PIP activity 7: Communicating verbally
Communicating verbally is activity 7 of the 12 PIP activities, and counts towards the daily living component. Expressing and understanding spoken information. Here’s what it covers, the descriptors and the points each one scores, and what assessors look for.
What this activity looks at
Whether you can express yourself and understand what’s said to you, in your native language. Both speaking and understanding are assessed.
Descriptors and points
The assessor picks the one descriptor that best fits you on most days. Only the highest-scoring descriptor that applies counts; points aren’t added up within an activity.
| Descriptor | What it means | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 7A | I can express and understand verbal information unaided | 0 |
| 7B | I need an aid or appliance to speak or hear (e.g. hearing aid) | 2 |
| 7C | I need communication support for complex verbal information | 4 |
| 7D | I need communication support for basic verbal information | 8 |
| 7E | I cannot express or understand verbal information at all, even with support | 12 |
What the assessor takes into account
- “Basic” verbal information is a single simple sentence. “Complex” is more than one sentence, or one complicated sentence.
- Lip reading isn’t accepted as a way of understanding spoken information.
- Communication support means help from a trained person, such as a sign language interpreter, or from a family member who knows you well.
- If you’re deaf and don’t use sign language, you can still score.
- Memory, and remembering what you’ve been told, isn’t part of this activity.
How to describe this on your form
- Describe your worst days, not your best or average days. A descriptor applies if it’s true on more than half of days, and that includes conditions that vary or come in flare-ups.
- An activity only counts as something you can do if you can do it safely, repeatedly, to an acceptable standard, and in a reasonable time (no more than twice as long as someone without your condition). If any of these isn’t true on most days, say so and explain why.
- Be specific. Give distances, how long things take, how often problems happen, and examples of things that have gone wrong.
- Name any help you need using the words the DWP uses: supervision, prompting, assistance, or aids and appliances. “My partner helps me” is too vague; say what they do and why.
- Describe what your condition stops you doing, not just its name. Assessors score how your condition affects you, not the diagnosis.
- Avoid phrases like “I manage”, “I cope”, “I try my best” or “I sometimes have difficulty”. They suggest you can do the activity, and can cost you points.
How points turn into an award
Your points from activities 1 to 10 are added together for the daily living component.
- 8 to 11 points: standard rate, £73.90 a week
- 12 points or more: enhanced rate, £110.40 a week
2026/27 rates. Estimate your points across all 12 activities.
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