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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Disability benefits  →  Thread

Caselaw needed - attention out of doors

past caring
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Welfare Rights Adviser - Southwark Law Centre, Peckham

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Not a massive problem, so no worries if no-one can come up with anything.

Have had a tribunal say in its SOR - and specifically in relation to the care component - that it ‘could not consider’ help that a client might need to calm, reassure and direct him away from disordered and distressing thinking when out of doors - this help could only be considered indoors.

It’s apparent that what it was trying to imply was that such help is only relevant to the mobility component and could not be considered for the care component. Clearly this is wrong - and I’ve got no real problems with arguing it as an error of law (e.g. a person who self-harms as a result of their mental health problems might also experience severe panic attacks such that they need guidance and supervision to enable them to visit a park on a Summer’s day. But if, having arrived at the park, they require someone to calm and reassure them to dissuade them from self-harming or actual restraint to prevent them from doing this, that will all be attention - and attention which should be included in the totality of their care needs).

But it would be useful to have a Commissioner’s/UT decision that says so and I can’t seem to think of one….

Brian JB
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Advisor - Wirral Welfare Rights Unit, Birkenhead

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R(DLA) 4 / 01 is probably fairly useful for what you are looking for, although I don’t know of anything that dealt specifically with the view taken by your tribunal

Paul_Treloar_CPAG
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Advice and Rights Team, Child Poverty Action Group

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CDLA/2333/2005 (Bonner 2014/15 p.143) in which Commissioner Mesher held that care in form of supervision for purpose of walking around outdoors for mobility component, also counts for the purpose of attention or supervision for bodily function of walking in the care component?

Slight extrapolation perhaps but couldn’t you also apply similar logic to CDLA/3737/2002 (Bonner 2014/15 p.128), whereby tribunal found care needs at home for child were insufficient for award but Commissioner found entitled by also having reference to care needs at school? This was on the basis of the phrase “for any period throughout which…” in s.72(1).

I would also argue that Fairey/Mallinson adds weight to the point, given that this dealt with traveling around outdoors as satisfying a need for attention, and the need to look at the “normal” life approach, in the sense of mixing with others, taking part in activities etc.

past caring
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Welfare Rights Adviser - Southwark Law Centre, Peckham

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Cheers both. The analogy/extrapolation route will be useful…

And R(DLA) 4/01 deals with that same proposition in reverse - i.e. tribunal held that elements of guidance and supervison when walking outdoors can also count as attention for the purposes of the care component and so did not also assist to qualify for the mobility component. Tribunal of Commissioners held this to be wrong - so just need to apply that decision the other way around.

Lovely.

[ Edited: 4 Dec 2014 at 04:50 pm by past caring ]
nevip
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Welfare rights adviser - Sefton Council, Liverpool

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