PIP Award Review Form

Is anyone familiar with the DWP processing of the PIP review form PIP 1043.If the medical condition is unchanged ,does notification of a lengthy hospital admission in itself lead to the termination of the review process by the DWP DM and generate a referral for a new full assessment ?

Perhaps there’s some actual logic but in my experience it seems to be an utter role of the dice as to whether or not a client goes through a full reassessment or if the DWP just make a decision on the paperwork they already hold (including the review form). I had one recently where we did the review form, reported actual deterioration in conditions and the award was changed, without an assessment beyond what was on the form, from Standard in both to Enhanced in both. I was somewhat flabbergasted as we hadn’t submitted much of any evidence with the form! But equally I’ve had clients who we just wrote “no change” throughout who went to a full assessment.

So in your specific case I would suggest you flip a coin as to whether or not your client will have to undergo a full assessment or not to be quite honest!

There is an increasing focus on whether claimants ought to have an additional help/vulnerability marker on their case as well as a recognition that DWP need to better use the information they already have rather. I think that’s what’s generally in play rather than a roll of the dice. Some existing awards have a claim pack and little else attached to the file and some have much more. An AH/V marker also changes the game.

Getting a vulnerability marker also seems to be a roll of the dice.
I had a client who is vulnerable due to a mental health condition; has delusions which make him wary of making claims and doesn’t always engage with support.
Someone somewhere at PIP decided that he doesn’t need a vulnerability marker because he has a support worker.

Wholly agree Helen. There does seem to be both an inbuilt assumption that if you are engaged with a front line service then you don’t need additional help allied to no process for checking whether you are actually still engaged with said service.

The PIP safeguarding letters we get are depressing. “We’re writing to you because Mr. X has not returned their review claim pack and we notice you’re involved with their case.”

Check our files and our involvement was almost always more than five years ago so case closed and no existing consent to give DWP the last contact details we have.

I had an interesting conversation this week with someone on the PIP helpline when I phoned to request additional time to return a PIP review form.  I was told that of course we only needed to give details of any changes since the award was initially made and could put ‘no change’ on the form if this was the case as DWP have all the information used previously to make the award.  Which all sounds good but -

The last award was made nearly 6 years ago, the claimant doesn’t know what information the DWP hold and I didn’t know the claimant then, and

I’d spent the 45 minutes on hold completing the form.

There are always mixed experiences with the advice to put “No change” and I’m not sure it’s possible to draw any conclusion than being aware that it’s a tactic which comes fraught with risk.

For me it has always played out as follows. When I have just written “No change” that has sometimes triggered an award but most times it has triggered a further HCP assessment. I have worked through this with several PIP staff and some DMs and my understanding of the logic is that

- where you just write “No change” that is treated as an unevidenced assertion. That makes sense to me as I usually explain to claimants that “I fall 4x per week” is an unevidenced assertion and poor form filling whereas “I fall 4x per week and here is a detailed account of the what, where, how, why, who witnessed and what happened next of the last time I fell” is clearly “evidence”.

Greeted by unevidenced assertion some DMs will look at existing evidence from the previous claim and make an award but many prefer up to date evidence from a HCP. With some reluctance I can see the merits of both approaches.

- when you put in “No change” but add other evidence then the re-award is pretty straightforward. In one instance I simply included a copy of the claimants previous incredibly well done and detailed PIP 2 (done by them not me I should add) and that sufficed to get double top and ongoing, albeit I had to make the case for ongoing elsewhere in the form.

Many here will know I use medical evidence very rarely and very much focus on anecdotal evidence. However, in this scenario an up to date GP or consultant letter specifying diagnosis, no change in symptoms, treatment or prognosis is absolutely perfect.

Again the logic is that your “No change” has ceased to be an assertion and become evidenced.