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New PIP claim while awaiting appeal

Va1der
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New one for me: Client was refused PIP. Appealed. Health got worse so we advised submit new claim - done on 28/03/22. Appeal allowed on 13/04, SRDL only. PIP2 posted on 05/05/22.
No backdated payment yet.

Today he got a call from DWP asking him whether he wants to go ahead with the new claim, and stating that depending on this and that they will only make backdated payment from the appeal award until certain dates.

I phoned DWP and couldn’t get any clarity on what exactly they thought their options were, just describing the case as ‘technically complex’. They are posting out a letter to explain his options.

I thought that once the PIP appeal succeeded the new claim would just be treated as a request for supersession of the (now) ongoing award. Payment continues at rate set by tribunal until DWP makes a new decision to increase or decrease the award.  Not really any other options, are there?

Elliot Kent
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I don’t think its as complicated as the DWP suggest.

Either the “new claim” on 28/03/22 is no such thing because your client can’t meaningfully make a claim for benefit in respect of a period where he already has an award of that benefit. Or otherwise, you might fudge things so that the new claim is retroactively treated as a supersession application as you suggest.

I would generally not recommend making a new claim in the immediate run-up to a Tribunal as it has a tendency to cause things like this to happen.

Paul_Treloar_AgeUK
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Va1der - 31 May 2022 03:02 PM

I thought that once the PIP appeal succeeded the new claim would just be treated as a request for supersession of the (now) ongoing award. Payment continues at rate set by tribunal until DWP makes a new decision to increase or decrease the award.  Not really any other options, are there?

Maybe they’re thinking of refusing the new application again, which would mean the FtT decision could only have effect up to the date of the new decision?

Given some of the frankly cranky advice coming out from various parts of the DWP recently, it wouldn’t surprise me if this was the case.

Va1der
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Elliot Kent - 31 May 2022 03:29 PM

I don’t think its as complicated as the DWP suggest.

Either the “new claim” on 28/03/22 is no such thing because your client can’t meaningfully make a claim for benefit in respect of a period where he already has an award of that benefit. Or otherwise, you might fudge things so that the new claim is retroactively treated as a supersession application as you suggest.

I would generally not recommend making a new claim in the immediate run-up to a Tribunal as it has a tendency to cause things like this to happen.

Getting it treated as a supersession application was the intended outcome.
He is considerably worse now, and we didn’t have an appeal date yet when I gave that advice. Partly advised it to secure an earlier entitlement to a higher award (and partly because I wasn’t confident yet I’d even scrape the 2 points needed for a SRDL award).

I do take your point about doing it so late - I did suspect the hearing would be listed soon, but given the above factors I thought it was more prudent to go ahead.

Greg
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What’s the award dating on the FtT decision notice?

Thinking about this pragmatically, I’d most likely advise withdrawal of the new claim, and I wouldn’t go through with the supersession unless there were very strong merits. Bad assessment reports are like bad smells, they can linger for years! I’d definitely want there to be good medical evidence.

A supersession, if still merited, would be best requested through normal routes. I’ve always found DWP tie themselves in knots with closed-period claims so where you can avoid this it’ll make life much simpler. Once the claim is withdrawn – assuming this is the right thing to do – you could still make good use of the completed PIP2 to that end.

Va1der
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I think the whole concept of ‘withdrawing the claim’ is what’s getting me confused in this situation, as I didn’t think that had any practical function here.

Once the appeal was allowed it had the effect of creating an ongoing claim, which would have precluded a new claim from being made, no? If that’s the case then isn’t it down to the SoS to make a decision to treat/accept the new claim as an application for supersession?

I worry that the practical implication of the client ‘withdrawing the claim’ is that the supersession application goes as well - though I could probably at least argue that the PIP2 serves that purpose.