PIP tribunal questions (for appeal)

Challenging a PIP decision can be stressful for some, and not knowing what to expect to a PIP appeal hearing can make you feel extremely nervous.

This is why we wrote some recommendations to you on how to prepare for the PIP tribunal questions. 

Why should I appeal to a PIP tribunal

You should appeal to a tribunal if you disagree with a decision from the Department for Work and Pensions regarding your claim for a Personal Independence Payment benefit.

A tribunal that is independent of the DWP, will analyze your case and decide whether you were the victim of an injustice.

To appeal is a legal right, and won’t cost you anything. 

To add to your knowledge, latest new of PIP Tribunal shows that some changes have been made to it.

Why should I answer the tribunal’s questions

You should answer the tribunal’s questions in order to help your case.

A hearing is a great opportunity to speak about your daily struggles in front of the hearing panel.

A PIP appeal tribunal is usually formed of three people: a judge, a doctor, and a “disability member,” which can be a social worker, nurse or occupational therapist or anyone else who understands disabilities.  

The questions asked, are PIP related and are designed in a way to help the hearing panel understand better what your requirements and necessities are.      

How to prepare for the PIP tribunal questions

Challenging a PIP decision can be stressful for some, and not knowing what to expect to a PIP appeal hearing can make you feel extremely nervous.

This is why we wrote some recommendations to you on how to prepare for the PIP tribunal questions. 

Get familiar with the Department for Work and Pensions

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is responsible for welfare, pensions and child maintenance policy.

As the UK’s biggest public service department it administers the State Pension and a range of working age, disability, and ill-health benefits. 

Among other things, the DWP deals with requests and assessments for:

• Carer’s Allowance
• Attendance Allowance
• Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
• Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

The DWP’s policies allow you to disagree with a decision about benefits, tax credits or child maintenance and to ask for the decision to be looked at again.

This is called “mandatory reconsideration,” and it’s binding before making an appeal.

Therefore, if you think the decision in the mandatory reconsideration notice is wrong, you can request an appeal to a benefits tribunal.

The tribunal is independent of the government. A judge will listen to both sides of the argument before making a decision.

If your claim for PIP has been rejected, the DWP will send you their decision in written form.

They will also send you a report from your medical assessment. Our advice is to read through it and look for anything you don’t agree with.

Make a list of all the things that you disagree with.

Then try to come up with new evidence that sustains your claim and that shows how the DWP was wrong by rejecting your claim. 

What makes good evidence

Good evidence is evidence that describes how your illness or disability is affecting you. 

There are all kinds of evidence that people often forget to include, but could make a difference. 

For example, deaf people may have prescriptions for hearing aid battery replacements; blind people may have registration cards from their local authorities or assistance dog ID; people with mobility issues have a Blue Badge that would entitle a disabled customer to use accessible parking spaces.  

Other useful evidence that people forget about is a written statement from a carer, doctor, nurse, occupational therapist or social care worker, that describes how the illness affects you but from their perspective.

This statement, that can be written as a letter and addressed to the hearing panel, can make a difference in the way the judge will see your case. 

Practice

Many people find it useful to practice the day of the hearing.

They like to think of what clothes they are going to wear, who will accompany them and how will they get there.

If you are nervous about the PIP tribunal questions, it might help to write a personal statement. 

A personal statement’s purpose is not to impress anyone with your writing skills, on the contrary.

The statement has to be personal, it has to describe what your daily challenges are, how would you benefit from professional help and what difficulties has your health condition created.

How your life could be different and your health improves with their help. 

There are no exact PIP tribunal questions to prepare for, but you can always review and practice using the questions from the PIP claim form.

It’s very likely the panel will ask you similar questions on the day of the hearing. 

More advice on how to answer the PIP tribunal questions

1. If you don’t understand a question, ask the judge or the doctor to repeat it. Don’t hurry with your answer if you are not sure what the question was about, in the first place.
2. When giving your answers, don’t try to impress the judge with your case, but be open and honest. Truth is, it can be hard to talk about the condition that affects your mental and/or physical health, about symptoms and how your daily routine is affected. Take your time, there is no need to rush through the answers.
3. Bring your personal statement or other notes with you. The most common question a hearing panel can ask you is to describe a typical day of your life. You can use the notes to make sure you don’t forget anything important.
4. Pay attention and correct anything that isn’t right. For example, if the judge says that you can cook for yourself, explain how hard it is for you to chop a vegetable without cutting yourself. Or how you forget to eat, or have an eating disorder.
5. Don’t worry about using medical or PIP tribunal related language. Act natural, as the judge and the panel will appreciate that. 
6. Help the hearing panel understand how the condition is affecting you. It might be hard to explain how you have no friends because of your anxiety, or how you can’t make a short journey to the closest shop because you get too tired. Tell them anyway and explain the help that you need. 

Conclusions

In this article, we gave you some advice on how to prepare for the PIP tribunal questions. 

If you requested an appeal hearing in person, you would have a minimum of 14 days’ notice before your tribunal giving you enough time to prepare for your PIP appeal tribunal adequately.

When preparing for your appeal hearing, take into consideration asking for help and advice.

There are various support groups, the Citizens Advice or consultants that can be of great help in these cases.

Don’t forget to take care of your mental heal while preparing for the tribunal hearing, since an appeal can be quite stressful. 

Do you have any recommendations for answering the PIP tribunal quotes?

Let us know what you think in the comments section below. 

FAQ about PIP tribunal

Recommendations

1. Personal Independence Payment: What You Need to Know
2. Government’s Response to the Independent Review of the Personal Independence Payment Assessment
3. Represent Yourself in Court: How to Prepare & Try a Winning Case
4. Argument Structure: Secrets of the World’s Best Debaters: Master the Structure of Arguments
5. Caregiving Diary: Daily and Hourly 245 Page Planner

References 

1. Challenging a PIP decision, the tribunal hearing – Citizens advice
2. How to prepare for a PIP appeal tribunal
3. What happens at a tribunal hearing?