Claimant of DLA LRC requested any time review in January. Refused and case proceeded to appeal. Whilst appeal was running DLA was increased to HRC in June after DS1500 had been provided. My client claimed and was awarded CA from June.

The DLA appeal for HRC to be backdated to January continued and was upheld last week.

My question is does client have to make a new claim for CA as she has been told or should they simply supersede the June decision and award CA back to January when qualifying rate of DLA was awarded at appeal?

My initial thought is that they would have to claim CA for the period from January to June. In order to supersede a decision there has to be a decsion in existence. As they didn't claim CA until June, prior to this there can't be a decision, and therefore there is nothing to supersede.

Reg.6(33) Claims and Payments Regs provides that "where a person makes a claim for CA within 3 months of a decision made ... on appeal...awarding a qualifying benefit to the disabled person, the date of claim is the first day in respect of which that qualifying benefit is payable".

I think because it says 'makes a claim within 3 months' that stictly requires a new claim in the circumstances outlined here. It looks as though 6(33) only applies when the CA claim is made after the award of qualifying benefit.

Richard Atkinson

Thanks to you both