Effective date of DLA supersession

Client is getting UC and her son is a cancer patient getting DLA - high rate for care.

Son’s treatment has ended and his condition has improved, although he still has some care needs. Client has called to report a change of circumstances, and the DWP are sending her a form to give details of the changes. They have told her that it will take around 14 weeks for the form to be processed and her son’s DLA to be changed. She asked whether, if DLA is reduced or ended, this would give rise to a recoverable overpayment, and was apparently reassured that it would not.

As I read the rules, in these circumstances, assuming a change of circumstances is notified in a timely manner, any supersession should be effective on the date of notification, which would means that, if DLA is reduced, client would be facing an overpayment. In addition she is likely to be facing an overpayment of her UC as well, as a result of the disabled child element and possibly the carer element being reduced or removed, with effect from the date of the DLA supersession.

Perhaps, in recognition of the time taken to process DLA changes, the DWP adopt a rough and ready solution of only dating non-advantageous decisions from when they are made? But that sounds too sensible.