Description
DLA is a benefit for those under the age of 65 years old. It has two separate care and mobility components and each component can be paid at different rates. There is no requirement to have paid national insurance contributions in order to qualify.
Mobility Component
DLA mobility component is for people who have difficulty walking. Two rates are available, higher or lower rate.
Criteria
A person can qualify for DLA mobility component if:
- You satisfy the residence conditions (You must be ordinarily resident in GB and be present in GB and have been present in GB for total 26weeks in last 12 months)
- You are not a “person subject to immigration control”
- You satisfy the age rules
- Not in hospital
- You are likely from time to time to benefit from enhanced facilities for locomotion (This means you must be able to take advantage of outdoor journeys)
- You satisfy the disability conditions
Higher Rate
You are eligible for the higher rate if you have a disability from a physical cause. That means:
- you are unable to walk or means you cannot move your body along by alternate, weight bearing steps of the feet, if you have no feet automatically qualify. Ability to walk is considered taking into account any prosthesis or artificial aid habitually worn or used. Walking is assessed by taking into account any medication you normally and reasonably use. If you don’t take any medicines, walking is assessed according to your current condition and not how you might be if you accepted treatment.
- your ability to walk outdoors is limited in regards to the test is whether you can walk outdoors not indoors, relevant factors are problems with balance on uneven pavements, lung condition, etc.
- distance over which the law does not require a specific distance to be used, however in practice if can walk more 50 meters may be refused benefit. However you’re walking speed and the time it takes to cover a distance and manner of walking are relevant. These should be specified in the form speed and length of time.
- the manner in which you can make progress on foot without severe discomfort. The test is how far the person can walk before severe discomfort is occasioned by going further. But further walking without severe discomfort after a brief stop could be taken into account. So long as your disability affects the physical act of walking you will be considered virtually unable to walk.
- That you are virtually unable to walk or the exertion required to walk would constitute a danger to your life or lead to serious deterioration in your health. The deterioration of health can be sudden or progressive. If sudden must show that would never recover or recovery would take a significant period of time (12 months) or require medical intervention.
Disability Conditions
Inability or virtual inability to walk must have a physical cause. There must be a physical cause even if not medically diagnosed e.g. pain, dizziness, and behavioural problems such as downs syndrome or autism.
Blind and Deaf
Treated as being unable to walk if:
- Degree of disablement resulting from loss of vision is 100% (means loss of sight to an extent as to render person unable to perform any work for which eyesight is essential)
- Degree of disablement resulting from loss of hearing is 80% where 100% represent absolute deafness ( if hearing loss averaged between both ears at 1,2 and 3 kHz is at least 87 decibels will satisfy 80% test)
- The combined effect of blindness and deafness means you are unable to walk to an intended or required destination outdoors without help of another person
Severe Mental Impairment and Behavioural Problems
You can qualify for the higher rate if
- severely mentally impaired
- Have severe behavioural problems e.g. Exhibit disruptive behaviour, Someone has to physically restrain you to prevent injury to yourself or damage to property or you are unpredictable and someone has to watch over you when awake
- you qualify for the highest rate of DLA care component
If you do not meet all above requirements you can try qualifying on the basis that you are virtually unable to walk.
Arrested or Incomplete Development
Can qualify for higher rate if you have arrested or incomplete development of the brain if this occurred before brain reached final development. Medical opinion suggests this is before or at the age of 30.
Can qualify for DLA mobility component if you have severe impairment if intelligence and it is generally accepted to be an IQ of 55 or less. However some people may have higher IQ but not be able to apply it.
Physical restrain
This may be as little as a hand on the arm and do not need to show that any force was used.
Lower Rate
You qualify for the lower rate mobility payment if you are so severely disabled physically or mentally that you cannot walk outdoors without guidance or supervision from another person most of the time. This is based on the assessment of your need for supervision or guidance rather than your physical ability to walk. So if you did not satisfy the virtually unable to walk test for the higher component do not necessarily qualify for lower rate component.
Fear and Anxiety
If you have an anxiety disorder and you are so mentally disabled that you need help of an escort to overcome fear of going outside you are likely to satisfy the guidance or supervision requirement, if no amount of reassurance to go outside may help, you may not qualify but if you can manage to walk into garden may qualify
Fear or anxiety must be a symptom of mental disability but if arises from physical disability is not sufficient. But if your physical disability causes you such fear or anxiety that you can be said to be mentally disabled you may qualify.
Guidance
It can take different forms such as:
- Physically leading or directing you
- Giving oral suggestions or persuasions
- Helping you avoid obstacles
- A visually impaired person who uses guide dog or cane may still need guidance to follow directions, avoid obstacles
- A deaf person who uses sign language may require guidance in unfamiliar places if unable to ask directions but may not qualify if they can study maps, read street signs.
Supervision
Can take different forms such as:
Can be precautionary - accompanying you and watching over you to monitor physical, mental or emotional state in case need positive action to continue walking or monitoring the route ahead for obstacles, dangers, encouraging, persuading or talking to you to take your mind off your fears.
Supervision need not be required to prevent substantial danger. If you qualify for care component may qualify for lower rate mobility component but this is not automatic, you will be assessed on mobility criteria alone.
Terminal Illness
It is defined same way for mobility as for care component but will not automatically qualify for the mobility component.
DLA Care Component
Criteria
A person can qualify for DLA care component if:
- You satisfy the residence conditions (You must be ordinarily resident in GB and be present in GB and have been present in GB for total 26weeks in last 12 months)
- You are not a “person subject to immigration control”
- You are under age 65 when you first claim
- Not in hospital
- You satisfy the disability conditions for either
- Lower rate or
- Middle rate or
- Higher rate or
- You are terminally ill
- You have satisfied the disability condition throughout the 3 months immediately before your award begins and likely to continue to satisfy the disability condition for next 6 months or you are terminally ill.
Lower Rate
You qualify if:
- You are 16 or over and so severely disable, physically or mentally that you can’t prepare a cooked main meal for yourself if you have the ingredients.
- You are so severely disabled, physically or mentally that you require in connection with bodily functions attention from another person for significant portion of the day, whether during single period or number of periods.
Middle Rate
To qualify you must show that you are so severely disabled, physically or mentally that you require:
- Frequent attention from another person throughout the day in connection with your bodily functions or
- Continual supervision throughout the day to avoid substantial danger to yourself or others
- Prolonged or repeated attention at night in connection with your bodily functions
- Another person to be awake at night for prolonged period or at frequent intervals to watch over you to avoid substantial damage to yourself or others.
Higher Rate
To qualify you must be so severely disabled, physically or mentally that
- You require frequent attention throughout the day in connection with bodily functions or continual supervision throughout day to avoid substantial danger to yourself and others and
- Require prolonged or repeated attention at night in connection with bodily functions or to avoid substantial danger to yourself or others; you require another person to be awake at night for a prolonged period or frequent intervals to watch over you or
- You are terminally ill
Definition: Severely Disabled Physically or Mentally
No requirement of a specific medical condition but what is important is that you are so disabled that you have care needs. Medical evidence can still be important to establish your disability and what your care needs are.
Care needs resulting from any medical condition made worse by alcohol should be taken into account whether or not you can control your drinking.
Cooking test
The meal in question is a labour intensive meal main meal for one person freshly cooked on a traditional cooker. Does not matter if you actually do or do not cook, it is a hypothetical question. Need to show that disability makes you unable to perform the tasks needed for cooking e.g. peeling, chopping, and use cooker
In order to cook a main meal must be able to manage both physical and mental tasks such as concentrating and planning.
Kitchen Aids and Adaptations
Because it is a hypothetical question could argue that it is not appropriate to consider whether kitchen could be adapted however they may be taken into account if it is reasonable to do so.
Reasonableness
Only those who could be reasonably expected to prepare a cooked main meal should be regarded as being able to do so. What is reasonable depends on the circumstances of the case.
Attention and Supervision
Have to show that you require this assistance and must be reasonably required and not medically required. The correct test is: whether the attention is reasonably required to enable the severely disable person as far as is reasonably possible to live a normal life. What is reasonable should take account of your age and interests?
Reasonably Requires Supervision
The requirement for supervision need only be reasonable. You are not expected to avoid doing everything that carries a risk in order to avoid the need for supervision.
Refusing Medical Treatment
This may affect the assessment if the treatment offered by the doctors would remove the need for help, it may not be reasonably required.
Some conditions are not as white and black as some of the above careful consideration of the requirements will however help clients in making their applications.
