PIP form question 14: moving around

This tick-box question asks if your condition affects you getting around. 

If you need help from someone else, take rest breaks or use something to help you, tick ‘yes’. 

This is the most important part of the question as it gives you chance to describe how hard it is for you to move around and how you deal with this.  

Remember to mention if you have good and bad days, how long it takes you to move and what harm you could be at risk of without help. 

DWP will base its decision on whether to award PIP on how your condition affects you most of the time. 

If you don’t get any help, remember to mention what support you would find helpful.  

Aids 

List everything you use to help you stand, walk and move around, even if you think it’s obvious.  

Always explain how each item helps you and if a health professional has recommended you use it.  

Remember to include any aids your condition stops you using. 

If there’s anything you’d find helpful that you don’t have, mention this too. 

Make it clear if your aids only reduce your symptoms, rather than remove them completely e.g. pain or tiredness. 

What if someone else helps me? 

If you need help from another person, say who helps you and explain what they do.  

This could be a family member, carer or friend. Mention why they help you and how often.  

Be clear if you need them to prevent an injury or accident, or if they physically assist you. 

Remember to explain what could happen to you without help. For example, you might be more likely to fall over or have an accident. 

What if I have good and bad days? 

Your condition might mean you have good and bad days. If this is the case, explain what a good and bad day looks like for you and how you manage over a longer period, such as a week.  

Remember to mention how often you have bad days and if they happen more often than good days.  

If your symptoms are different on good and bad days, describe what both days look like for you.  

Consider how long it takes you to stand or walk compared to someone without your condition and try to explain how long it takes you. If you need to take rest breaks, explain the reasons for this, such as being out of breath or feeling tired. 

It’s okay to estimate how long it takes you to stand and move but be clear that you can’t be precise and explain why e.g. because your condition fluctuates. 

The Department for Work and Pensions will decide whether to award you PIP based on how your condition affects you most of the time. 

Example answer 

I have primary-progressive multiple sclerosis, a painful nerve disorder that affects my mobility through muscle weakness. 

I’m unable to stand at all on my own without a walking frame to lean on and struggle to walk short distances under 20m. It usually takes me three or four times as long as most healthy people to stand, and I also get out of breath very easily. This means I take rest breaks every few steps. 

It takes me much longer to move from one room to another, as someone without MS. Because it takes me so long to move, this can also result in me soiling myself as I can’t get to the bathroom quickly enough. This happens about once a week. 

If my frame is not next to me when I need it, my carer has to put it in front of me. It can be really painful for me to move it on my own and it takes me a long time. This can tire me out and increase the pain I feel. 

I can’t stand or walk at all unaided because my condition means I can’t support my own weight. If I tried to, I would fall over and wouldn't be able to get back up on my own. I have previously fallen behind the front door and struggled to move myself so someone could get in to help me.  

I’m at risk of falling each time I stand up. My carer always picks me up when I fall but sometimes my eldest son needs to try and lift me when he visits. If I’m on my own, I have to ring the ambulance so paramedics can come and help me.  

If you need help filling in the rest of your PIP form, continue to our guide on question 15.