New DMG Guidance on DLA/AA and days of admission and discharge from certain accommodation. Following legal advice days of admission and discharge will be treated as days in certain accommodation. Anybody know what this legal advice is?

DMG Memo Vol 10/24 August 2006 and October updates to DMG Vol 10 Chapter 61 paragraph 61856

Shaun

In addition please note that CPAG have deleted the referral to children aged under 16 in prescribed accommodation and the payment of DLA for the first 84 days. The 84 days only applies to hospitals and similar institutions. Welfare Rights it's a hit and myth thing.

CPAG handbook page 665 and Welfare Rights Bulletin 194.

Shaun

Hi Shaun,

I can't seem to locate a copy of the memo, do you or anyone else have a copy of this memo?

Hi Simon

I found the DMG memo by googling as I had a query about certain accommodation. It was issued in Northern Ireland for their DMG. I then checked the UK DMG, didn't find any equivalent memo, but found that the guidance had been amended. I ain't technical and therefore I suggest that you use the links in rightsnet to view it in the NI DMG.

My original point has yet not been answered by the DWP i.e. what is the legal advice that resulted in the amended interpretation of the treatment of days of admission and discharge in certain accommodation, as days in accommodation.

Therefore there appears to be no actual change in regulations or case law, only the fact that the DWP have just changed their minds.

Many thanks

Shaun

The Northern Ireland DMG memos are available @

http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/ssa/benefit_information/information_for_advisors/dmg_memo_cover.htm

(Link also in rightsnet toolkit)

I have spoken to the Customer Services Manager at our local Disability Benefits Centre.

The Decision Makers Guide for the 'mainland' was amended in July of this year and the Northern Ireland one very recently. As Shaun said, the DMG now says that the day a person goes into 'certain accommodation' and the day they leave count as days IN the accommodation. Apparently this followed some new legal advice.

Other procedural guides within the DWP still say that days when a person goes into the accommodation and the day they go home should be treated as days at home. Advice on the DWP website says the same.

The Disability & Carers Service knows that there is considerable confusion over this issue and definitive guidance is promised soon.

In the meantime the DBC at Blackpool should continue to use the old interpretation - ie that the day the person goes into the accommodation and the day they leave count as days at home.

I think part of the confusion within the DWP may arise from the ammendment, in 1999, to reg 8 of the DLA regs which allowed for the day of admission and day of discharge from hospitals to be treated as days at home, whereas reg 9 (certain accommodation other than hospitals) stayed silent on this point.

Thus, for residential accommodation it would seem to be completely arbitrary whether the relevant days are treated as days at home or days in care.

However, it would seem eminently sensible to apply the provisions consistently. There would seem to be no policy considerations (other than saving money) to treat the two differently.

"Definitive guidance is promised soon". Lets hope the DWP do the decent thing. Oh how I was tempted to tag 'for once' on to the end of that sentence.