Supporting Evidence For PIP From a Family Member (A Comprehensive Guide)
By
PsychReel
In this brief guide, we will look at supporting evidence for PIP from a family member, as well as other information related to PIP.
Supporting Evidence For PIP From a Family Member
You may be able to use supporting evidence for PIP from a family member in addition to the other proofs of disability you may be using, like letters from a doctor, medical test reports and any other attested documents from other figures in your life.
While the supporting evidence for PIP from a family member may not necessarily be something that is going to flip the argument in your favor, it does count for a great addition to your PIP claim and if you can get it, you certainly should.
Additionally, there is also the added benefit of supporting evidence for PIP from a family member that it may also be used in any future claims you may make for a Caregiver’s Allowance for them.
A caregiver’s allowance is awarded to the family members of individuals suffering from disabilities when they are not able to do most things on their own and caring for them is something that takes time and effort.
Supporting evidence for PIP from a family member may be sent in either at the same time as the other documents for the PIP claim or it can be sent at a later date with other things, it is totally up to the person and their convenience as well as ability.
This supporting evidence from a family member may be anything, it can be their own payslips or it can be a letter from them attesting to what their schedules are like while they are caring for the individual, or in some cases they may just be information about the person’s disability and how they think it affects them and why they should be seriously considered for a PIP.
This supporting evidence must be sent either before or soon after the PIP assessment, so that it will be reviewed in time for the PIP claim decision.
In some cases, if the person has applied for a mandatory reconsideration, or if they have not gotten success at the mandatory reconsideration and have therefore applied for a tribunal hearing, the supporting evidence for PIP from a family member may come at a slightly later date.
The family member may also provide supporting evidence for PIP in the form of a testimonial during a tribunal hearing after the mandatory reconsideration has not been successful, given that this is done in court and the person has a right to provide more evidence in the circumstances.
Supporting evidence for PIP from a family member or otherwise may be useful when making a new/renewal PIP claim or when you are appealing against a PIP decision. Supporting evidence can be anything in the form of:
- Daily routine diary and personal statement
- Statement from a carer, friend or family member
- Medical evidence (records, prescriptions, letters from medical professionals).
Supporting evidence for PIP in the form of letters from your carer, friends or family can help support your PIP claim and they may also give a very accurate idea of your condition given that they see you frequently, and are therefore better equipped to comment on how they help you washing, bathing, cooking, dressing etc and why you it might be difficult for you to do specific tasks yourself.
Other Supporting Evidence for PIP
Supporting evidence for PIP does not need to include just evidence from a family member, it can also include 2 other things:
- Medical documents (prescriptions, test results and so on)
- Personal documents daily journal
Supporting evidence can be sent to DWP by post, on the same address where other communications regarding PIP are sent, which may be found on the address that the DWP sends for any reports or PIP related communications they send.
If you are claiming PIP for mental health conditions, and you suffer from a condition that tends to fluctuate daily, you can keep a detailed seven-day journal about your symptoms and what you do on a daily basis which contains the information about how your condition affects you in day-to-day life and this diary may include details about the following things:
- The impact of your mental health condition on your day to day activities, how well you can do them or if you can do them at all.
- Any help you need and who helps you out, you can take help from people in your life who do help you if you forget
- Any adaptations you have made to your environment to cope with your mental health conditions
After finishing your diary this can also be changed into a PIP personal statement as this may often be easier to read than a journal, just make sure that it is a maximum of two pages.
The personal statement regarding what you have written in your diary can contain information regarding the following aspects of your mental health condition:
- The history of your condition
- What your average week looks like
- How your ability to cope differs from day to day.
The other type of supporting evidence that you can send in for your PIP may be medical evidence, which in some cases may even be crucial for a PIP claim, and this may usually takes the form of a letter or report from your general practitioner, psychiatrist, consultant or other healthcare professional related to what your condition is.
In case of medical letters from your doctor, it may always be better to get a letter from the specialist who is related to your mental health condition because it may hold more weight, and they can address the same issues that you addressed in your personal statement, like the history of your condition and how it affects you in daily life.
The other thing a supporting evidence from your doctor can consist of may be information about what treatment you are taking, including medication and/or therapy.
You should also check with your doctor about whether they can write you such a letter because not all healthcare professionals are able or willing to write supporting evidence letters, and they are also not obliged to do so, but in any case it may always be worth asking them and stressing how it could help your claim, but in some cases they may also be likely to charge a fee for writing this letter or report.
If you have spoken to the medical professional who is overseeing your case about writing supporting evidence for a PIP letter, you should not delay returning your PIP form or attending an assessment just because you are waiting to receive a document for supporting evidence.
You can send your PIP form back and include a letter or note explaining that more information will follow in the form of supporting evidence for your claim.
This letter may follow a certain format, which may be found in the next couple of sections.
Furthermore, to give you an idea of what a letter from your medical professional may look like, you can check out samples of such supporting evidence here, and if you want to know what the typical journal for PIP claim or supporting evidence for PIP claim can look something like this.
Lastly, if you would like to know what kind of language and other aspects of what the medical report for your PIP supporting evidence may look like, here is a guide that catalogs the necessary information.
PIP Letter Template 1
Below is a PIP letter template that may be used in cases where the person needs to get an extension on the submission of their PIP form, in case they are being hampered by their disability in some way or have another type of problem.
“Derek Bankole
4 Waterway Drive
Peterborough
PC1 2MA
10 November 2020
Dear Sir or Madam,
PIP claim for Derek Bankole – NI number FR 45 76 67 A
Following my phone call on 2 November 2015, I am writing to confirm that you’ve agreed to extend the deadline to return my PIP2 claim form. I asked for this extension because I need more time because I need help from my local Citizens Advice to complete the form.
The original deadline was 6 November 2015. I understand that I have been given an extension and the new deadline for returning my form is 4 December 2015.
Please could you write to me to confirm this is correct.
Yours faithfully,
Derek Bankole”
PIP Letter Template: 2
The letter given below is the one you would need to send with any supporting evidence that will be sent later, after the PIP claim form has been sent.
“Derek Bankole
4 Waterway Drive
Peterborough
PC1 2MA
10 November 2020
Dear Sir or Madam,
PIP claim for Derek Bankole – NI number FR 45 76 67 A
I sent you my completed PIP2 form on 2 November 2015.
When I sent my PIP2 claim form, I didn’t have all the relevant supporting evidence. I now include the following evidence to support my claim:
1. Letter from my occupational therapist
2. Mental health team care plan
Please send me a letter to confirm you have received this evidence and that it will be taken into account when deciding on my PIP claim.
Yours faithfully,
Derek Bankole”
Conclusion
In this brief guide, we looked for supporting evidence for PIP from a family member, as well as other information related to PIP.
PIP is a benefit given by the DWP to those suffering from disabilities of any type, and it is very helpful to anyone that is struggling to either hold down a job or not able to do their job well enough or earn the amounts that they need to sustain them.
There are many types of documents that may be used in a PIP claim and one needs to ensure that they have these documents with them before they make the claim, so that they don’t have to scramble at the last moment.
If you have any more questions or comments about supporting evidence from PIP from a family member, please feel free to reach out to us at any time.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Supporting Evidence For PIP From a Family Member
Where do I send evidence for PIP?
You can send evidence for PIP on the same address that is provided on the envelope that you may have received from the DWP for any PIP related communication in the past.
You may also reach out to the DWP on their helplines to ask where you need to send evidence for PIP.
Can Pip use the ESA medical report?
Yes, PIP can use the ESA medical report, because according to some recent changes, it has been seen that the PIP decision makers have made use of the ESA medical assessment report ESA85s so that they may be able to speed up processing times and avoid face-to-face PIP assessments.
What percentage of PIP mandatory reconsiderations are successful?
About 15% of the PIP mandatory reconsiderations are successful, but it has been seen that many more apply for a mandatory reconsideration process, which indicates that there are many disabled people who are denied their due PIP at the outset.
The low percentage of success for PIP mandatory reconsiderations means that many individuals who are not able to receive the due PIP amounts for their disability never receive them despite restarting the process or getting the DWP to review their PIP claim.
Can Citizens Advice help with PIP?
Yes, Citizens Advice can help with PIP, as well as many other benefit programs like ESA, Universal Credit or Caregiver’s allowance, and Citizens Advice has helped people with over 300,000 issues relating to the new benefit of PIP since it was introduced in 2013.
Citations
https://lindagask.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/med_evidence_wcp_guidance_final_14dec.pdf
https://www.mentalhealthandmoneyadvice.org/en/welfare-benefits/pip-mental-health-guide/help-with-your-pip-claim/supporting-evidence-for-a-pip-claim/#:~:text=Supporting%20evidence%20can%20come%20in,%2C%20letters%20from%20medical%20professionals).
https://www.mentalhealthandmoneyadvice.org/en/welfare-benefits/pip-mental-health-guide/help-with-your-pip-claim/supporting-evidence-for-a-pip-claim/#:~:text=Supporting%20evidence%20can%20come%20in,%2C%20letters%20from%20medical%20professionals).
https://www.through-the-maze.org.uk/pip-tips-family-carers/