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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Disability benefits  →  Thread

Attendance Allowance, date care needs started. 

JAS1
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Advice Worker, Gaddum Centre

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Total Posts: 367

Joined: 14 February 2017

Hello,

My question is about the 6 month qualifying period and exactly when it starts -

How do DWP determine when the 6 month qualifying period starts in cases where the decline is very gradual and happens over a number of years?

Is it worth getting medical evidence if we are trying to ask them to apply a change of circumstances for the higher rate retroactively (late reporting of the change but within the 13 months)?

Thanks

[ Edited: 25 May 2018 at 02:17 pm by JAS1 ]
Mike Hughes
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Senior welfare rights officer - Salford City Council Welfare Rights Service

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They don’t determine as such. The claimant needs to make the case that the regulation is satisfied.  If the claimant is asking for the decision to be looked at again then the same applies. Generally they’ll accept where there‘s an obvious weight of incidents or anecdote. You’ll do well to get medical evidence which chimes exactly with a date of deterioration as it’s more likely a claimant will have seen someone for a diagnosis or change of meds. There or thereabouts but not necessarily more accurate than anecdotal reporting.

For example, client saw the memory service last year but was diagnosed with minor memory loss. Now gets a formal diagnosis of dementia. Neither medical intervention has any more value than the partner who says that the real deterioration began three months ago (so yes, in this instance no AA at all as yet). Partners description of incidents in past 3 months is vivid though. Enough of those and in 3 months time we’ll be fine with or without medical evidence.

JAS1
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Advice Worker, Gaddum Centre

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Total Posts: 367

Joined: 14 February 2017

brilliant, thanks Mike.