{jcomments on}The final draft of the points system for personal independence payment (PIP) has now been published. It includes major changes to the Moving around activity, with all references to wheelchairs having been removed and the qualifying distance for higher rate mobility reduced to 20 metres. The daily living component has also undergone a number of changes, including the ‘communicating’ activity being divided into two separate activities.
Moving around
The previous draft of the mobility component made repeated references to the use of wheelchairs and motorised devices. However, the final version of the regulations refers only to using an aid or appliance and specifically requires that a claimant be able to ‘stand and then move’. ‘Stand’ is defined in the regulations as ‘stand upright with at least one biological foot on the ground’.
To get the 12 points required for higher rate mobility from the Moving around activity alone, a claimant will need to be unable to stand and then move more than 20 metres even when using an aid or appliance- such as a walking stick or walking frame - or receiving ‘supervision, prompting or assistance’.
The full points scores for moving around are as follows:
a. Can stand and then move more than 200 metres, either aided or unaided. 0 points
b. Can stand and then move more than 50 metres but no more than 200 metres, either aided or unaided. 4 points
c. Can stand and then move unaided more than 20 metres but no more than 50 metres. 8 points
d. Can stand and then move using an aid or appliance more than 20 metres but no more than 50 metres. 10 points
e. Can stand and then move more than 1 metre but no more than 20 metres, either aided or unaided. 12 points
f. Cannot, either aided or unaided, –
(i) stand; or
(ii) move more than 1 metre. 12 points
Daily living
There have been a number of changes to the daily living points system.
These include ‘Bathing and grooming’ being changed to ‘Washing and bathing’ and ‘Communicating’ having been divided into two separate activities: ‘Communicating verbally’ and ‘Reading and understanding signs, symbols and words’.
We’ll be updating our guide to PIP and other resources as soon as possible.
The new regulations can be found here:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2013/9780111532072/contents
