Found this on a lung site and thought that it might help people to get their heads around the subject - it has certainly helped me.
"i have nicked this from another health site, which I totally trust, and thought it might be useful to put on here.
This is all the information we have at this stage, so any questions please ring your local DWP Office who can adise you further....
Personal Independence Payment Update
The Government has recently announced some new information regarding the
design and delivery of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) which is the
benefit replacing Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for people aged 16-64 .
Instead of carrying out a high level assessment strategy which would have
meant existing claimants being assessed from this October, they will be
undertaking a significantly slower reassessment profile. The Government hope
that this will enable them to take the time to learn from the early
introduction of PIP. The peak period of reassessments will now fall around
two years later than originally planned.
The revised delivery timetable is as follows:
8 April 2013
From 8 April 2013 new claims to PIP will be taken in the controlled start
area in the North West and part of the North East of England.
From June 2013
New claims to PIP will be taken in all remaining areas of Great Britain.
From October 2013
Reassessment for PIP of fixed period DLA awards coming up for renewal, young
people turning 16 and where DLA claimants with indefinite awards report a
change in their condition.
From October 2015
All remaining claimants in receipt of a DLA award will be invited to make a
claim for PIP. DWP will randomly select those recipients of DLA in receipt
of an indefinite award or a fixed term award and notify them about what they
need to do to claim PIP. They will prioritise recipients who have turned 65
after 8 April 2013, when PIP was first introduced.
PIP Rates
The PIP rates have now been announced. The enhanced rates of PIP will be the
same as the highest rates of DLA. The standard rate of the daily living
component will be the same as the middle rate of DLA care and standard
mobility will be the same as lower mobility in DLA.
The exact weekly rates of PIP are;
Daily Living Enhanced Rate = £79.15
Daily Living Standard Rate = £53.00
Mobility Enhanced Rate = £55.25
Mobility Standard Rate = £21.00
These rates are provisional until the legislative process is completed in
early 2013. PIP will continue to be a non-means tested, non-taxable cash
benefit which will be uprated in line with the Consumer Price Index.
For full details of the revised projections visit dwp.gov.
Current rates are: Care: top rate £77.45; middle rate £51.85 and lower rate £20.55
Mobility: top rate £54.05; lower rate £20.25
Looks to the untrained eye that they are dropping the lower rate care and increasing others slightly."
