PIP Assessment 
         Guide  
          
         Part Two - The Assessment 
         Criteria 
          
          
         A DWP guidance document for providers carrying out assessments 
         for Personal Independence Payment  
          
          
          
          
          
          
         Updated on 21 July 2022 
          
          
          
          
          
                            67 
          
        There are three parts to the guide for providers carrying out assessments for 
        Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Each part of the guide focuses on a 
        different aspect of the process as detailed below: 
         
         
        Part One – The Assessment Process 
        Part Two – The Assessment Criteria 
        Part Three – Health Professional Performance 
                         68 
         
                    Contents 
                    2    The Assessment Criteria ......................................................................... 70 
                       2.1     Applying the criteria ......................................................................... 70 
                         Descriptor choice .................................................................................... 70 
                         Reliability ................................................................................................ 71 
                         Time periods, fluctuations and descriptor choices .................................. 71 
                         Risk and Safety ....................................................................................... 74 
                         Support from other people ...................................................................... 74 
                         Aids and appliances ................................................................................ 75 
                         Assistance dogs ...................................................................................... 77 
                         ‘Unaided’ ................................................................................................. 77 
                       2.2     Reliability ......................................................................................... 78 
                         Safely ...................................................................................................... 78 
                         To an acceptable standard ...................................................................... 81 
                         Repeatedly.............................................................................................. 81 
                         In a reasonable time period .................................................................... 83 
                         Worked example 1 .................................................................................. 83 
                         Worked example 2 .................................................................................. 85 
                         Worked example 3 .................................................................................. 86 
                       2.3     Daily Living Activities ....................................................................... 88 
                         Activity 1 – Preparing food ...................................................................... 88 
                         Activity 2 – Taking nutrition ..................................................................... 91 
                         Activity 3 – Managing therapy or monitoring a health condition .............. 94 
                         Activity 4 – Washing and bathing ............................................................ 98 
                         Activity 5 – Managing toilet needs or incontinence ............................... 101 
                         Activity 6 – Dressing and undressing .................................................... 104 
                         Activity 7 – Communicating verbally ..................................................... 106 
                         Activity 8 – Reading and understanding signs, symbols and words ...... 109 
                         Activity 9 – Engaging with other people face to face ............................. 111 
                         Activity 10 – Making budgeting decisions ............................................. 114 
                       2.4     Mobility activities ............................................................................ 116 
                         Activity 11 – Planning and following journeys ....................................... 116 
                         Activity 12 – Moving around .................................................................. 122 
                       2.5     Definitions ...................................................................................... 124 
                     
                                                                69 
                     
                   2  The Assessment Criteria 
                   2.0.1     This document outlines the assessment criteria for Personal 
                             Independence Payment (PIP). It explains how the assessment is 
                             structured, including how the activities and descriptors fit together to 
                             determine entitlement to each of the two components. It also 
                             includes the assessment criteria themselves and guidance for health 
                             professionals (HPs) on how to apply them. 
                   2.1  Applying the criteria 
                   2.1.1     A health condition or impairment may be physical, sensory, mental, 
                             intellectual or cognitive, or any combination of these. The impact of 
                             all impairment types must be taken into account across the activities, 
                             where they affect a claimant’s ability to complete the activity and 
                             achieve the stated outcome. For example, a claimant with a severe 
                             depressive illness may physically be able to prepare food and feed 
                             himself, but may lack the motivation to do so, to the extent of 
                             needing prompting from another person to carry out the task. 
                             However, some activities focus on specific elements of function. For 
                             example, Moving around relates to the physical aspects of walking.  
                   Descriptor choice 
                   2.1.2     When assessing a claimant, the HP should consider all the evidence 
                             of the case and the likely ability of the claimant over a year-long 
                             period, before selecting the most appropriate descriptor to the 
                             claimant relating to each of the assessment activities, taking into 
                             account their level of ability, whether they need to use aids or 
                             appliances and whether they need help from another person or an 
                             assistance dog. 
                   2.1.3     In choosing descriptors, the HP should use their specific knowledge 
                             of the health condition or impairment as a measure of the level of 
                             disability that would be expected from the claimant's condition. For 
                             example, it is unlikely that mechanical low back pain is unremitting 
                             day after day because the natural history is of pain that varies from 
                             day to day, and it would be appropriate to make this observation in 
                             the report. However, it is insufficient for the HP to argue just from the 
                             general principle when justifying descriptor choices; the evidence 
                             has to relate to the specific claimant. 
                   2.1.4     The fact that a claimant can complete an activity is not sufficient 
                             evidence of ability. HPs must consider: 
                                                           70