DLA and change of circs, additional health problem

Hi,

I'm in receipt of DLA HRC and HRM which I'd due to finish in November 2013. I was hoping this year that treatment would have meant I could consider coming off DLA but I've now been told I have joint hyper mobility syndrome and I'm going to need to use crutches for much longer than I'd hoped. My health is still deteriorating so I'm concerned that under the new rules I would have to claim PIP and I can imagine I'd not qualify for the equivalent level. Should I inform DLA now of my new health problems and if so what do I need to do? Many thanks Louise

loulouuk1 wrote: Hi,

I'm in receipt of DLA HRC and HRM which I'd due to finish in November 2013. I was hoping this year that treatment would have meant I could consider coming off DLA but I've now been told I have joint hyper mobility syndrome and I'm going to need to use crutches for much longer than I'd hoped. My health is still deteriorating so I'm concerned that under the new rules I would have to claim PIP and I can imagine I'd not qualify for the equivalent level. Should I inform DLA now of my new health problems and if so what do I need to do? Many thanks Louise

Hi L,

If you wish to inform The DWP of a change in your circumstances, you could do this by simply writing a letter informing them of such changes and giving details.

If you report a change as above before October 2013, you would be reviewed using DLA criteria.

However, you should be aware that as with an appeal, there is a risk factor, in that your whole existing DLA award would be looked at again :

Is there any risk to challenging a decision?

There is also a guide to reporting a change in circumstances in our :
DLA Guides .

On the guidance that we have regarding the timetable for current DLA recipients being invited to claim PIP, you would be assessed under The PIP criteria if your fixed term DLA award was due for renewal after October 2013.

Therefore, you would have to weigh up any risk involved between requesting a review now by informing the DWP of a change in circumstances, and what your chances would be of qualifying under PIP.

The DWP could just decide that your award should stand as a result of any review, in which case, it would still end in November 2013.

You may wish to gain face to face advice on this :

Where to get advice?

All in-site information on PIP, can be found from the following 3 links :

Draft PIP Claims Guide. (Top link on page)

PIP information including PIP Self-Test

PIP Topic Thread in Spotlight Area



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