DWP "decided to look at your DLA again" (???)

Hi all. First post and apologies in advance if this has been covered before - did search but our heads are spinning at the moment.

My partner was asked to renew his DLA which was due to expire after 5 years in April. We completed this according to the guides on this site and in May he was awarded both lower rates of DLA as before, but only for 2 years.

This afternoon he received a letter saying:

"I decided to look at your Disability Living Allowance again to make sure you are getting the right money.

I have looked at all the information again and decided you are not entitled to Disability Living Allowance."

The award letter in May said the decision was made using information "from your claim form (and) the extra information you gave us including any details about any current treatment, medication, test results (and) symptoms".

It agreed that he needed guidance or supervision because of anxiety and panic attacks, help to plan a meal and to motivate himself, and that at night he is at risk during potentially dangerous activities.

Today's letter also says the claim form was taken into account, and now with information from his community mental health team, and the decision maker has decided that he doesn't need guidance or supervision, no help with preparing a cooked meal or with being watched over at night.

This is at odds with the copy of the care plan he received from his CMHT, although we are wondered if they have notified the DWP that he no longer has appointments with them. This is mostly because he has moved to another health authority area and is registering here, but I can see how the DWP could have jumped at the chance to assume he has been discharged due to some improvement. Today's sudden decision hasn't exactly helped that as you can probably imagine.

Obviously we now have the following checklist to work through:

• contact the CMHT for a copy of what was sent to the DWP
• visit GP to ask for today's relapse to be recorded, and to ask if the DWP has contacted them
• Call the DWP and ask them for an explanation/reconsideration/appeal etc.
• Apply for PIP in the meantime?

but I was wondering if anyone can shed any light on why this may have happened only a month after the original award. I have read of people on lifetime awards being reassessed by the back door before the official PIP time scale, but is this what is happening here?

Has anyone else received the same letter? There doesn't appear to be any particular code to identify it.

Is there anything else we could be/should be doing? Any news or views most welcome!

Many thanks

animatedspanner wrote: Hi all. First post and apologies in advance if this has been covered before - did search but our heads are spinning at the moment.

My partner was asked to renew his DLA which was due to expire after 5 years in April. We completed this according to the guides on this site and in May he was awarded both lower rates of DLA as before, but only for 2 years.

This afternoon he received a letter saying:

"I decided to look at your Disability Living Allowance again to make sure you are getting the right money.

I have looked at all the information again and decided you are not entitled to Disability Living Allowance."

The award letter in May said the decision was made using information "from your claim form (and) the extra information you gave us including any details about any current treatment, medication, test results (and) symptoms".

It agreed that he needed guidance or supervision because of anxiety and panic attacks, help to plan a meal and to motivate himself, and that at night he is at risk during potentially dangerous activities.

Today's letter also says the claim form was taken into account, and now with information from his community mental health team, and the decision maker has decided that he doesn't need guidance or supervision, no help with preparing a cooked meal or with being watched over at night.

This is at odds with the copy of the care plan he received from his CMHT, although we are wondered if they have notified the DWP that he no longer has appointments with them. This is mostly because he has moved to another health authority area and is registering here, but I can see how the DWP could have jumped at the chance to assume he has been discharged due to some improvement. Today's sudden decision hasn't exactly helped that as you can probably imagine.

Obviously we now have the following checklist to work through:

• contact the CMHT for a copy of what was sent to the DWP
• visit GP to ask for today's relapse to be recorded, and to ask if the DWP has contacted them
• Call the DWP and ask them for an explanation/reconsideration/appeal etc.
• Apply for PIP in the meantime?

but I was wondering if anyone can shed any light on why this may have happened only a month after the original award. I have read of people on lifetime awards being reassessed by the back door before the official PIP time scale, but is this what is happening here?

Has anyone else received the same letter? There doesn't appear to be any particular code to identify it.

Is there anything else we could be/should be doing? Any news or views most welcome!

Many thanks

Hi as,

You need to challenge this latest decision to deny the DLA award.

If you have an official DLA Award Decision Notice letter from May giving a 2 year award, then that should stand, unless you have informed the DWP of a change in circumstances, therefore triggering a supersession/review.

The minimum period that a DLA award should exist for is 12 months, and a claimant can not even be reviewed under :

The Right Payment Programme

Unless the current award has existed for at least 12 months.

Even if the DWP had received new information which may contradict an existing award, they would still have to give the claimant a chance to provide input in the form of a DLA review form.

They can not simply make an award, then change it at will.

You may wish to obtain professional face to face advice :

Where to get advice?

Or you could put Welfare Rights/Advice into you search engine with your Town/Postcode.

bro58

Hi as,

Just to add,

In scenarios such as this, many members have gained assistance from their M.P.'s, as they have direct lines of contact into The DWP.

You could enlist the support of your M.P., alongside instigating your own challenge ASAP.

Contacting your MP

bro58

Totally agree with the good advice that bro58 has provided.