what-evidence-helps-a-pip-reconsideration

What evidence helps a PIP reconsideration?

The evidence that changes PIP decisions is not "more medical reports" — it is evidence that maps onto the descriptors the assessor scored. A decision is changed when someone re-reads the file and sees a specific activity scored wrongly, with something in the file that proves it. This guide shows how to build exactly that, activity by activity. Checked at source 2026-10-09. Information, not advice.

The rule that decides what counts as evidence

An activity scores the descriptor you satisfy on over 50% of days (regulation 7). So evidence has two jobs:

1. Show the difficulty exists — what you cannot do, or can only do with help, aids, prompting, or supervision.

2. Show it happens most days — frequency is what separates "bad day" from "satisfied on over 50% of days".

Evidence that does neither — however moving — tends to change nothing.

The four evidence types, ranked by what they prove

1. Professional letters that describe function, not diagnosis.

A letter saying "this patient has arthritis" adds nothing; a letter saying "cannot grip a pan, needs her daughter to cook hot meals most days" scores descriptor points. Ask professionals to describe what you cannot do reliably — not what condition you have. GP, practice nurse, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, community psychiatric nurse, social worker — all are read; a consultant letter is not required for a changed decision.

2. Your own daily-need evidence: the care or help you already receive.

Who helps you, with what, how often: prescriptions collected by a neighbour (managing therapy), meals cooked by family (preparing food), reminders to take medication (managing therapy / prompting), help washing your hair (washing and bathing). A short signed statement from each helper beats a page of description — dates, what they do, how often.

3. Prescription and appointment history.

Repeat prescription lists prove medication regimes (activity 3 scores on the number of distinct medications and the monitoring they need). Appointment schedules evidence fluctuation and hospital day-treatment. These are objective documents — request them early, they take weeks.

4. Your own contemporaneous records.

Two to four weeks of brief daily notes: what you attempted, what you could not finish, pain/fatigue that stopped you, help you needed. This is the single cheapest evidence type, and the only one that directly demonstrates the 50%-of-days pattern. Symptom diaries from before the assessment period help for fluctuating conditions.

The evidence-to-descriptor mapping

| If the assessment says… | The evidence that rebuts it |

|---|---|

| "Can prepare and cook a simple meal" (0) | Helper statement + your diary: meals, burns, dropped pans, fatigue |

| "No aids used" (0) | Prescriptions for aids, occupational-therapy assessments, photos of adapted equipment |

| "Engages face to face without support" (0) | CPN/support-worker letters describing accompanied appointments; your records of avoided interactions |

| "Can walk 200+ metres" (mobility 0–4) | Pharmacy/consultant records of stopping distances, pain scores after walking, mobility-aid prescriptions |

| "Manages medication unaided" (0) | Blister-pack/dossette-box prescriptions, carer medication logs,repeat-error records |

Full descriptor wording for every activity is on the points calculator and the descriptors guide.

Getting the evidence the DWP already has

Before writing anything, request your assessment report (MSR) — the decision letter tells you how, or ring the number on it. The report shows the descriptor choices and the recorded justifications; your letter then targets exact errors instead of re-arguing everything. Also file a Subject Access Request (free) for anything the DWP holds that was never looked at.

Questions people ask

Do I need new medical evidence for a mandatory reconsideration?

Not necessarily — many decisions change on the existing file plus a sharper letter. The MR is decided by a DWP decision-maker re-reading the papers. New evidence helps most where the original file missed a key document; it is essential by tribunal stage.

Can family members write supporting letters?

Yes — honest, specific, dated statements from the people who actually help you. They are not medical evidence, but they directly prove the "help from another person" descriptors. A one-page signed statement beats a generic letter of support.

What is "good days and bad days" evidence worth?

It is central, not a footnote: regulation 7 scores whichever descriptor is satisfied on over 50% of days. Evidence showing how many days are bad is precisely what changes fluctuating-condition scores.

Sources: PIP Regulations 2013 regs 4(2A) and 7; gov.uk mandatory-reconsideration pages — checked 2026-10-09. See also the evidence checklist.

Independent information directory · Source-checked 2026-10-09 · Independent information — not legal or benefits advice; not affiliated with the DWP.