A judicial review on the moving around (mobility) criteria of Personal Independence Payments (the benefit replacing DLA) found the Government had not consulted adequately when they changed the threshold needed to qualify for the enhanced (higher) rate of PIP for moving around from 50 metres to 20 metres.
They are now consulting on this.
Please note the consultation is ONLY about the criteria and qualifying thresholds for the moving around activity and not on anything else in Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or welfare reform. Please limit your answers and case studies to this area otherwise it will be rejected by DWP.
If you would prefer to submit your own experiences or views via Diverse Cymru we would be happy to receive these by email to Ele@diversecymru.org.uk by Thursday 1st August.
Details of the consultation are below.
They particularly want to know the impact of the current criteria above and what changes are needed in assessment of this activity or criteria to address that impact.
The consultation is available in Easy Read, Large Print and Audio versions on the DWP website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/
Click here for details of the Consultation:
The criteria for the Moving around activity set out in the current Regulations are as follows:
Current version of Moving around activity criteria
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a. Can stand and then move more than 200 metres, either aided or unaided.
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0 pts
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b. Can stand and then move more than 50 metres but no more than 200 metres, either aided or unaided.
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4 pts
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c. Can stand and then move unaided more than 20 metres but no more than 50 metres.
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8 pts
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d. Can stand and then move using an aid or appliance more than 20 metres but no more than 50 metres.
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10 pts
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e. Can stand and then move more than 1 metre but no more than 20 metres, either aided or unaided.
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12 pts
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f. Cannot, either aided or unaided, –
(i) stand; or
(ii) move more than 1 metre.
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12 pts
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This means that anyone who cannot stand and then walk 50 metres safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and in a reasonable time period automatically receives at least the standard rate (8 to 11 points) of the Mobility component of PIP. People who cannot stand and then walk more than 20 metres safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and in a reasonable time period receive the enhanced rate (score of 12 points or more). People can also receive the standard or enhanced rate by adding together points from theMoving around activity and the Planning and following journeys activity.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have said their intention has always been to focus the enhanced rate on those with the greatest barriers to mobility. In early drafts of the assessment DWPconsidered both how far a person could move and whether they needed an aid, appliance or a wheelchair to do so. However, the consultation responses we received indicated that this could be confusing if a person did not currently have and use an aid, appliance or wheelchair. The criteria set out in the current Regulations focus mainly on distance and 20 metres is used as a benchmark distance for determining whether someone is entitled to the enhanced or standard rate for people who do not also score points on thePlanning and following journeys activity (the other part of the mobility assessment criteria. This is about how well someone can plan and carry out an activity without someone else planning it for them or with them. It’s more about learning disabled people and sensory impairments than physical impairments)
The benchmark of 20 metres was intended to allow us to distinguish between those who are effectively unable to get around due to reduced physical mobility – for example, people who are only able to move between rooms in their house but go no further – and those who have some, albeit limited, mobility. We thought that these criteria could be applied consistently and would make it easy to differentiate between people who should be receiving the enhanced and standard rate. We considered that if we used distances in the assessment criteria which are close together, practical differentiation might become harder, leading to more inconsistent outcomes.
In assessing the criteria DWP use these definitions:
A person must be able to do the activity in the table above without severe discomfort, such as breathlessness, pain or fatigue.
Stand means to stand upright with at least one biological foot on the ground, (with or without suitable aids and appliances.)
To be able to stand and move means to be able to stand, as above, and then move independently while remaining standing. i.e. if you could stand, but then needed to transfer to a wheelchair immediately without walking you would be assessed as not being able to move.
The activity “considers the use of aids and appliances (e.g. walking sticks, crutches and prostheses) to support the individual’s physical mobility”
Safely = unlikely to cause harm to the individual or another person, either during or after completion of the activity
Repeatedly = as often as the activity being assesses is reasonably required to be completed
In a reasonable time period = no more than twice as long as the maximum period that a person without a physical or mental condition which limits their ability to carry out the activity would normally take
And must be to an acceptable standard.
Some factors which will be considered are gait, speed, risk of falls, pain, breathlessness and fatigue.
They also include some case studies:
Example 1 – GeorgeGeorge is able to stand and move unaided. He can comfortably walk 150 metres at a normal pace. After 150 metres he starts to become breathless and to experience some mild pain. He can continue to walk but his pace slows. The pain and breathlessness gradually increases and after 250 metres he needs to stop and rest for a few minutes before starting to walk again. He can repeatedly walk 250 metres, with short rests in between. After an hour of walking, he needs a longer rest of about an hour before walking again. He walks at a reasonable pace.
Although he experiences some mild pain and breathlessness, George knows when to stop and rest and there is no indication that this causes him any harm. While he does have to stop and rest for a few minutes every 250 metres, he can repeat the activity for up to an hour and can do it multiple times in a day. He can also do so in a reasonable time period.
George can therefore reliably walk over 200 metres and descriptor A would be the most appropriate. As such he would not have entitlement to the PIP Mobility component.
Example 2 – Sabeen
Sabeen is able to stand and move short distances unaided, usually between 30 and 40 metres. On a good day she can move as far as 50 metres but she can rarely ever go further than this because of severe breathlessness. She can, however, repeat shorter distances with a short break in between.
She can repeatedly walk distances of more than 20 metres but less than 50 metres. Aids or appliances do not help her to walk further in a reliable way, so the most appropriate descriptor is C. Based on this Sabeen would receive entitlement to the standard rate of the PIP Mobility component.
Example 3 – Juliet
Juliet is able to stand and move with a walking stick but suffers from hip pain when she walks. She can walk about 100 metres, but her level of discomfort increases as she walks and her pace slows down until she has to stop and rest.
Juliet also finds that walking even very short distances takes a lot out of her. If she walks more than about 10 metres, for the next few hours she is unable to walk more than a few steps without experiencing severe hip pain.
Although Juliet can walk more than 50 metres, she cannot do so as often as would be reasonably expected because of the pain it causes when she walks again. As such she is not considered able to walk reliably. The furthest she can walk in a way that is repeatable is a few steps using her stick. Therefore descriptor E best describes how she is able to move around.
Juliet therefore receives entitlement to the enhanced rate of the PIP Mobility component.
Example 4 – Patrick
Patrick can stand and walk a few steps using two walking sticks. He sometimes uses his sticks to move between rooms in his flat – for example, between the bedroom and living room – but it causes him a lot of pain and he cannot repeat it more than a few times a day. When he is indoors he generally stays in one room as much as possible. He has a manual wheelchair which he uses when outdoors. When he needs to go out, Patrick uses his sticks to stand and transfer into his wheelchair. He is unable to self-propel his wheelchair very far and his wife usually pushes him.
Patrick is therefore only able to stand and then move more than 1 metre but less than 20 metres and descriptor E is the most appropriate descriptor. This gives him entitlement to the enhanced rate of the PIP Mobility component.
Any responses should be directed to Ele Hicks, Social Policy & Funding Officer ele@diversecymru.org.uk
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