Dad has reached PA and needs to be reassessed for DLA and apply for LCWRA too. Please help.

oldestdaughter

My dad has been on DLA for more than 10 years and initially didn’t require a lot of care. Therefore he received the lower rate care component for DLA. His health has steadily worsened over the years and he now needs daily help with basic things and has recently been given a wheelchair as he’s unable to walk without a lot of difficulty and support. He’s also now pension age. 

He needs to be reassessed and I understand this needs to be through PIP now. Does receiving the state pension affect this in anyway (I read it might be attendance allowance instead?) or is he able to apply with no trouble? It says on the citizens advice website: “If you apply for Attendance Allowance while getting DLA, the DWP will usually reassess your DLA award instead. If you were born on or after 9 April 1948, you’ll be moved from DLA to PIP, and you might get less money.” I’m trying very hard to avoid either of my parents receiving less money than they’re currently entitled to!

My mum is also his full-time carer and has been the entire time. They’ve recently applied for UC as he reached pension age and their joint ESA was stopped. This has now come through and they were entitled to the Standard Amount and Housing. But there’s a big deduction because my dad receives SP and the deduction is more than he actually receives on SP. Is that right?

Finally, what is the process to claim LCWRA for him and the carers element of this for mum? And will qualifying for the carers element of LCWRA prevent her from having to look for work as she cares for him for more than 35 hours a week? At the moment, she’s being asked to take part in a work search review. 

Thank you. 

calcotti

oldestdaughter said: He needs to be reassessed and I understand this needs to be through PIP now. Does receiving the state pension affect this in anyway (I read it might be attendance allowance instead?) or is he able to apply with no trouble? 

Because he gets DLA he can apply for PIP although he can apply for AA if he wishes. The PIP process is more arduous Nd generally takes longer than that for AA but he may get Enhanced Rate Daily Living on PIP whereas he will only get the higher rate of AA if he needs help both day and night.

Note that even if he claims PIP he will not be assessed for any mobility component unless he can demonstrate that the mobility difficulties predate reaching pension age.

oldestdaughter said:

They’ve recently applied for UC as he reached pension age and their joint ESA was stopped. This has now come through and they were entitled to the Standard Amount and Housing. But there’s a big deduction because my dad receives SP and the deduction is more than he actually receives on SP. Is that right?

Have you taken into account that UC is a monthly calculation whereas Pension is a weekly amount. The UC deduction should be the weekly amount x 52 / 12.

Your mother will become entitled to the carer element of UC if your dad successfully gets Daily Living PIP. If she has the carer element she will not be expected to do anything work related. In the meantime I would expect her Work Coach to accept some limitations to her current requirements to take account of her caring.

To be assessed for LCWRA your father needs to report his health conditions to UC with a Fit Note so that he can be referred for a Work Capability Assessment.

There is no ‘carer element of LCWRA’. The carer element and LCWRA are different elements of UC.

oldestdaughter

Thank you for the quick reply.

Note that even if he claims PIP he will not be assessed for any mobility component unless he can demonstrate that the mobility difficulties predate reaching pension age.

What do you mean by demonstrate? He’s currently receiving the higher rate for mobility on DLA and has been for nearly a decade. Is that sufficient? 

Yes, that makes sense for the UC deduction for the pension.  Thanks.

Your mother will become entitled to the carer element of UC if your dad successfully gets Daily Living PIP 

To be assessed for LCWRA your father needs to report his health conditions to UC with a Fit Note so that he can be referred for a Work Capability Assessment.

I read there’s a carers element specific to LCWRA (and not connected to the daily living PIP). Is that right? 

My dad already reported all his health conditions to UC when making the claim and included the fit note. But the entitlement only shows Standard and Housing. There’s nothing for LCWRA at all. 

Girl_No1

@Calcotti can someone who is in receipt of SP claim LCWRA?   Is that only available via UC or is it also applicable to someone in my situation i.e. nsESA(cb) Support Group? 

calcotti

Girl_No1 said:

@Calcotti can someone who is in receipt of SP claim LCWRA?   Is that only available via UC or is it also applicable to someone in my situation i.e. nsESA(cb) Support Group? 

ESA Support Group is the same as LCWRA in UC. If you are eligible for UC and claim it you will be treated as having LCWRA because you are in ESA Support Group.

calcotti

oldestdaughter said:

What do you mean by demonstrate? He’s currently receiving the higher rate for mobility on DLA and has been for nearly a decade. Is that sufficient? 

That’s fine then (I read your opening post as that he was just getting low rate care). Means he is eligible for PIP mobility (but doesn’t guarantee he will get it). Definitely means PIP is preferable to AA as AA has no mobility component.

oldestdaughter said:

I read there’s a carers element specific to LCWRA (and not connected to the daily living PIP). Is that right? 

No it's not, there is no such thing.

oldestdaughter said:

My dad already reported all his health conditions to UC when making the claim and included the fit note. But the entitlement only shows Standard and Housing. There’s nothing for LCWRA at all. 

He has to have a Work Capability Assessment to  determine whether or not he qualifies for LCWRA. If awarded it is only payable from the fourth payment. Has he been sent the UC50 health questionnaire? It should be issued after about 4 weeks. Sometimes DWP fail to issue it to people of pension age but it is needed in order to determine LCWRA in your dad’s case (if he got high rate DLA care he would automatically qualify.

Girl_No1

calcotti said:

Girl_No1 said:

@Calcotti can someone who is in receipt of SP claim LCWRA?   Is that only available via UC or is it also applicable to someone in my situation i.e. nsESA(cb) Support Group? 

ESA Support Group is the same as LCWRA in UC. If you are eligible for UC and claim it you will be treated as having LCWRA because you are in ESA Support Group.

And it continues beyond State Pension age?  That's great news!   

calcotti

Girl_No1 said: And it continues beyond State Pension age? 

Only if you remain on UC which will only be the case if you are part of a couple with a younger partner. (ESA will stop at pension age.)

oldestdaughter

Thanks.

Means he is eligible for PIP mobility (but doesn’t guarantee he will get it). Definitely means PIP is preferable to AA as AA has no mobility component.

On the off chance he’s rejected for PIP, would they keep him on DLA? And when you say “preferable”, are you referring to how much he’ll receive? I’ve looked at the online test and he’s scoring quite high.

If awarded it is only payable from the fourth payment. Has he been sent the UC50 health questionnaire? 

By fourth payment, do you mean after 4 months? If so, then they just received their first payment. We haven’t received the health questionnaire but I’ll keep an eye out for it. 

calcotti

oldestdaughter said: On the off chance he’s rejected for PIP, would they keep him on DLA? 

Regardless of what the PIP decision is the DLA will end four weeks after that decision is made.

oldestdaughter said: And when you say “preferable”, are you referring to how much he’ll receive? 

On AA he would get a maximum of £89.15 if he needs help day and night. On PIP if he got Enhanced rate both components he would get £152.15. So, yes, PIP is potentially worth more. Just bear in mind that the PIP process is lengthy.

oldestdaughter said: By fourth payment, do you mean after 4 months? If so, then they just received their first payment. We haven’t received the health questionnaire but I’ll keep an eye out for it. 

Exactly, after four months (if the assessment has been completed by then, which it may not have been). It may be worth chasing the UC50 with a note in his journal or a call. Because a pensioner is not expected to work anyway I have heard that DWP sometimes fail to issue the UC50 to pensioners. 

oldestdaughter

Thank you for the above. It’s very helpful. I spoke with someone at DLA about hypothetically moving my dad to PIP so I could ask some questions. The woman on the phone stated my dad would not be able to move to PIP as he’s reached pension age and would have to apply for Attendance Allowance. I haven’t been able to find information to definitely confirm or deny this. Do you know if this is the case and he must got on AA? 

atlas47

Hi @oldestdaughter

Regarding speaking to DLA helplines, you are not speaking to a welfare rights advisor, but a call handler.

Your dad can and should apply for PIP, particularly that he gets higher rate of mobility on DLA.

NB, there is no mobility award for AA. Only care component.

I would suggest you get welfare rights advice, try AgeUK helpline.

Keep us updated.

calcotti

oldestdaughter said: The woman on the phone stated my dad would not be able to move to PIP as he’s reached pension age .

That is not correct. Try ringing and asking the question "My dad, who is pension age, is on DLA but I think he has got worse, how would we go about having him reassessed?". See what they say.
ou may find this guide helpful
Personal Independence Payment and Disability Living Allowance (ageuk.org.uk)
See page 19.
(We are assuming dad was born after 9th April 1948)

atlas47

Hi @calcotti

Please refer to my post timed at 2.21 pm.

In which I advise not to seek advice from DLA helpline, as they are call handlers and not welfare rights advisor.

Also, I advised the OP to seek guidance and support from Age UK via their National Helpline tel: 0800 731 0175 (lines open 8am to 7pm, 365 days each year).

Thanks in anticipation.

calcotti

atlas47 said:

In which I advise not to seek advice from DLA helpline, as they are call handlers and not welfare rights advisor.

My point is that you have to ring DWP to report a change of circumstance by telephone and in this situation if a change in circumstances is reported the call handler should know enough to advise that a claim for PIP is needed. The call handler spoken to previously may have misunderstood the question.

I noted your comment about AgeUK which is what prompted me to highlight their very useful fact sheet. That gives OP options for obtaining information to suit them.

oldest daughter, see also
https://www.gov.uk/dla-disability-living-allowance-benefit/your-DLA-claim

Change of circumstances
You must contact the Disability Service Centre if your circumstances change, as this may affect how much DLA you get. For example:
- the level of help you need or your condition changes
- you go into hospital or a care home for more than 4 weeks
- you go abroad for more than 13 weeks
- you’re imprisoned or held in detention
You must also contact the centre if:
- you change your name, address or bank details
- you want to stop receiving your benefit
- your doctor’s details change
You may be asked to claim Personal Independence Payment (PIP) after you report a change to your circumstances.

The last paragraph is the one that applies if born on or after 9th April 1948.

oldestdaughter

Thank you @atlas47 and @calcotti for the above. Very much appreciated. PIP was the right way to go and we started the process on the phone and are now waiting for the form in the post.

The only question I have regarding this is, my dad gave permission on the phone to contact his GP and any medical professionals for his application. But he’s now not uncomfortable with the thought of all his medical information being available. I believe this permission can be revoked at any time, but I’m wondering if this would effect his claim in anyway? We would still send in letters from the GP and other therapists, but I don’t want his claim to be rejected because he didn’t give permission for this.

atlas47

Hi @oldestdaughter

There is nothing to be concerned about, in reality the DWP would not seek medical records from a GP.

At best the DWP might request a factual report from GP ( the GP is paid £20, so nothing more than an A4 tick box).

If your dad, still has concerns, he should tell surgery, he wishes to view any request for access to his medical records.

He can then decided, what he wishes to be disclosed.

It is always the patient’s decision.

Please have a look at this link.

https://www.nhs.uk/chq/documents/guidance%20for%20access%20to%20health%20records%20requests.pdf

calcotti

oldestdaughter said:..but I don’t want his claim to be rejected because he didn’t give permission for this.

He does not have to give consent. The DWP ask for consent in case contacting the medical professionals will help them make a decision. If they are not allowed to do so (and in many if not most cases they don't anyway) they will still make a decision based on the evidence they do have.