it in the shredder

[walker]

my main issues are MH and are amongst those that the dwp consider would be affected by these law changes - yet they have not contacted me

[nukecad]

.. It then goes on about conditions mainly mental health then brain and nervous system with symptoms such as blackouts its faints with loss of consciousness.

It does sound like a LEAP letter.
Although the text of one I've now found on B&W doesn't mention blackouts/conciousness there are almost certainly other variants https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/ne...t-pip-back-pay

Blackouts and conciousness are not a factor in PIP unless they are likely to lead to harm and so you need supervision, which is what the RJ vs DWP ruling was about.

But even if the RJ ruling does not apply the MH vs DWP ruling about 'Physcological Distress' might.

Here is the text from that letter as given on B&W:

Personal Independence Payment

Changes in PIP law – We have looked again at your PIP and it has not changed

Dear [insert claimant name],

There have been some changes in Personal independence Payment (PIP) law that affect how the Department for Work and Pensions decides PIP claims.

We are looking again at PIP claims to find out which ones are affected.

This letter explains if and how these changes affect you.

These changes are to do with:

How we assess someone’s ability to plan and follow a journey
How we decide whether someone can carry out an activity safely or not, and whether they need supervision

There is more information about these changes towards the end of this letter and at www.gov.uk/dwp/pip-changes

About your PIP
I have looked again at your award before [insert decision date] and it is not affected.

If you think it could be affected by these changes in PIP law, please phone or write to us using the details at the top of this letter.

Your PIP award from [insert decision date] is correct. This is because these changes in PIP law were taken into consideration when deciding your award from that date.

For your information, a copy of your last set of scores for your PIP is included with this letter.

Your payments
These changes in law do not change the amount of PIP you are getting.

What I did
I looked again at the information we have on your PIP claim(s) including any new information you provided at my request.

Why I looked again at your PIP claim(s)
I looked again at all your PIP claim(s) that may be affected because of the following changes in the law on how PIP claims are decided.

MH v DWP tribunal judgement. This relates to how ‘overwhelming psychological distress’ is considered when assessing the ability of someone to plan and follow a journey. This change applies from 28 November 2016.

RJ v DWP tribunal judgement. This relates to how we decide whether a claimant can carry out an activity safely. It also relates to how we decide if a claimant needs supervision. We now consider the seriousness of any harm that might happen, as well as the likelihood of it happening. Supervision is a need for the continuous presence of another person to prevent harm happening to the person who is claiming PIP or another person. This change applies from 9 March 2017.

For more information about these changes go to

www.gov.uk/dwp/pip-changes

Yours sincerely

[print name]

[freedomeagle]

Attachment 2335 Tried to attach the 2nd page about blackouts nuke but don't think it's worked