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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Disability benefits  →  Thread

DLA. Change of circs query: night time needs for an 89 year old

JAS1
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Advice Worker, Gaddum Centre

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Hello,

I am working with an 89 year old lady who gets DLA MR C and HR Mob.

She has been getting this since 1994. Through speaking to her and her nurse she does have some difficulties these during the night - getting in and out of bed, going to the toilet etc.

I was told on the enquiry line for AA (I called to find out if she was receiving it) that they would send her the night time needs form and if she completed this for DLA her mobility award and her current care award would not be at risk.

Is this right? I have always trodden carefully with this and weighed up the risks/rewards as I thought DWP always had the potential to review the whole award. The DWP adviser on the phone was very confident there was no risk to either component by applying for the HR due to night time needs as the form only asks about night time needs anyway.

Thanks

Chrissum
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WRAMAS, Bristol City Council

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Your fears are correct but if you don’t give them any information* to disturb the current award and focus on night time needs only (it is a simpler form as they have stated) then any removal is infinitely challengeable, if any removal / reduction applies at all.
edited to add * if asked you can just state “no change”

[ Edited: 5 Dec 2018 at 01:21 pm by Chrissum ]
ClairemHodgson
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if they do end up removing the DLA, then she will at least be able to get AA at high rate (not as good but….)

how likely is it that she would now, after all these years, fail to qualify for any of it?

JAS1
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Ok thanks. Sounds like it’s worth the risk then as long as we state there are no changes (or not mention it at all).

Yeah she could get AA (although losing HR mob would be bad) but she is quite confused about everything and I think if she got taken off DLA she would just give up on it all. So I am being careful as it took a while to get her to the point where she would consider applying for the night time needs rate!

Would be ridiculous for them to change the rest of the award but I have seen them do it before out of the blue which has made me super cautious

Mike Hughes
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My experience of just writing “no change” is that that way disaster lies. DWP approach is that just writing that means that they have an assertion with no evidence. How best then to evidence no change? Oh, a medical! No prizes for guessing what happens after that.

I’ve seen claimants and reps do this for DLA, PIP and AA and it’s the same outcome every time. If you’re going to assert no change then you need to spell out in detail what it is you’re talking about before you make any such assertion.

Chrissum
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Mike I agree with you as far as PIP is concerned. I have rarely seen medicals arranged for DLA or AA since the days of the BAMS teams, though I appreciate practice may vary throughout the country. Having said that, of course, you are right that without knowing what was written beforehand the “no change” option carries some risk. However, the night-time supersession forms are usually just a short(ish) form so there probably shouldn’t be anything to worry about here and at that age…

Mike Hughes
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Chrissum - 06 December 2018 03:36 PM

Mike I agree with you as far as PIP is concerned. I have rarely seen medicals arranged for DLA or AA since the days of the BAMS teams, though I appreciate practice may vary throughout the country. Having said that, of course, you are right that without knowing what was written beforehand the “no change” option carries some risk. However, the night-time supersession forms are usually just a short(ish) form so there probably shouldn’t be anything to worry about here and at that age…

I was inclined to agree with you but this year I’ve had a child’s DLA and AA for someone in their early 80s with dementia both go badly wrong as described before I could intervene. Both were awards which were as nailed on as you could imagine.