Mobile Menu

  • Home
  • About
  • PIP
    • PIP Overview
    • PIP Claim
    • PIP Assessment
    • PIP Decision
    • PIP Reconsideration
    • PIP Appeal
    • PIP Appeal Challenge
  • ESA
    • ESA Overview
    • ESA Claim
    • ESA Assessment
    • ESA Decision
    • ESA Reconsideration
    • ESA Appeal
    • ESA Appeal Challenge
  • ITV News
  • Articles
  • Charges
  • Contact

PIP GUIDE

  • Personal Independence Payment
  • PIP Claim
  • PIP Assessment
  • PIP Decision
  • PIP Reconsideration
  • PIP Appeal
  • PIP Appeal Challenge

ESA GUIDE

  • Employment & Support Allowance
  • ESA Claim
  • ESA Assessment
  • ESA Decision
  • ESA Reconsideration
  • ESA Appeal
  • ESA Appeal Challenge
  • Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

Office: 029 2000 2425 | info@disabilityclaims.uk | @disabilityclaims

Disability Claims

Header Right

  • Home
  • About
  • PIP
    • PIP Overview
    • PIP Claim
    • PIP Assessment
    • PIP Decision
    • PIP Reconsideration
    • PIP Appeal
    • PIP Appeal Challenge
  • ESA
    • ESA Overview
    • ESA Claim
    • ESA Assessment
    • ESA Decision
    • ESA Reconsideration
    • ESA Appeal
    • ESA Appeal Challenge
  • ITV News
  • Articles
  • Charges
  • Contact
  • PIP assessment points
  • Can you study while on PIP?
  • PIP and carer’s allowance
  • PIP in a care home
  • PIP & mental health
  • PIP appeal process

PIP assessment points

Personal independence payment is a points-based disability benefit. By ‘points-based’ we mean that you will need to score a certain number of points to get an award.  So how do you score points, and how many do you need? Good questions; we see some daft headlines on news and other websites that say that there is money waiting for you if you have this or that medical condition. That is not how it works though. PIP entitlement is based on how you are affected by your disability or medical conditions. There is an exception to this statement, which is covered at the end of this article. 

No two people are affected in quite the same way by a medical condition, which is why the claim process tries to focus on how you are affected. The assessment is not an overall, or a subjective, assessment of whether things are difficult for you, whether you have help from family or friends, and it is not based on someone’s opinion of whether you are deserving or not. It is not based on financial need, so household income and savings are not asked about. You can be working full-time and/or have recently won the lottery, or equally, you can be in dire need of help – all are assessed by the same criteria.

What are these criteria?

The claim and assessment process looks at 10 activities that you would carry out at home, ‘daily living activities’, and 2 aspects of mobility, so something done outside the home. The 10 daily living activities are:

  • Preparing food
  • Taking nutrition, whether by tube or more usually, issues around eating and drinking.
  • Taking medication, which includes how home therapy is managed, and aspects of monitoring a health condition.
  • Washing and bathing, which is about bathing or showering. 
  • Managing toilet needs or incontinence.
  • Dressing and undressing
  • Communicating verbally
  • Reading and understanding what you have read.
  • Engaging with other people, face-to-face. 
  • Making budgeting decisions.

It is a similar story for the two Mobility activities, Planning and following journeys and Moving around. Broadly, the first is for those with difficulties caused by loss of vision, someone with relevant mental health difficulties; or, who needs to have someone with them as they follow the route of a journey, whether because of seizures, severe anxiety, or an inability to get around safely on their own. The last activity, Moving around, concerns the physical side of walking and it looks at the distance that you can walk on most days. You will be asked about walking aids that you use. It is another complex area, since the pain that you experience while walking is relevant, as are the stops you have to make, how often you can do that walking and the speed at which you walk. 

Under each of these headings, there are between 4 and 7 statements, or ‘descriptors’. The assessor and DWP decision maker will choose one of these descriptors for each of the 12 activities, and for every claimant. At one end of the spectrum is a descriptor that says that you can manage the activity, while at the other is a descriptor that says that you cannot do it at all. The ones in between describe various degrees of inability. 

Why do I need to know all this?

Looking at the descriptors for Preparing food should help to answer this. Knowing why and how you should score points under one of the headings will help ensure that you include what is relevant to your claim and to avoid including material that cannot affect or support your claim. 

  1. Can prepare and cook a simple meal unaided. 0 points
  2. Needs to use an aid or appliance to be able to either prepare or cook a simple meal. 2
  3. Cannot cook a simple meal using a conventional cooker, but is able to do so using a microwave. 2
  4. Needs prompting to be able to either prepare or cook a simple meal. 2
  5. Needs supervision or assistance to either prepare or cook a simple meal. 4
  6. Cannot prepare and cook food. 8

If more than one of the above descriptors applies to you, then the higher score applies. There are websites and sections of specialist books which help by explaining how to interpret the words and phrases included in the descriptors. Words such as ‘supervision’, ‘assistance’ and ‘simple meal’ are defined in the PIP Regulations (an online search will take you to Part 1 of the 2013 Regulations on the gov.uk website. Many other concepts are defined and explained by decisions of the Upper Tribunal, whose decisions are binding on the local tribunals that would hear your appeal, and on DWP decision makers – this means that they cannot choose to do their own thing, they are ‘bound’ to interpret the law as laid down by the Upper Tribunal. These include important decisions such as how to assess ‘risk’, an example would be how a claim should be assessed for someone who could have a seizure while cooking, even though this is unlikely to happen. Can descriptor c) apply if you do not have a microwave? The answer is NO, which comes from the Upper Tribunal. You will see from Preparing food that it is not only physical limitations that can score points, but also mental health and cognitive/thinking difficulties as well. 

OK, I see the importance of understanding the test, but it feels overwhelming

Looking in detail at even this one activity of Preparing food is beyond the scope of this article, so get help. The best option is to work on your claim with someone who knows the test and what everything means. You live with how your disability or medical conditions affect you, and you have almost certainly made adjustments to reduce the impact. Perhaps you have to sit down peel and chop vegetables, or you buy ready-prepared vegetables because you can no longer do that peeling and chopping. You might have been using aids or appliances to compensate for your reduced grip or strength. Perhaps you gave up on cooking because it became too dangerous. Does someone do all this for you now, or do you get by on ‘junk food’, crisps, sandwiches and chocolate? The point is that an experienced person will ask you questions under all these headings that you might not ask yourself, because your adjustments have become normal everyday life for you. 

Where else can I get help?

The help could be someone in a local or national advice agency. There are really good people in such agencies, and there are people who should not be doing the work. There is a lot at stake with your claim, so it is reasonable to ask politely about their experience and/or training. Consider asking if they have done PIP tribunal appeals and whether you will receive a copy of the form content. Will they provide written advice on where you should score points, and what award you ought to receive? You can draw your own conclusions if they seem defensive. Similarly, if they will not be able to tell you what the result of your claim should be, once the form is filled in, how are you supposed to know if the DWP made the right decision? It would be a mistake to think that the Department and the assessors they sub-contract to are the specialist and will always get it right. As with anything, they include skilled and experienced professionals, as well as those who should not be doing the work. Which will you get?

We offer a national service but we charge for our work, and even though we accept payment of our fee by instalments, we recognise that our service will not be for everyone. You may want to, or need to, use a local service; we hope that you will be better equipped to assess these services. An alternative is to use help sheets that can be found online. These suggest questions that you should ask yourself. This option will work for some, but not for all. Certainly, any help is better than going it alone, for almost everyone. 

You did not tell me how many points I need

True; a score of between 0 and 7 points, for daily living or mobility, will mean no award is made. Between 8 and 11 points will give you the ‘standard rate of that component (daily living or mobility), while 12 or more points will give you the enhanced rate.

When is PIP not points-based?

We said that there was an exception, which is that you will be passported to an award of enhanced rate of the daily living component if you are not expected to live for more than six months, and your consultant has signed a form DS1500 to confirm this. If you also have a claim for the mobility component of PIP, this is processed in the normal way, it is not passported. 

You will find helpful information elsewhere on our website, as we hope that this article will have been helpful. 

Recent Posts

  • Can you study while on PIP?
  • PIP assessment points
  • PIP and carer’s allowance
  • Do I still get PIP in a care home?
  • PIP tips & tricks
  • What grants can I get on PIP?
  • How much is PIP?
  • Can I get a mobility car on standard rate PIP assessment?
  • PIP Form Help
  • Do I have to tell PIP if I start work?
  • PIP Supersession Requests
  • PIP mandatory reconsideration
  • PIP payments backdated
  • Challenging a PIP tribunal decision
  • How to do a PIP reconsideration
  • Enhanced PIP Benefits
  • PIP Claim – Change of Circumstances
  • What other benefits can I claim with PIP?
  • What illness qualifies for PIP?
  • PIP & ESA appeal over 29 months
  • PIP for Depression and Anxiety
  • PIP Appeal in Sutton
  • How long does it take to claim PIP?
  • Does Carers Allowance Affect PIP?
  • This PIP appeal in North London needed Pebbles help
  • PIP appeal hearing date arrives before the PIP appeal papers
  • The impact of Fibromyalgia on a PIP Claim
  • Fibromyalgia and PIP
  • Questions asked at PIP assessment
  • PIP Appeal in Cornwall
  • Section IV: The PIP appeal process and alleviating your stress levels
  • Section III: The PIP appeal process and alleviating your stress levels
  • Section II: The PIP appeal process and alleviating your stress levels
  • Section I: The PIP appeal process and alleviating your stress levels
  • PIP appeal in Cambridge
  • Can you work full-time and have a substantial PIP award?
  • What you need to know about PIP rates and components
  • PIP Appeal Tribunal Awarded Six Times The Number Of Points Awarded By The DWP
  • A Good Outcome, With The Client Receiving Exactly The Award We Wanted.
  • PIP Appeal in Central London
  • Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and Your Mental Health
  • How Many Days?
  • No Need To Score Points To Be Successful
  • Personal Independence Payments (PIP) for over 65
  • Would The Ambulance Crew Make It In Time?
  • Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Descriptors
  • Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Points
  • PIP appeal in Southampton
  • PIP appeal in East London
  • PIP appeal in Inverness
  • ESA and PIP appeals in Birmingham
  • From DLA to PIP
  • Deciding Appeals in the Absence of Claimants
  • Now that’s what I call a PIP reconsideration request..
  • Moving from DLA to PIP
  • PIP appeal in Leicester
  • 15 Points for Mobilising and Support Group Placement
PIP Articles

Can you study while on PIP?

By DC-ADMIN | 22/02/2023
PIP Articles

PIP assessment points

By DC-ADMIN | 22/02/2023
PIP Articles

PIP and carer’s allowance

By DC-ADMIN | 20/12/2022
PIP Articles

Do I still get PIP in a care home?

By DC-ADMIN | 20/12/2022
PIP Articles

PIP tips & tricks

By DC-ADMIN | 18/05/2022
PIP Articles

What grants can I get on PIP?

By DC-ADMIN | 15/05/2022
PIP Articles

How much is PIP?

By DC-ADMIN | 18/04/2022
PIP Articles

Can I get a mobility car on standard rate PIP assessment?

By DC-ADMIN | 15/04/2022
PIP Articles

PIP Form Help

By DC-ADMIN | 18/12/2021
PIP Articles

Do I have to tell PIP if I start work?

By DC-ADMIN | 15/12/2021
Previous Post: «PIP Articles PIP and carer’s allowance
Next Post: Can you study while on PIP? PIP Articles»

Footer

Address

28 Lon Yr Ysgol
Bedwas
Caerphilly
CF83 8PE

PIP Guide

  • PIP Claim
  • PIP Assessment
  • PIP Decision
  • PIP Reconsideration
  • PIP Appeal
  • PIP Appeal Challenge

ESA Guide

  • ESA Claim
  • ESA Assessment
  • ESA Decision
  • ESA Reconsideration
  • ESA Appeal
  • ESA Appeal Challenge

Get in Touch

Office: 029 2000 2425

info@disabilityclaims.uk

@disabilityclaims

@personalindependencepayment

Site Footer

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Home
  • About
  • PIP
  • ESA
  • ITV News
  • Articles
  • Charges
  • Contact

©2011-23 DISABILITY CLAIMS  |  Privacy  | Cookies  |  Terms  |  Accessibility  |  Sitemap  |  Disclaimer 

You agree to the use of cookies for analytics, personalised content and ads. Accept
Cookies

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT