After a PIP assessment, the health professional writes a report with advice on which descriptors apply to you, and DWP's case manager uses it with the other evidence to decide your claim. If you think the decision is wrong, you can challenge your assessment report by comparing it with DWP's own guidance for assessors, the law and your evidence, and then asking for a mandatory reconsideration. This guide explains what to check and how to turn it into a challenge.
Key points
✓You have a right to see your assessment report and can request a copy from DWP.
✓DWP's guide says a snapshot of your condition on a particular day is not an adequate assessment, and each descriptor choice should be justified where appropriate.
✓A descriptor only applies if you can do the activity safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and within a reasonable time period.
✓Ask for a mandatory reconsideration, usually within one month of the date on your decision letter. Later requests need a good reason.
✓If that does not change the decision, you can appeal to the tribunal, usually within one month of your mandatory reconsideration notice.
First, get your assessment report
DWP's guide for assessors says the consultation report is mainly for DWP's case managers, but you have a right to see it and can request a copy from DWP. The paper version of the consultation report is form PA4. The PIP enquiry line is 0800 121 4433. Our guide to the PIP assessment report explains what it contains.
When it arrives, read it line by line against what you said at the assessment, what you wrote on your claim form and the evidence you sent. Mark every point where the report does not match.
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Assessors work to DWP's PIP assessment guide. It says:
✓Yes: Before the consultation, the assessor should read your claim form and all other evidence on file.
✓Yes: A snapshot view of your condition on a particular day at a particular time is not an adequate assessment.
✓Yes: Informal observations should be balanced with evidence from professionals who may have observed you more regularly.
✓Yes: The assessor should explore how you manage in everyday life and in situations that may not be ideal.
✓Yes: The assessor should take into account how your condition varies and whether you can do the activities reliably.
✓Yes: Where appropriate, the assessor must give a justification for each descriptor choice.
Where a report falls short of any of these, you have a specific ground to raise, not just a feeling that it was unfair.
What to check in your report
For each point, quote the report, say what is wrong, and give the correct position with evidence:
✓Yes: Reliability: does the report consider whether you can do each activity safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and within a reasonable time period, or only whether you can do it at all?
✓Yes: Variation: does it look at how you are on most days, or rely on how you seemed during the consultation? A descriptor applies if it is satisfied on over 50% of the days of the required period.
✓Yes: Your evidence: does it deal with the letters, reports and statements you sent?
✓Yes: Reasons: does it explain why it chose each descriptor, and do its own findings support that choice?
✓Yes: After-effects: 'safely' covers harm during or after completing an activity, so check whether the report considered what happens afterwards.
✓Yes: Help and aids: does it record the aids, prompting, supervision or help you described?
✓Yes: Points: are the points for each activity added up correctly, and is the descriptor right for what you described?
Turning what you find into a mandatory reconsideration
A challenge starts with a mandatory reconsideration, asking DWP to look at the decision again. It is free to ask. Build it around what you found:
1
Take each activity in turn
For every activity where you think you should score more, state the descriptor you believe applies and why, with examples from your daily life.
2
Quote the report and say what is wrong
Point to what the report said, then explain the problem: 'the report says I can prepare food, but it does not consider whether I can do so safely, because...'.
3
Send evidence you have not already sent
Evidence needs to support your reasons, for example new medical evidence, or reports or care plans from specialists, therapists or nurses.
4
Ask in time
You usually need to ask within one month of the date on your decision letter, by phone, by letter or on the form. If you write, it must arrive by then.
You can ask after one month for a good reason, for example if you have been in hospital or had a bereavement, and you must explain why your request is late. DWP cannot extend the time if you ask more than 13 months after the decision was sent to you.
If the mandatory reconsideration does not change the decision
You can appeal to the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal, which is independent of government. You cannot appeal until you get your mandatory reconsideration notice, and you usually need to appeal within one month of its date. The tribunal sees a copy of your assessment report.
In Scotland, people apply for Adult Disability Payment instead of PIP, and you ask Social Security Scotland for a re-determination within 42 calendar days before appealing. In Northern Ireland, you apply for a mandatory reconsideration within one calendar month of the date on your decision notice, and cannot appeal to the Appeals Service until you have had one.
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Frequently asked questions
How do I get my PIP assessment report?
Ask DWP for a copy. DWP's guide for assessors says you have a right to see the report and can request a copy from DWP, and that assessors cannot give you a copy at the consultation. The PIP enquiry line is 0800 121 4433.
What are good grounds to challenge a PIP assessment report?
Specific points where the report does not meet DWP's own guidance or the law: it did not consider whether you can do activities reliably, relied on a snapshot of a particular day, did not deal with your evidence, did not justify a descriptor choice, ignored after-effects, missed help or aids you need, or added the points up wrongly.
How long do I have to challenge a PIP decision?
You usually need to ask for a mandatory reconsideration within one month of the date on your decision letter. You can ask later for a good reason, but not more than 13 months after the decision was sent. If the reconsideration does not change the decision, you usually need to appeal within one month of the date of the mandatory reconsideration notice.
Can informal observations at the assessment decide my claim?
DWP's assessment guide says informal observations are part of the evidence, but they should be balanced with evidence from professionals who may have observed you more regularly, and a snapshot of your condition on a particular day is not an adequate assessment.
Does challenging a PIP decision cost anything?
GOV.UK says it is free to ask for a mandatory reconsideration. You cannot claim back the cost of any evidence you pay for.
Know Your Rights UK. "How to Challenge Your PIP Assessment Report." Know Your Rights UK, https://www.knowyourrightsuk.com/benefits/pip/challenge-assessment-report