PIP activity 9: Engaging with other people face to face
Engaging with other people face to face is activity 9 of the 12 PIP activities, and counts towards the daily living component. Interacting with others in a contextually appropriate way and coping with social situations. 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 interact with people face to face in a way that suits the situation, understand body language, and form relationships.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 9A | I can engage with other people unaided | 0 |
| 9B | I need prompting to engage with other people | 2 |
| 9C | I need social support to engage with other people | 4 |
| 9D | I cannot engage due to overwhelming psychological distress or risk of harm | 8 |
What the assessor takes into account
- It covers all social contact, not just meeting strangers.
- Preferring not to socialise doesn’t count. The difficulty has to come from your health condition.
- Activities 7 and 9 can both apply. For example, a sensory impairment can also cause anxiety in social situations.
- Being vulnerable, for example because of a cognitive impairment or a risk of being abused or manipulated, is relevant.
- “Social support” (9C) means help from someone trained or experienced in supporting people socially. A close friend without that experience doesn’t count.
- “Overwhelming psychological distress” means anxiety so severe that you can’t function, not just feeling worried.
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.
Try it free: free PIP sample answer
Choose “Engaging with other people face to face”, describe your difficulty in your own words, and see a sample answer written the way assessors score it.
Open the free PIP sample answerWant every answer written for you?
Our personalised PIP answer guide covers all 12 activities, written around your condition and your worst days.
Get my personalised answer guide — from £59We help you explain your difficulties clearly and correctly. We cannot guarantee award outcomes — those decisions are made by the DWP.