DWPhelp Rules

hey! i applied for pip about 2 months ago for mental health, my mum did all of my calls and on my form she wrote that it would be incredibly hard to get me to an in person assessment, a few weeks ago someone rang her and asked her questions about my conditions and said this was the assessment, a few days later he rang again and said he wasn’t going to contact the doctors for more information and that the evidence and my mums answers was enough, he never said i would definitely be awarded pip but it would be a bit unfair if he didn’t gather more information and not give me pip if you get what i mean, would you think i’d definitely be getting PIP??

Have my over the phone assessment for PIP tomorrow. any advice?

Do PIP review forms automatically get sent out or do I have to ask for it?

Hi all. I recently went through the lengthy process of PIP only to be rejected with 0 points. I’ve now applied for employment support allowance as I am able to do some types of work. I’ve received the letter saying I’ve been accepted and am so relieved! However, I have to fill in a work capability form and undergo an assessment and after the PIP experience, I am terrified. I’ve already said I can work up to 16 hours a week as I have a four hour a week job and do some freelance work that I can do from home. I will research ofc but does anyone please have any first hand advice? My medical condition is Hyper-mobility Spectrum Disorder/ I’m being investigated for Ehlos Danlos Syndrome but am waiting on the appointment. Thank you!

Hi me and my partner and 2 children aged 5 and 6 will be going abroad for 5 weeks I am aware our claim will be closed till we get back and reapply. does this mean we dont get any money for the child element of our claim or does it apply to both the standard allowance and the child élément

Claim closed had to do a new one, can I apply for a mandate reconsideration of old claim, if I have a new claim open

Hi all. I’m currently in the process of applying for PIP as a recently graduated student. I was diagnosed with Autism nearly 10 years ago and generalised anxiety 6 years ago. My mum has said I should be eligible for PIP (she’s already on it for ME/CFS) so I’ve started the application but I’m just worried that I’m taking from someone else. My autism does affect parts of my daily life but I keep feeling like it isn’t too bad. My mum keeps telling me I need to think abt how I’m like on my “worse days” and how that can affect things. My worse days aren’t too frequent but oh boy are the bad when they do happen. I just feel as if I’m not bad enough, though those around me seem to disagree. That and I’m scared that if I am successful in my claim, I’ll do something wrong like happen to have a long spell of ‘normality’ or go out on a weekend with friends and get done for fraud, especially with changes the government is suggesting. I’ve already read multiple stories on here about how stressful it is having to deal with the DWP and given my anxiety, I can only assume that that would make things even worse. Sorry if this kind of feels like rambling, I sometimes find it hard to coherently word things.

Hi all,

Received a letter yesterday telling my pip is going to end at the end of January and if I still need it to reclaim now.

So if I reclaim will my money carry on or will it be stopped until they make a decision?

If it stops I'm going to really struggle as I'm also in receipt of ESA and that also gets topped up so I'm going to be losing around £700 a month if they do stop it, no idea how I will survive, it's really stressing me out.

I’m really really hoping someone can help or advise here because I am exhausted. I’m sorry if this isn’t the right community but I can’t find any others to post in, other than r/legaladviceuk

I’m (20m) currently in the process of taking my local social services to court for me suffering severe abuse when I was in care.

As part of this, I have to request all my police records and social care records.

I have since received some of my records from 2 police records, and a lot of the abuse I went through wasn’t reported at all, which now means I am going to report it to the police as part of my case.

However, doing so, is going to put my safety at severe risk. 3 of the people who abused me live within 15 minutes of me, and ultimately they will be investigated. There will be other people who will be as well due to abuse happening from multiple people in different time periods.

I have already changed my name back in January to try and stop me being found.

I have got an appointment with the police next week to discuss everything with them.

Luckily the govt has stated that care leavers, like myself, are now exempt from any local connection rules for social and council housing, however quite a few councils are yet to adopt this.

I am now incredibly desperate to leave this area, and move to a different side of the country to ensure I cannot be found by these people. I genuinely believe I would be severely harmed or killed by them if found, and I know this because in 2022, one of them tried finding me on Facebook. And another one told me when I was younger, that they would come looking for me when I was older.

My mental health is already quite bad, I’m fully reliant on benefits because I am suffering quite bad PTSD daily.

Even as I write this now, I am shaking.

What on earth do I do here? If I report the abuse that was never reported, I know a lot of people are going to come for me.

Hi there, everyone on this feed has been very helpful. I have a friend who is willing to move to London and move into my home to support me with my anxiety emotionally as i cant handle loving alone. But they don't know how it would effect there u.c and there lcwra. Would there award be sent to london and would this trigger a review of there u.c and mine

Me and my ex husband parted ways middle of last year. We have a 2yo together. We are both on the mortgage of our jointly owned home

I discussed all the following with my work coach when signing up for UC and she said as long as we could prove we were living separate lives, I could claim as a single person with 1 child

It was an amicable split, we have agreed to child maintenance paid from him to me. This was initially sent from a joint billing account into my sole account, we applied at the bank to remove my name from all joint accounts in August and are still waiting for this to come to fruition. Chased over the weekend and they said because we did it in branch via paper, it can take a long time. My card on this joint account has not been used since the separation

He earns a decent wage, I do not earn anything at the moment - I’m self employed with a new business currently running at a loss, which will hopefully change by the end of this year and I can come off UC, UC is not a long term solution for me. We both do have a lot of debt (myself from starting the business) so selling the house / divorcing at the moment is not a feasible option

His job is a work from home role, which he does so from the office in our jointly mortgaged property. He splits his sleeping time between our house and family / friends. At ours he has his own separate sleeping area - the lounge on a blow up bed, and we don’t eat together. I’ve seen that these are things you need to prove

I have a 30min review call coming up, started in September. Have already sent my ID and bank statements that were requested, and will of course be totally honest about everything

I am incredibly anxious and despite always being 100% transparent, is it likely that my claim is going to be stopped / will have to pay back what I’ve been sent? My exs wage would mean I wouldn’t be entitled to anything if they still classed us as a couple, which we just aren’t. I can try to provide as much proof as possible that we are not romantically linked anymore

Am i worrying about nothing? I feel frustrated as I was hoping UC was just going to be a short term help for me whilst my business took off, but now I am feeling like I’ve done something wrong after speaking to others and reading stuff online

Thanks so much

I was originally awarded with LCW 09/07/21. I was sent out a new questionnaire 30/09/23 my questionnaire was never received by DWP. I was then sent a letter out with a appointment for my assessment on the 02/07/24. They failed to call me on that day, I noted this on my journal and then called the assessment people and they arranged a new appointment. I then received another appointment for the 18/07/24 again they failed to call me so I noted this on my journal again and made a call to the assessment people again. I then received another appointment for the 12/09/24 they finally called and done the assessment. 26/09/24 I was awarded LCWRA.

Because I was awarded LCW at the start does this mean that I won't be getting a back payment? Or will i receive one? And if i do how much?

I had many yrs of rejection after rejection from pip, and I fall under the MM judgement criteria and this time I need to be proactive and not wait for them to BS me… nightmare getting through to CAB and Pip and dwp claims to not even know what that is???? How the heck am I supposed to query it?? I really can’t cope with anymore of their rejection and fight, I need some help and guidance my brain can’t take much more xxxx

Applied for pip 23rd January this year, got denied only awarded 2 points so went for MR. Received text Thursday 26 sept 2024, saying that they will call me that day regarding my pip claim. Lady called asked me security questions and few questions regarding some points. She then asked me if I could handle a lump sum payment and if bank details were the same, I confirmed. She said a decision will be made in the next few days and I’ll receive a letter in 7/10 days.

Does this mean I’ve been successful ?

My husband and I recently claimed UC. I care full time and my husband is studying and trying to set up his own business, the jobcentre are putting too much on him with volunteering 2 days a week, courses, seminars etc etc. He advised them that he wanted to start his own business but they said he could find employment in the meantime. He is struggling to find the time to concentrate on his studying as well as family life and all the job centre are asking him to do. Is is possible to just go into his acccount and close it, would this cancel the whole claim and I would start a new one, as we have only just survived the 5 week wait. Any information would be greatly appreciated Thanks.

Hello I currently receive around £300 UC and a couple months ago received a letter saying I’m LCWRA and my assessment period ends Nov 1st. My rep said that I should receive around £400 per month when the assessment period ends?

Is this on top of my usual UC or does it replace it. For example will I receive £700 in total as they are combined or is it just a £100 increase to the standard UC amount.

Thanks for help was just a bit confused by the wording.

i'm 17 and only started my driving lessons after i got the grant when i baught my car, i picked a manual and 6 months later and driving lessons twice a week i still haven't picked it up i want to change to automatic because i think it would make my life alot easier since it's mainly gears and clutch control i struggle with, would i be able to swap cars?

Iam receiving full PIP due to my disability and i was receiving UC ( rent + pocket money + not capable for work ) I applied for a student loan and informed UC about it which is ( £12471 loan for 1 year ) My course fees is £7900 for the whole year which will keep only £4571 for the whole year to use for transportation and other expenses . UC informed me that my monthly payments will reduce ro £29 a month is that possible? And i just start my university course so if i canceled the student loan and stopped university will they return my regular payments to normal? As i can’t afford all the rent and expenses will be for the whole year .

I don’t know what stamp to get to post my pip2 form out.

Labour party conference – Prime Minister

During his speech to the 2024 Labour Party Conference, the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer said:

“The truth is that if we take tough long-term decisions now, if we stick to the driving purpose behind everything we do – higher economic growth so living standards rise in every community; our NHS facing the future – waiting lists at your hospital down; safer streets in your community; stronger borders; more opportunities for your children; clean British energy powering your home – then that light at the end of this tunnel, that Britain that belongs to you, we get there much more quickly.”

Focusing on welfare, he said:

“We will get the welfare bill down because we will tackle long-term sickness and support people back to work. We will make every penny work for you because we will root out waste and go after tax avoiders.

There will be no stone left unturned. No innovation ignored.”

Confirming that step one of their long-term plan is stabilising the economy, Keir Starmer spoke about the following welfare benefit plans:

• introduce new foundation apprenticeships as a ‘first step to a youth guarantee that will eradicate inactivity and unemployment for our young people – once and for all’.
• ‘get the welfare bill down because we will tackle long-term sickness and support people back to work’. (no detail at all).
• ‘If we want to maintain support for the welfare state, then we will legislate to stop benefit fraud’.
• ‘secure the triple lock so that every pensioner in this country – every pensioner – will be better off with Labour’.

Read the Prime Minister's speech in full on labour.org.uk

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Labour party conference – DWP Minister

Liz Kendall, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions also spoke at the Labour Party Conference. She described how Labour would:

“Bring in the biggest reforms to employment support in a generation**.** An end to the culture of Jobcentre’s focusing on monitoring benefits. Instead, a new jobs and careers service to help people get work and get on at work.”

And

“New plans to join-up support for work, health and skills so we tackle the root causes of worklessness. Led by our brilliant Mayors and local areas because they know their communities best.“

She reminded us of the previously announced ‘Youth Guarantee’ and said this is “backed by our New Deal for Working People with better jobs, better rights and better pay.”

A focus on employment but nothing new, no disability benefit changes announced, no real news (sorry).

Read Liz Kendall’s speech in full on labour.org.uk

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Apprenticeship reforms announced

The Prime Minister and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson announced that the current Apprenticeship Levy will be replaced with a new Growth and Skills Levy, which will include the introduction of Foundation Apprenticeships (referred to in the Prime Minister’s Labour Party Conference speech).

The new apprenticeships are designed to provide young people with a direct route into critical sectors, allowing them to earn a wage while developing essential skills for their careers.

A key feature of the new apprenticeship is the flexibility it offers, e.g. funding will now be available for shorter apprenticeships, removing the requirement that all apprenticeships must last at least 12 months, which was a condition of the previous system.

Training under the new levy will be informed by Skills England, the government’s recently established body tasked with assessing the country’s priority skills needs. The Department for Education will release further details on the scope and accessibility of this training in the coming months.

To fund the initiative, employers are being asked to rebalance their investment, focusing more on supporting younger workers. This includes encouraging businesses to fund more of their level 7 apprenticeships - equivalent to a masters degree - outside of the new levy, which are often taken by older or already highly qualified employees.

The announcement came alongside a publication of first Skills England report highlighting nationwide skills gaps.

More info on Foundation Apprenticeships and the Skills England report is on gov.uk

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New Fraud, Error and Debt Bill to be introduced

Government has confirmed that a new Fraud, Error and Debt Bill will require banks and other financial institutions to share data that may help identify benefit fraud. It is part of a package of measures aiming to catch ‘fraudsters faster’ and aims to save £1.6bn over the next five years.

The new legislation will give additional powers to the DWP but will be kept in check by a Code of Practice to prevent misuse. The DWP said:

“Staff will be trained to the highest standards on the appropriate use of any new powers, and we will introduce new oversight and reporting mechanisms, to monitor these new powers. DWP will not have access to people’s bank accounts and will not share their personal information with third parties.

This legislation delivers on the government’s manifesto commitment to safeguard taxpayers’ money and demonstrates the government’s commitment to not tolerate fraud, error or waste anywhere in public services, including the social security system.”

The Bill is facing controversy and has been called the “snooper’s charter” by some. Campaigners warned ministers against adopting any legislation based too closely on the previous government’s widely criticised data protection and digital information bill, which had similar anti-benefit fraud aspirations – due to concerns about data privacy and the impact on older and disabled claimants.

Silkie Carlo, of Big Brother Watch, said:

“Everyone wants fraud to be dealt with, and the government already has strong powers to investigate the bank statements of suspects.

But to force banks to constantly spy on benefits recipients without suspicion means that not only millions of disabled people, pensioners and carers will be actively spied on but the whole population’s bank accounts are likely to be monitored for no good reason.

A financial snooper’s charter targeted to automate suspicion of our country’s poorest is intrusive, unjustified and risks Horizon-style injustice on a mass scale.”

Caroline Selman, a researcher for the Public Law Project charity, said the bill raised questions about whether ministers had learned lessons from the last proposal:

“If they are serious about building trust in government use of technology, introducing invasive powers of surveillance with a high risk of harm is not the way to do it,”

Disability Rights UK Policy and Campaigns Officer, Dan White, said:

“Disability benefit fraud has historically hovered around the 1% mark… We might wonder, would it be more useful for the DWP’s powers to be better served snooping around the bank accounts of tax dodgers, or money launderers, as we know that HMRC investigations led to prosecutions against just 11 “wealthy” people in 2023, an investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and Tax Watch revealed. It still appears to be the case that the UK tax inspector is doing too little to punish wealthy tax cheats at a time when millions of Britons struggle to make ends meet.”

More info on the Fraud, Error and Debt Bill is on gov.uk

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Additional resources and process to reduce PIP reassessment delays

Following a question asking about what it being done about the lengthy PIP review wait times, DWP Minister, Sir Stephen Timms confirmed in a written answer:

‘We have been actively recruiting additional Case Managers to meet increased demand for PIP, which means we are now in a position to begin to deploy additional resource onto award reviews. This will increase the number of review cases we can complete ‘in house’.’

He clarified that processes to increase efficiency have been introduced at the DWP to move cases through the system more quickly. These are:

• Where sufficient evidence/information is available, Case Managers can make decisions on reviews, avoiding the need for a functional assessment, which means many customers receive a decision faster.
• Healthcare Professionals now complete most assessments by telephone, which means the vast majority of customers who need an assessment do not need to attend a face-to-face appointment at an Assessment Centre.
• We've introduced a change for customers with the most severe conditions, on the highest level of support, who now receive an ongoing PIP award which is only subject to a light touch review every 10 years.

The written answer is on parliament.uk

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UC managed migration calculation guidance issued

We get a lot of posts asking how the transitional protection/element is calculated when moving from legacy benefits – the DWP has now issued guidance for claimants.

Transitional protection helps with your move to Universal Credit. If eligible, this protection means you can:

• get a transitional element added to your Universal Credit entitlement if you receive more from your previous tax credits or benefits
• claim Universal Credit and have money, savings and investments over £16,000 for 12 assessment periods, if you receive tax credits
• claim Universal Credit if you’re a full-time student in higher education until you or your partner finish the course

The way in which entitlement to the transitional element is calculated is not straightforward and online benefit calculators aren’t typically able to calculate this.

In short (but do read the full guidance linked below):

• you receive a managed migration notice inviting you to claim UC
• you make the claim for UC before the deadline in your letter
• the DWP determine what your ‘indicative UC award’ should be based on your known circumstances on the day before your claim for UC is made
• the transitional element is the difference between the amount you receive from legacy benefits and the indicative UC award.

Note, this is an estimation based on the details provided when the UC claim is made which is then checked against existing DWP, council and HMRC data.

If your circumstances change or are different compared to what DWP, your council or HMRC have (for your legacy benefit claims) then the transitional element may be different. For example, you moved but didn’t update a housing benefit claim, or a partner moved in and the DWP wasn’t notified.

The transitional element guidance is available on gov.uk

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Pension Credit claims soar

Following the Winter Fuel Payment (WFP) changes there have been numerous Pension Credit take-up campaigns launched across the UK by both government and charitable organisations - it appears to be making a difference!

In the 8 weeks since the government announced that WFPs would be paid to people in receipt of means-tested benefits only the DWP has received 74,400 new claims. This represents a 152% increased compared to the 8 weeks before the announcement.

Context - People in receipt of Pension Credit (and other means tested benefits) will continue to receive the Winter Fuel Payment as long as they were eligible for and receiving the benefit on 21 September 2024. A Pension Credit claim can be backdated for up to 3 months, meaning that the last chance to claim – and qualify for a WFP – is 21 December 2024.

The latest Pension Credit stats are on gov.uk

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Citizens Advice raise UC deductions and 5-week wait concerns in new report

In their latest report ‘Designing out deductions: how to address the welfare debt trap’, Citizens Advice describe the worsening situation of benefit deductions, stating that:

“In 2023, Citizens Advice supported 28% more people with Universal Credit deductions than in the year before the pandemic. The number of people seeking help with overpayments rose by almost 25%, and with advance loan deductions by almost 10%. The number of people we helped with the overall financial level of their deductions (including both debts to government and third parties) grew by almost 300%.”

Citizens Advice highlights that the application of monthly payments in arrears is based on unrealistic assumptions about the financial circumstances of low-paid employees. That the 5-week wait is a significant source of hardship, and the loans provided by the DWP to bridge the income gap prolong its impact even as they soften it. Expecting people to start their UC journey in debt to the DWP, in return for mitigating the 5-week wait, is not a sustainable situation.

They call on the government to replace the new claim advance system with grants (typically non-repayable) or extend the repayment period to 4 years. They also recommend:

“Writing off all overpayments due to government error, and consider writing off overpayments that occurred more than 5 years ago. The DWP should also widen access to deduction waivers where there is evidence that overpayment recovery and other deductions cause significant hardship, and allow for more detailed and straightforward communications that would empower claimants to challenge DWP decisions.”

In addition to the report, Citizens Advice published a discussion paper entitled ‘Overcoming the 5 week wait’ exploring the options in more detail.

Both of the above linked papers are available on citizensadvice.org.uk

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New research from the Public Law Project, also reveals the harmful impact of UC deductions

The Public Law Project (PLPP) has published ‘From Pillar to Post: Barriers to dealing with deductions from Universal Credit’, an in-depth report about the detrimental impact of the DWP applying deductions to people’s benefits – which affects over half of households on UC.

According to a the research:

• One third of survey respondents became destitute because of deductions
• 42% had their mental health negatively impacted and 30% had their physical health negatively impacted
• 29% reported that they spent less on essentials and 26% that they used food support such as food banks because of the deduction
• 21% had to delay bill repayments, 21% took out additional loans, 19% had to borrow money from family and friends and 12% took out additional credit card debt
• 9% reported that they had slept rough for one or more nights because of a deduction
• People with physical and mental health conditions and neurodivergent people were disproportionately impacted

The PLP highlights that many of these debts are the result of the DWP’s own error: in 2021, 75% of UC overpayment debts recorded on DWP’s debt management system were due to Official Error, meaning the DWP had initially miscalculated people’s entitlement.

PLP researcher Caroline Selman said:

“People are suffering in silence, dealing with sudden deductions they did not expect or trying to figure out debts that could be from over a decade ago.

Deductions prevent them from covering other bills and daily expenses, on top of reducing already very low incomes, so people can end up trapped in destructive cycles of debt.”

The PLP supports calls for a reduction in the default rates of recovery for deductions. In addition, it urges the DWP to improve this system in the following ways:

• The DWP should carry out a proactive assessment of claimants’ individual circumstances and their ability to repay before deciding to recover an overpayment
• Claimants should be contacted before the recovery is triggered to establish an affordable repayment plan
• The DWP should improve coordination between different departments and organisations, as well as the consistency and quality of communications with claimants
• People should be directly told about all available remedies and hardship measures.

It’s a lengthy research report but well worth the read… we may be a tad biased as one of our mod's colleagues contributed to the research.

From Pillar to Post: Barriers to dealing with deductions from Universal Credit is on publiclawproject,org,uk

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Judicial Review proceeding issued to challenge the Winter Fuel Payment cut

Govan Law Centre (GLC) has raised proceedings for judicial review, on behalf of a couple (the petitioners) who live in Scotland and are in receipt of the State Pension plus a modest occupational pension – who are now ineligible for the WFP.

The Judicial Review against the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (who changed the WFP legislation) and the Scottish Government (who has tabled legislation to pass the WFP cut onto pensioners in Scotland) is on the basis of two grounds of legal challenge:

1. That the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions failed to exercise her duties under section 149 of the 2010 Equality Act (2010 Act) before making her decision to cut the WFP and failed to carry out an equality impact assessment (EQIA) in accordance with her 2010 Act duties and separately failed to consult with persons of pensionable age at common law.
2. The Scottish Government failed to exercise their duties under section 149 of the 2010 Act before making their decision to cut the WFP and failed to carry out and publish an EQIA which satisfied the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012 and separately failed to consult with persons of pensionable age at common law.

If the Court finds that the either failed to discharge their 2010 Act statutory duties and undertake an EQIA or failed to follow procedural fairness by a lack of any consultation then this renders their decisions as unlawful. In that scenario the petitioners would be entitled to invite the Court to reduce the 2024 Regulations and the SG’s decision of 14 August 2024. This would restore the petitioners’ entitlement to the WFP and all those in receipt of the State Pension in the UK.

Further details about the legal challenge to the WFP cut are on govanlawcentre.org.uk

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Case Law updates this week – with thanks to u/ClareTGold

Personal Independence Payment - TL v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions: [2024] UKUT 282 (AAC)

This decision deals with the situation where the DWP decides a claimant does not score enough points for a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) award, and later indicates they no longer dispute certain point-scoring descriptors, but they are insufficient for an award to be made.

It confirms the principles established in DO v SSWP (PIP) [2021] UKUT 161 (AAC) apply that the Tribunal should take into account the DWP's changed view of an appeal. While it isn't bound to follow that view, it has to explain clearly why it's ignoring it, in particular informing the claimant of the risk of not following the DWP.

Also, another example of inadequate fact-finding.

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Personal Independence Payment & Tribunal Practice and Procedure - JM v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions: [2024] UKUT 283 (AAC)

Yet another case reminding us that the First-tier Tribunal must consider:

• the totality of the evidence,
• make sufficient findings of fact
• state which evidence it prefers and why

in its written reasons.

The Upper Tribunal also highlighted that the First-tier Tribunal was not mindful of the guidance set out in C25/18-19(PIP):

“It is legitimate for a tribunal to consider how the actions involved in driving a car may read across into the scheduled daily living and mobility activities. Nevertheless, that general principle is subject to the qualification that the activity in question is genuinely comparable and that it is done with the same level or regularity as the scheduled activity. The ability to perform daily living activities has to be addressed within the context of regulation 4 and regulation 7 of the PIP Regulations.”

Confirming it is important to consider or extrapolate from other activities which are genuinely comparable to the activity being assessed.

The appeal also explored the interpretation of Schedule 1 Part 1 of the Social Security (Personal Independence Payment) Regulations 2013 in relation to whether “written or printed” is read in the disjunctive sense. Finding that it was a ‘very persuasive submission indeed’ that is ‘entirely consistent with previous case law’ but Judge Fitzpatrick did not make conclusive findings.

Hi! Just feeling confused on where I stand. I'm currently waiting on a tribunal hearing for a PIP application that I put in November 2023 initially. This is on the basis of BPD, anxiety, ptsd, and a painful skin condition. Not feeling optimistic at all, responses to my applications focused in on "anxiety and back pain" which is a referral to a PIP application going back to 2015. They ignored what I had written about other conditions despite proof of diagnosis and treatments.

Anyway, while I've been waiting, I've since been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Now I'm confused about whether or not I should re-apply, because there has only been slight deterioration of my health in comparison since then (nerve pain being experienced in my hands since the new year) but the diagnosis relates to things written in my previous application that I couldn't explain, such as concentration issues and brain fog, widespread aches and pains etc. I'm also on much stronger painkillers now and other medications have been increased.

Should I just submit this as new evidence for my tribunal and explain how this relates to symptoms I've already put into my application, or does this warrant an entirely new attempt? Is it even worth starting again while I'm still waiting for tribunal? I put my appeal in around April/May.

Thanks!

Experiencing frustration with the Ingeus Restart scheme and are seeking advice,

hi folks,

I've been participating in the restart program since January and have yet to find their guidance worthwhile. Anything they suggest, I can do at home. Despite numerous interviews, none have resulted in a job offer. Additionally, I haven't received transportation reimbursement because I paid contactless, which has become burdensome. They've requested my bank statement for travel expenses, but I'm unsure how to provide that. I'm at my wit's end and see no reason to return. My question is, can I inform my work coach that I see no benefit in continuing to attend sessions that I could conduct on my own? If I can demonstrate that I'm self-sufficient in my job search, do I stand a chance?

I'm seeking advice from fellow Redditors: do I have the option to tell my work coach or contact at the job center that there's no point in continuing, as I haven't gained anything significant from the program beyond what I already do at home? Thank you in advance.

I sent off my original forms with my pip form, as it didn’t specify to send copies instead of originals, and only found this out after it had already been received. Is it possible to get these back?

Benedict has finally completed my review for my UC claim and I couldn’t be anymore relieved.

I’ve been receiving UC for 3 years now as I have ASD as well as severe anxiety, I’ve had jobs in the past but they haven’t lasted long as I always burn out and get in a really dark place mentally. They contacted me 2 months ago asking for bank statements for the past 4 months. This triggered my anxiety so badly, I would lay in bed with a thumping headache feeling absolutely ill and on the verge of throwing up. I was so worried they were going to find something that they didn’t like on there, I began to question every penny I spent.

I had to wait quite long for a phone call but I had mine today and it was only for 5 minutes.

The interviewer asked me about 2 transactions that I had made to another person and those two people were my mother and cousin, I explained that this was to family members and he asked nothing else beyond that. I received a note in my journal straight after the call saying that my claim had been completed.

I’ve never felt such relief before, it really wasn’t as bad as my anxiety was making it out to be. Has anybody else had their claim reviewed and what was your experience like?

So I was homeless a few weeks ago, now I have a full time job and am currently living in hostels. I need a driving license as a form of ID but have no address that I can have it posted to.

I had a driving license in the past, is there any way to have it posted to a post office and collect it. Like click and collect?

So I sent of my forms that they sent to fill in how long will it roughly take to get a decision?

Hi,

I have a question regarding housing element switch.

I have been accepted into a housing association where the rent is lower.

I live separate to family, my youngest brother is also receiving housing element on a flat and wants to transfer into my current flat from his other one.

My current housing is private rent (A) and will be switching to an association (B)

I know how to switch housing element to B. My question is how will the process work for my brother who wants to switch to my old flat (A) will he need another tenancy agreement for the switch for housing element to apply to him?

What proof does DWP accept if the tenancy agreement is not provided right away, can any other form of documentation work? Any help would be appreciated from mods or anyone working in DWP thank you.

My train of thoughts might be bit messy. My wife applied for pip, they declined it. Obviously went with mandatory reconsideration, which was declined again. Appealed for tribunal. While we were waiting for a date for the tribunal she received a call from assesor with proposal of base payment for daily living. We were asking questions because she should have gotten more points. Eventually we were told that we can reappeal within a month. So we accepted the offer. She got some backpay too.

Now my main question is: if we reappeal within this month but everything turns upside down and they take away current reward. Will we need to pay them the backpayed money back?

On uc, had a letter come through saying I needed to go to lewes for an assessment and to bring any evidence needed. I had a phone call from 08002600700 and confirmed my appointment. Today, I've lost my letter and for the life of me cannot find it. I don't know where I'm going or what time to be there. Is there anyone I can call on a Sunday to figure this out? Thank you

Edit: my appointment is on Monday

So I am due to move over to UC in November and a little confused, what is the difference between UC and JSA (other than it’s a bulk of money every month)? And what will I need to be doing other than looking for work and if I get any secret perks from it? Thanks. (Preferably explained like I’m a 5 year old)