Draft regulations and consultation request for the Personal Independence Payment. Due to be in force in 2013
Outline. Points based (similar to ESA ) for two rates, Daily Living Component and Mobility . Awards will be based on a descriptor based assessment and the Care component change to two awards :
“limited ability to carry out daily living activities” or “severely limited ability to carry out daily living activities" ... and a claimant will be awarded either a "Standard " or Enhanced " rate of a Daily Living Component.
The Mobility Component will change to :
“limited ability to carry out mobility activities” or “severely limited ability to carry out mobility activities” and the award will be.. standard or enhanced rate of the Mobility component.
The descriptors for the awards can be seen at the bottom of the draft regulations in the PDF marked "Social Security (Personal Independence Payment) (Assessment) draft regulations" (Page 9 to 14).
The number of points for each and the number of total points required for each rate has not been decided yet.
AssesmentQuote:The new assessment will include advice provided by a trained independent assessor who will collect evidence from a wide range of sources.
In many cases this will involve a face-to-face consultation with a trained independent assessor, but in some other cases a paper-based assessment may be more suitable.
The key is a review process that is applied sensitively and appropriately, which disabled people and their representatives have helped us to design to get it right.
Fluctuating conditionsQuote:Taking a view of ability over a longer period of time helps to iron out fluctuations and presents a more coherent picture of disabling effects.
Therefore, unless otherwise stated, the descriptor choice should be based on consideration of a 12 month period.
If the activity cannot be completed in the way described for more than 6 months, aggregated over the 12 month period, then it should be viewed as not being completed at all and the appropriate descriptor applied.
Other matters include being able to get PIP past 65, pass-porting for carers allowance , motability etc. Requirement to have had those needs for 6 months prior to claim rather than 3 months .Limited number of indefinite awards . awards between 2 years and 10 years dependant on likelihood of improvement or condition deteriorating.PIP for working age only but will continue past retirement age.
Rich :(
"The difference between 'involvement' and 'commitment' is like an eggs-and-ham breakfast: the chicken was 'involved' - the pig was 'committed'."
