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PIP not a qualifying benefit?
Just to pip (no pun intended) Jon to the post, if the PC claim is held until the PIP claim is decided, the date of claim of the PC claim is still protected and no new claim needs to be made.
Edmund is spot on. Making the claim for PC establishes the date from which it is effective, but the DM considers the claimant’s circumstances down to the date a decision is made. So, if the claim is not decided until after PIP has been awarded from on or before the date of the PC claim, then the severe disability amount is included from the start and PC is paid.
That is how it should work in theory. Keep us posted on how it goes in practice…
Jon
Hi all,
PIP is not a qualifying benefit for the purposes of backdating a new PC claim beyond three months. This is because it was not included in the list of ‘relevant benefits’ in Reg 6(22) of the Claims and Payments Regulations (SI 1987/1968) so as to be a ‘qualifying benefit’ for this purpose. The reason that it is a qualifying benefit for extra CA backdating is that the CA rule makes reference to ‘any benefit referred to in the list in s70(2) of the Contributions and Benefits Act’ and PIP was added to the list. When we pointed this out to DWP, they satated it was an error and would be amended but not until some time in 2015(?!)
They also stated that they would ‘treat it as a qualifying benefit until then’ (hence the amendment to the handbook that tbidmead refers to above). There really isn’t a basis for this that I can see (DWP referred to their intention in their reply). As such I think you have to ask for the PC claim not to be decided until a PIP decision is made. If this request is refused (and PC refused) reclaim once PIP has been awarded and request backdating, asking for compensation equivalent to the amount of PC lost if backdating is refused.
There is a paragraph about the situation in this article: http://www.cpag.org.uk/content/pip-process-problems-and-pragmatism
The difference for HB is that it is a supersession after the award of a qualifying benfit, and this refers to benefits listed in s8(3) of the Social Security Act 1998 - amended to include PIP. See Reg 7(2)(i) and 8(14) of the HB Decisions and Appeals Regs (SI 2001/1002).
Hope that makes sense. We would be interested to hear what PC do with this, given law and guidance both say they cannot backdate beyond three months at present.
Jon
Should the DWP/Pension Service in these circs refuse to stockpile PC, IS, ir-ESA etc claims and, instead, decide ahead of a PIP outcome that the person is not entitled (to PC etc), then surely all the claimant would have to do is request MR then appeal. There’s a good chance the PIP outcome would be known before a tribunal considered such an appeal and, if it wasn’t, then a stay of listing could be requested. Any tribunal would have to consider the facts at the date of the PC decision under appeal and one of those facts would be, assuming the PIP is eventually successful, that PIP had been awarded, albeit retrospectively. The tribunal in other words would have to respect the retrospective effect of decisions, here the decision awarding PIP, when it considers the PC etc appeal.
The DWP should really revise any unsuccessful PC etc decision that’s made before PIP is awarded under Reg 3(7) D&A - as you say Jon PIP is, after all, a “relevant benefit” for this purpose. But if they didn’t then the above appeal would appear a work-around.