Forum Home → Discussion → Disability benefits → Thread
help with DLA appeal
any opinions here would be appreciated as i am struggling!
client has profound learning disability and other conditions and was entitled to low rate mobility and high rate care on a fixed term award.
I became involved when the clients appointees received a letter advising of an income support overpayment due to the client not being entitled to the care component. i was advised that dla had not been renewed by appointee so i advised that a PIP claim would have to be made as DLA award had ended.
A pip form was requested but instead a DLA review form arrived.
i queried this with DLA and was advised that a renewal decision had in fact been made but that low rate mobility only was awarded.
Review form completed and high rate care/low mobility awarded from date of renewal.
We appealed as there is a very strong case for the client to be entitled to high rate mob under smi regs.
i have got the paperwork and it now transpires that there was never an award of low rate mobility only made on the claim and that the only decision made re dla entitlement was following the review form.
in the appeal papers the DWP have used supersession regs to award high care/low mob from the day after his previous award ended but i cant see how you can supersede a decison that doesnt exist?
My concern is that the tribunal find that the client should never have been awarded dla as if his dla claim ended surely that means it should have been PIP?
Can the Tribunal just treat the review form as a new claim despite PIP as the DWP have accepted it as such? can they also just accept it as a late renewal?
any opinions appreciated!
High care and low mob is a very healthy award and struggling through a complex appeal involving adjudication issues might be staring the gift horse in the mouth?
High care and low mob is a very healthy award and struggling through a complex appeal involving adjudication issues might be staring the gift horse in the mouth?
your right.
thats why i want to make sure i have a clear route of entitlement before going ahead with it.
when the appeal was lodged i was told by the DWP verbally that low rate mobility was awarded on renewal and that made sense with what happened with the pip form request so its only been when i got the papers that i realised there was an issue.
the client gets 24 hour support and has issues both inside and outside that give him a pretty strong case for high mob though so i dont want to drop it without making sure there isnt an easy answer here.
just had sight of the bank statements.
low mobility was being paid between the date of renewal and the “supersession” decision.