Forum Home → Discussion → Disability benefits → Thread
Why Do they Persist?
Represented in a Personal Independence Payment reassessment appeal on Friday.
DWP took all my client’s PIP away because a nurse said that my client scored 0 points
The Tribunal have awarded the enhanced rate of both the daily living and the mobility components Add the severe disability premium and you are talking of an increase in income of around £214 per week backdated to December 2018.
Interesting that the DWP sent a presenting officer who never said a word. The Tribunal’s decision notice also says that in making its decision the tribunal placed particular reliance on the oral evidence of the appellant and the written submission from her representative Mr Stainsby
All goes to show that there is something very wrong with the decision-making processes in the DWP
What if all appeal decisions (successful or unsuccessful) were referred back to the relevant Health Care Professional. Cases could be anonymised. This would be a great learning tool.
I think you’ve missed the memo Derek. Your client’s PIP was removed because a HCP says that they scored 0 points. I’m not sure what further explanation you need.
If you won your appeal, it was because you supplied magic new evidence changing the decision which the HCP couldn’t possibly have known about or obtained.
The idea being that the HCP could see that the tribunal awarded lots of points where they had awarded none.
Magic new evidence?
Not really (unless the reference in my client’s medical notes to my client’s height and weight counts)
A detailed submission arguing the case? yes of course
What I find particularly interesting is that the DWP sent a presenting officer who effectively didn’t present her case. She said nothing and declined to ask any questions
What I find particularly interesting is that the DWP sent a presenting officer who effectively didn’t present her case. She said nothing and declined to ask any questions
Seems to be par for the course! The majority of POs that I see add very little beyond perhaps a tiny bit of case history which wasn’t in the papers. There’s a handful which can be quite effective either in the DWPs favour or, to be fair, in the clients. But they’re a small minority in my experience. Some will try to get into it on more technical appeals (say about a capital issue or a failure to attend a medical) but usually they don’t add much beyond “well the DWP view is x” or “well the appellant was clearly told by letter that abc applied”.
I assume someone in the DWP has had a bright idea that if they send POs it will help them to prevent so many defeats at appeal. Presumably after the person before thought there was no point in sending POs as they kept losing anyway…