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DLA to PIP to DLA?
Hi, my colleague just spoke to client who said they received DLA, then was moved to PIP, then stopped receiving PIP at some point more recently (they couldn’t remember specifics).
They said that recently they got a call from someone they believe was from the DWP, who asked a lot of questions about their situation, and said that she couldn’t see why the client wouldn’t be able to move back on to DLA.
Has anyone come across this before? I assume this is simply incorrect advice.
Thanks
[ Edited: 19 Jul 2022 at 10:14 am by Darren ]As a rule, DLA is a defunct benefit. You can’t get it unless you are either under 16 or you already get it and are either yet to go through the conversion process or are exempt from it due to your age. There are not generally situations where going ‘back’ to it is even remotely plausible.
Is there anything at all about this case which is out of the ordinary so that this is even worth considering?
I would say in general that third-hand accounts of what someone claiming to work for the DWP is reckoned to have said are not something to pay much attention to.
Yeah I agree, nothing sounds out of the ordinary, thanks
Maybe it was this scenario, which happened to a client of ours? It was a DLA to PIP migration. Client was invited to apply for PIP and did so.Then failed to attend the assessment. His PIP claim was therefore refused and his DLA expiry date had passed. He requested MR of the PIP refusal on the grounds that he had a reasonable excuse for non-attendance, was successful, and his DLA was reinstated pending the PIP decision. There is something in the regs which requires DLA to continue until the PIP claim is decided.
You’re tight Paul, in para. 3 of Schedule 1 of the DLA Regs, there is provision for a renewal claim for DLA to be made in circumstances where someone is over the SRP and has had a previous DLA award within the previous 12 months.
Maybe it was this scenario, which happened to a client of ours? It was a DLA to PIP migration. Client was invited to apply for PIP and did so.Then failed to attend the assessment. His PIP claim was therefore refused and his DLA expiry date had passed. He requested MR of the PIP refusal on the grounds that he had a reasonable excuse for non-attendance, was successful, and his DLA was reinstated pending the PIP decision. There is something in the regs which requires DLA to continue until the PIP claim is decided.
Where you have a fixed term award of DLA and claim PIP, your fixed term award can be and usually will be extended until the PIP claim is determined - reg 20 PIP (TP) Regs. Where you fail to attend a PIP assessment without good reason, this results in DLA being terminated 14 days hence - reg 13. The DWP has interpreted caselaw as saying that where it then accepts that someone did in fact have good reason for their non-attendance, this has the consequence that DLA is reinstated - see ADM Memo 24/18.
However in the post we are told that the claimant was receiving PIP at some point, which seems to rule this out.
I’m fairly sure we’ve had cases in the past Elliot whereby someone was invited to claim PIP having been in receipt of DLA previously and are over SPA. There has been some problem with the PIP claim process but the DLA award has stopped. In those situations, we’ve certainly seen people able to get back to DLA because there has been less than a 12 month gap.
I’m fairly sure we’ve had cases in the past Elliot whereby someone was invited to claim PIP having been in receipt of DLA previously and are over SPA. There has been some problem with the PIP claim process but the DLA award has stopped. In those situations, we’ve certainly seen people able to get back to DLA because there has been less than a 12 month gap.
Yes but the only concrete information we have been given by the post is that the person was getting PIP and then “stopped receiving PIP”. I don’t see how in a case where the PIP conversion process has been successful and resulted in an entitlement, there could later be a return to DLA. There isn’t even any suggestion that they are over pension age.
We are just stabbing in the dark for explanations as to how the DWP’s extremely unlikely advice could be correct based on a vague prompt. Perhaps the person is only 12 years old and was converted to PIP by mistake.
Yes but the only concrete information we have been given by the post is that the person was getting PIP and then “stopped receiving PIP”. I don’t see how in a case where the PIP conversion process has been successful and resulted in an entitlement, there could later be a return to DLA. There isn’t even any suggestion that they are over pension age.
We are just stabbing in the dark for explanations as to how the DWP’s extremely unlikely advice could be correct based on a vague prompt. Perhaps the person is only 12 years old and was converted to PIP by mistake.
I don’t disagree on the lack of concrete information but it is the case that you can have had an award of DLA, that stops due to moving to PIP, the PIP award then ends for some reason and if it’s less than 12 months since the DLA award terminated, the part of Schedule 1 I noted does allow a renewal DLA claim to be made.
I was as surprised as anyone when we had such a case and like I say, I’m sure we have had more than one since. Not common I agree but worth knowing about.
Thanks everyone, this is really useful to know