DLA walking criteria: outdoor only or indoor too?

Hi,

Is the walking distance criteria for DLA higher rate mobility just for outdoor walking or does it apply to indoor walking too, i.e. if I can walk normally indoors but not outdoors then do they still consider me able to walk? I know that you can get lower rate mobility if you need supervision walking outdoors but I'm not sure if the walking distance test for higher rate mobility also applies only when walking outdoors or not.

I have a mobility issue affecting my legs which means that the skin reacts to the outdoor climate causing intense pain, itching and burning sensations. Consequently I can only manage a few metres (certainly less than 50) outdoors, but I can walk fine when indoors.

I had an Atos home visit and as part of the assessment, the doctor asked me to walk in and out of various rooms, which I could do OK since it took place indoors. As such, I expect he will state that I can walk without problems. He never asked me to walk outside which would have triggered the problem (and I repeatedly told him that the condition only occurs when outside, to which he just said "yes" but didn't seem to make a note of it).

Would there be grounds to challenge this if the DM ultimately decides that I can walk fine because of the indoor test conducted by the Atos doctor, if the criteria is only for outdoor walking? I know they often extrapolate the figures, e.g. if you can walk around a supermarket then they deduce that you can walk 800 metres or so, but in my case although I'd be able to walk around a supermarket, I wouldn't be able to walk outdoors to actually get to the supermarket in the first place!

My GP is aware of the condition and has prescribed (ineffective) medication which the Atos doctor saw but I am reluctant to ask her for supporting evidence because the last time I asked her for a letter she charged me £30 for it and it didn't even cover everything. I can't afford to do that again. I'm not seeing a specialist (yet), so there is no other medical opinion.

Thanks for any advice and I hope my post isn't too long.

Thank you Gordon. This is what I expected, that it is an 'outdoor' test but they can base that on how well you can walk indoors.

I think I'll request a copy of the medical report and from there see what has actually been written and ponder if it's worth taking it further if and when the decision finally comes, to see if it's worth appealing and risk losing the rest of the award.

Thanks for the fast response, as always.