Newbie here! LCW – advice please!

Jenny_Palmer

Hi everyone!

Long time lurker, first-time poster to this fabulous Scope forum. Before anything else, I just want to say thank you so much for all the work you do!

So, I have Cerebral Palsy and as a result, chronic tendonitis and chronic neurological fatigue that has made moving around almost impossible these days. I used to be reasonably mobile before the tendonitis kicked off in late 2022 and it's slowly ebbed away and my balance and walking. Oh and did I mention I have chronic pelvic pain too?!

The constant pain has left me warn and drained (as I'm sure too many are familiar with here!) and as a result, I keep falling indoors, outdoors and in my work setting - it's resulted in 3x visits to the ER over recent months – and I just can't work to the same capacity until my body heals a bit. I can't walk more than 5-10 meters without 'furniture grabbing' indoors to stay upright and no more than 20/30 with my Kaye Walker (no distance at all unaided outdoors) indoors or out without needing to stop due to discomfort and tiredness. I work at the moment but also get PIP and a small bit of UC but going into the office as I do, even a couple of days a week has now become so, so tough as a result - I'm scared of the damage to the bit of mobility I have left which is what has prompted me to try for a WCA. 

Anyhow, all this means a lovely woman at Scope asked why I wasn't on LCWRA for the mobility descriptor and I hadn't even heard of it! When I glanced at the LCW I figured as I worked, I wasn't eligible due to work, not knowing that PIP lifts that cap – go figure! I reported my health conditions via UC on January 1st with my first 3x month FitNote supplied on Jan 19th (it will run out on April 19th and I'll presume I'll have to get another). Got the UC50 form on Feb 4th and returned it on Feb 28th (it was due today, March 4th) - they have logged it in their system since Wednesday.

My questions: 

I was told it could be 16 weeks wait for assessment as they are prioritising new claims (apparently!), but does this mean from Jan 1st when I updated my health conditions in my UC journal or from March 4th when my UC50 form was due back?

Even though I've been through PIP, the thought of waiting months to hear on this is making me very anxious because if I were awarded LCWRA (even if I could reduce my hours as is my hope), the extra financial support would make a massive difference to my quality of daily life – and really, as I'm a private renter, getting LCWRA is the only way I could take a step back from work. How long have people been waiting here?

Also, is anyone in work with CP and has successfully been awarded LCWRA?? I can't walk more than 50 meters repeatedly, safely or reliably with or without my aid (Kaye Walker) in a work setting (I also can't self-propel in a wheelchair on level ground as I haven't the strength or dexterity on my ride side to do this - I have to be pushed) so to showcase this I supplied the following evidence: 2x physio reports stating this among other challenges, 1x report from my pelvic physio, 1x report from my podiatrist (bits of glass, plastic etc are prone to getting lodged in my feet and the last time it happened in November last year, it resulted in deep tissue damage which is still ongoing and makes it even harder to walk so it explains this), a letter from my primary carer saying the same, a copy of my PIP mobility section (in case) and 2x general ER reports from random falls due to the CP.

Does it seem like I provided what was necessary for the 15 points for the LCWRA support group?? I presume I'll be assessed too but I spent the 4x weeks working really hard to gather the right evidence so the difficulties are easily seen. 

Thank you if you've made it this far, I'm not sure why this has got me so worried as I'm sure I have a good chance (I'm worried my working doesn't help even though you can work on LCWRA) but I'd love to hear your LCWRA mobility success stories, please! x

poppy123456

The waiting time starts from when you returned the UC50 form. There's not really any timescales that I know of. Some wait weeks and others wait several months. Most people have assessments, which are mostly by telephone. Some are face to face and video. 

They have been prioritising new claims for the past 3 years or so and this will include your claim as a it's a new claim. 

The majority of people are found to have LCWRA so that's a good start. Also for LCWRA it's not about scoring points, you just need to satisfy at least one of the LCWRA descriptors the majority of the time. 

If an assessment is needed you will be contacted. 

Jenny_Palmer

poppy123456 said:

The waiting time starts from when you returned the UC50 form. There's not really any timescales that I know of. Some wait weeks and others wait several months. Most people have assessments, which are mostly by telephone. Some are face to face and video. 

They have been prioritising new claims for the past 3 years or so and this will include your claim as a it's a new claim. 

The majority of people are found to have LCWRA so that's a good start. Also for LCWRA it's not about scoring points, you just need to satisfy at least one of the LCWRA descriptors the majority of the time. 

If an assessment is needed you will be contacted. 

Hi Poppy!

Thank you for reading my mini essay and for your reply. Ah I thought you had to score the 15 on one of the descriptors for LCWRA interesting!

 It looks like I’ll likely have a few weeks wait at least - or it’s best to expect that to save you constantly thinking about it. 

Thanks again, it’s great to know the majority get LCWRA, it seems a stark contrast to PIP!

Jenny_Palmer

Also Poppy, is it true currently they don't take into account if you can work from home?

I'm required to be in the office at least a few days overall hence my applying but I'm told they currently don't consider the remote working when looking overall – though I'm aware the Gov wants to do this by removing the mobility element for LCWRA in 2025...

poppy123456

They consider any type of work. whether that's from home or not. It's about the work you can do, rather than the work you can't do. Any possible changes in the future haven't been confirmed yet and no one knows exactly what will happen. 

Jenny_Palmer

Makes sense! My application is based on the mobility I can't do in an office setting and the amount I'm required to go in currently (varied as it is) is causing the challenges and prolonged pain/fatigue etc so we'll see. I'd love to go part time potentially or condense my hours so that I don't have to be in office at all but it wouldn't be possible with the LCWRA support so we'll see.... 

Jenny_Palmer

poppy123456 said:

The waiting time starts from when you returned the UC50 form. There's not really any timescales that I know of. Some wait weeks and others wait several months. Most people have assessments, which are mostly by telephone. Some are face to face and video. 

They have been prioritising new claims for the past 3 years or so and this will include your claim as a it's a new claim. 

The majority of people are found to have LCWRA so that's a good start. Also for LCWRA it's not about scoring points, you just need to satisfy at least one of the LCWRA descriptors the majority of the time. 

If an assessment is needed you will be contacted. 

Hi Poppy,

I just received a letter via my UC journal that I was awarded LCWRA, only two weeks after submitting my UC50 form!! I supplied a lot of evidence so they did obviously did a paper-based assessment without the need for a phone or video follow-up assessment.

Just trying to work out when I might be paid, I think June might be the first LCWRA payment?

– First FitNote (3x month note) filed January 25th
– UC Assessment period: 24 (eg Jan) – 23 (eg Feb)   

Another Q: I have been working since I filed the FitNote so does this mean I get some backpay due to the Work Allowance or no?

Thank you so much!!

poppy123456

In your first comment you said you provided your first fit note on 19th Jan but now you say it was 25th Jan. Can you please confirm the exact date? 

If it was Jan then your waiting period will be Jan to April… LCWRA starts from AP 24th April to 23rd May and first payment will be 30th May. 

If it was 25th Jan then your first payment will be 30th June.

If you didn’t previously have the work allowance then you will be entitled to that either from Dec/Jan AP or Jan/Feb depending on what date exactly you provided your first fit note.

If you claim for help when the rent your work allowance will be £379/month, if you don’t it will be £631/month. 

Jenny_Palmer

Thanks so much Poppy! Sorry my Fitnote was dated Jan 19th - they took a few days to get it to me so they backdated it and I reported it on the 25th. So hopefully the payment will be 30th May?

poppy123456

It’s the date you actually reported it that counts and not the date on the fit note itself. Though they accepted it at the time, they don’t usually accept it when it comes to the waiting period. In this case it will be down to a decision maker to decide when it’s paid from. 

Jenny_Palmer

Thanks Poppy, it was accepted by UC on January 25th via my journal so on that basis the start of the LCWRA would be June 30th? 

Thank you again, it always confuses me!

poppy123456

Yes, it should be 30th June. You're welcome. It confuses a lot people so you're not alone there. Glad you got the decision very quickly!

Jenny_Palmer

Ah thanks so much, you’ve been so helpful! It had to have been due to all the evidence supplied (I always dread that part) and I’m interested to see the report as it was all paper-based so I’m trying to request it. I’d also love to know how long I’ve been awarded for as it wasn’t in the letter 🤔

poppy123456

LCWRA is an ongoing award until a new decision says otherwise. This is why decision letters do not have award dates on them. 

You can ask what referral date they have for you and they will tell you but it’s just a guide and doesn’t really mean much at all. For this reason I personally think it’s better not to ask.