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What is PIP ?

Personal Independent Payment or PIP has replaced Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for children over 16 years of age (it is paid for adults up to 64 years of age) It is paid by the Department of Work and Pension (DWP)

PIP payments are based on the amount of help your child needs with everyday tasks because of how their condition affects them.

• Your child must have needed this help for 3 months and be expected to need it for at least another 9 months.
• Your child must usually be living in England, Wales or Scotland when PIP is applied for and they must have lived there for at least 2 years unless they are a refugee or the immediate family member of a refugee.
• There are other rules for people who have lived in another EEA country and these are complicated. There are also different rules for people who are in the armed forces, are terminally ill or who are already getting DLA and have been asked by the DWP to claim PIP.

It is best to phone the one of the helplines below to get advice on this.

PIP is made up of two parts which are called components:

• the daily living component
• the mobility component

Your child may get one or both components

PIP is based on the level of help your child needs most of the time because of how their condition affects them.

If your child needs help with any of the daily living activities below or is receiving DLA and approaching 16 you may want to consider making an application for PIP.  If you are unsure, have a chat with one of the renal social workers or ring one of the helplines.

What will my child be assessed on?

They will be assessed on 10 daily living activities and 2 mobility activities:

Daily Living

• Preparing and cooking food
• Eating and drinking
• Managing their treatments
• Washing and bathing
• Managing continence or toilet needs
• Dressing and undressing
• Communicating with other people
• Reading and understanding written information
• Mixing with others
• Making decisions about money
• Planning a journey or following a route

Mobility

• planning and following a journey
• moving around

What do I do if my child already has DLA?

DLA is no longer given to children over 16

If your child has been receiving DLA before 16, the payments will stop once your child is 16.

Before your child is 16, the DWP will contact you about PIP then send you a reminder.

Just after your child has turned 16 they (or you, if you are an appointee) will receive a letter from the DWP asking them if they/your child wants to claim PIP.

To make sure the payments continue, your child will need to apply for PIP once they are 16.

If they are awarded PIP this will replace the DLA

DLA will not automatically change to PIP: your child will need to make a claim for PIP once they are 16.

You can become an ‘appointee’ in order to oversee your child’s PIP and the DWP will write to you asking if you want to do this. However you will need to show good reasons why your child is not able to manage PIP themselves.

How do I apply for PIP?

Whether your child has or has not been receiving DLA before their 16^th birthday, if they want to apply for PIP they will need to:

Ring the DWP on 0800 917 2222 (Mon to Fri, 8am to 6pm) and tell them they want to apply for PIP.

When they ring they need to have this information:

• Full name and date of birth
• Daytime contact number
• National Insurance Number
• GP, consultant, nurse specialist or social worker’s details
• Dates of any times they have been in hospital or having treatment
• Bank details so PIP can be paid into an account

The DWP will send them a PIP2 form called ‘How your disability affects you’

• They have 4 weeks to fill it in and return it
• They can ask for extra time (2 weeks) and this will be given under some circumstances, but if you need this make sure you ring the DWP as soon as you can.
• When they send the form back make sure they include any medical reports or documents to support their claim and make copies of all the documents they are sending back. Forms have been known to go missing.
• When the DWP receive the form, they may or may not appoint a health professional to carry out a medical consultation with your child, and if they are asked to attend one, the professional will go through the questions on the PIP2 form for more detail.
• The consultation will look at activities within each component – daily living and mobility – and give points depending on how much help is needed to do each activity. During the interview your child will be able to explain how their disability affects their daily living and you can support your child with this if they want you to.
• The health professional will then send a report to the DWP who will make a decision about whether or not you will get PIP, at what level you will be paid and for how long.

For more detailed information on PIP and other benefits you could have a look at :

www.citizensadvice.org.uk

The website provides information on PIP and other benefits/advice

You can search for your local branch contact details who can give advice over the phone or by office appointments some offer home visits.

contact.org.uk (previously Contact a Family)

They have a booklet on PIP and other benefits post 16 as well as other advice for families.

Contact Helpline 0808 808 3555. Mon – Fri 9.30am to 5pm. Calls are free in the UK.

gov.uk

Advice on claiming PIP