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Dla
michelleR
Member Posts: 12 Connected
Hi, my son was awarded DLA up until his 21st birthday which was in May 95, I applied for PIP but never received a letter telling us of the date for his assessment. I then received a letter saying they had cancelled his application for PIP, I appealed and it went to a tribunal, I won the tribunal and they stated That his DLA had to be reinstated until the pip was sorted, I then received the statement of reason in the post,no notification they were applying for this and thought it was just common practice after a tribunal, I contacted pip who said that they had to appeal by the 21st of Feb and if they didn't I would receive the 10 months of outstanding payments on the 1st March, I have contacted PIP today who have now told me I need to contact DLA I have contacted them and they are saying they have until the 8th march to make a decision as the right dept didn't receive the statement of reason until the 30th Jan and they still have until the 8th march to appeal, coincidentally I received a new assessment appointment for the 8th March, I feel that they are holding out until I attend the assessment to see if pip is awarded, please help my son has been 10 months without any money and I am struggling to subsidice him as I have 3 other children to support
Replies
Hi Michelle,
I think the fact that PIP have told you to call DLA here is what has confused matters.
What you are waiting for here, is for PIP to decide whether or not they are appealing the First-Tier Tribunal decision to the Upper Tribunal. Until that decision has been made, DLA are not going to process the backpay, as if PIP do decide to appeal then no backpay will be due until the Upper Tribunal decision has been made.
If the DWP had the Statement of Reasons on 30th Jan however, they do not have until 8th March to appeal, and would already need to show good cause why any appeal they make late, so if they drag their heels much longer their appeal may simply not be considered as it is too late.
I think the fact that the new PIP assessment has been set for 8th March too, is a bit of a red herring - perhaps the people at the DWP you have spoken to do not realise this (presumably just the usual callcentre staff) and also for some reason think it might be in their interests to delay the application to the Upper Tribunal. However the two decisions relate to entirely different things - even if the PIP assessment is refused, that would not necessarily mean that it was correct for them to close the previous claim, in which case the backpay would still be due.
In practical terms, requesting statement of reasons within a month, then taking another month to decide to appeal to the Upper is the usual timescale. If the DWP are taking longer than this, then you should issue a letter complaint - clearly mark the letter COMPLAINT. You haven't included all the decision dates above, but from what you have stated, it doesn't seem to me like the two month mark has been significantly overstepped at present? If it hasn't, then keep chasing, ask to speak to Managers/Decision Makers and just press them for a decision. Until PIP have made the decision, I do not think DLA will pay the backpay.
Hope this helps.
Kind regards,
Mary
Solicitor
The Benefits Training Company
I am not clear about the timeline here and i think you may need some face to face or telephone advice. Can i suggest you contact the Scope helpline on 0808 800 3333 to find a local service.
David
It sounds as if the DWP are now telling you that they have appealed to the upper tribunal. However, it is not entirely clear what the appeal is about – for example it is about DLA stopping? This is what I assume it is about.
As you now have an assessment, it would appear that the PIP claim is going ahead and has still not been decided. Ideally you need face-to-face advice to support you with the Upper Tribunal appeal. You could try your local citizens advice.
Once you have a PIP decision, the DLA should be paid. DLA can be paid back to the date four weeks after the pay day that follows the PIP decision. That does depend on your son getting PIP after the assessment - PIP is a different benefit, but based on what you have said, your son should get points, for example, because he has problems with social engagement.
The issue with the DLA appeal is likely to be whether you (on behalf of your son) claimed PIP in time - it sounds as if you did, and the problem may have been to do with the postal service? If the claim was made in time, and you can show this, then the backdating of DLA should not be a problem. If you can get local specialist advice with the upper tribunal hearing that would be preferable. I hope this makes a bit more sense of things!
You should have been told you had 28 days to apply for PIP, and then been sent another letter if you didn't make that date, informing you that DLA is suspended and giving you another 28 days to claim PIP. If the time limits are not met, DLA ends from the date it was first suspended.
By the way, when you say May 95, has your son been getting DLA since then? I agree with David that if you speak to the helpline they will be able to clarify things for you, but I think you will still need to be signposted to a local service.
Will
appeal if not I would receive the backdated pay by the 1st, the heard nothing contacted them again and was told that they had appealed against the decision because of regulation 13 (1)(a) that dla will terminate 14 days after the next dla payment date and that jack can't receive dla & pip, that letter was dated the 1/3/17 but should have been sent to me back in January but they did not send it in error, the letter isn't even signed by anyone just states office manager, jacks assessment is Wednesday but at the moment is refusing to go, quite difficult to force a 6ft 21 year old into the back of a car so I'm thinking of going on my own as I'm his appointee
Reg 13(1)(a) (of the PIP (transitional provisions) regs) doesn't apply unless a negative decision is made on Jack's PIP, and that hasn't happened yet. Of course Jack can't get DLA and PIP, no one is claiming that he can.
If PIP is awarded, and it was claimed in time, then DLA should be reinstated back to four weeks after the next DLA pay day, as advised. It sounds as if there were problems maybe with DLA maladministration, or with the postal service - but you did everything you were supposed to do.
I'm really sorry but honestly, with the upper tribunal appeal you do need local specialist advice. Please try a CAB or, if you have one, a law centre or local welfare rights unit at your local authority (most don't have one any more, but it is worth checking). It's just not possible for us to help with upper tribunal cases remotely.
I also think you should consider a complaint about how the DWP has handled this, especially the fact that they didn't tell you about the further appeal until now.
Will
If you are sure that he is not going to attend then I would strongly recommend telling the DWP and the assessing company in advance, explaining why. Perhaps you should be asking for a home visit?
Whilst the regulations mean that anything done by you as his appointee counts as if it was done by him, it's still unfortunately the case that the assessor may not fully appreciate why Jack isn't there - assessors have different backgrounds and may not understand his condition. I know asking for a home visit will mean things take even longer but I think if refusal to attend is part of his condition then it would be reasonable to ask for one.
Will
I would advise that you get in touch with PIP as soon as you can (you might have done this already) to give Jack's reasons for not being present. I strongly recommend you contact your MP too. I also think that if you are not offered an assessment which Jack can comply with, and they turn PIP down, you should think about preparing a complaint to the DWP and the assessment provider about their failure to offer Jack an assessment which is accessible to him under the Equality Act. Make sure you tell the DWP and the assessment provider as much as you can about his condition (I"m sure you already have) so that they have the information on which to base any adjustments they can make.
If PIP is turned down due to not attending/complying with the assessment, then you will need to request a mandatory reconsideration and then appeal. It's important to make sure the DWP are kept informed of the reasons Jack didn't attend, even if the assessment provider already know this.
Keep a record of all the correspondence too! I do think there are some cases where PIP should be awarded on the claim forms alone assuming there is medical evidence, but you may have to fight for this as it is very rare in practice.
Will
Senior online community officer
I understand how difficult it is to provide any medical evidence about Jack, but honestly this is the number one thing that makes a difference in a PIP claim. Is it possible to get someone to come to the house (I realise that would involve getting Jack registered again)? If Jack isn't able to attend assessments or hearings in person (I completely understand why), and you don't have much medical evidence either, I have to advise that this could make it a lot harder to get the benefit.
Meanwhile it sounds from what you say as if the first tier tribunal agreed that the DWP could go to the upper tribunal, but they haven't received anything since? You are right that the DWP has one month to send in a notice of appeal after they are given permission. The tribunal can extend the time given to do this, but there is not guarantee. If the time limit isn't extended, the appeal is rejected.
I also think you've done the right thing by telling the DWP that there is a risk of aggression if they come round to see Jack. That is a factor for them/the assessors to consider but I honestly believe that a home visit may be the answer for the assessment. What you need is evidence - I understand that you're in the most difficult position to provide this but if you are not seen to comply with allowing some sort of assessment then you could be in for another decision that refuses PIP (as before).
Will