What tack do other advisers take when the claimant has a learning disability and has to complete a PCA? Some of teh questions are relevant but are in general geared to mental health.

Hi Carol

Can you be a bit more specific? If it is not incap in youth then presumably your client has worked. If so what led them to claim ICB initially. Were they sick? And if so with what? Is the learning disability severe?

Regards
Paul

Client born Oct 82 and has never worked. I'm not sure of the history of teh claim but she was called in for a PCA, found capable of work and is now appealing.
When I was looking at the papers it occurred to me that the system does not seem to cater for learning disability.
Lots of the mental health questions will apply to this particular client but this might not always be the case.
Since the demise of SDA, I expect we will be seeing a lot of clients in a similar position.

I should add, that client is entitled to middle care DLA and her disability has been defined as moderate.

This is not being helpful but I really like the idea of a "Leaning" disability. Could it be added to the PCA descriptors please?

You might be able to use the Court of Appeal decision in Howker, which effectively reinstates the old Reg 27 of the Incapacity for Work Regs. "....there would be a substantial risk to the mental or physical health of any person if he were found capable of work".

We always take a striaght tack using the mental health discriptors and the tribunals we have attended have always endorsed it.
They accept learning difficulties as a impairment of someones mental abilites/function.
The regulations support this the regs clearly refer to mental illness and disability, not mental just health, as per anxiety and depression.The discriptors cover all mental disabilities from brain injury, autisms to depression etc.

Thanks for all these helpful comments - confirmed the way I had approached it.
PS I will try and brush up on my spelling!