Granddaughter's dla renewal declined after being changed to a coc

Hi,

After a little bit of advice about my granddaughter's dla claim.

My granddaughter was awarded middle rate care 2 years ago with an end date of 25/07/2025 (the day before her 6th birthday) due to having severe eczema (the skin was frequently split open and infected which resulted in septicaemia/hospitalisation for antibiotics). My daughter was assisted in filling in the form by a benefits advisor from her housing association and was told that although there were concerns about mobility/hypermobility this wouldn't be considered until renewal.

About 3 months ago (just as she managed to get a medical move to a house from a 1st floor flat for both their mobility/hypermobility problems), a renewal form for the dla claim was sent but there was no date for them to be returned by. The form was mislaid in the move and my daughter asked for a replacement when informing them of the new address. Since the initial claim, my granddaughter's mobility/hypermobility problems have worsened and she has now been referred to podiatry, physio and a pediatrician after about 6-8 months of battling with the gp. Using the guides on here, I helped my daughter to fill in the renewal form, providing as much detail and evidence as possible. She now additionally has the mobility issues, gastric problems, suspected arfid/adhd/asd, anxiety and hypermobile ehlers-danlos syndrome although until she reaches maturity it is down as joint hypermobility as well as her eczema still being severe. We think that she also has some form of dysautonomia but won't be sure of this until the pediatric appointment comes through.

The renewal form was sent back at the end of June and when my daughter called to check that they had received them she was told that a decision would be made before the end date of 25th July. When she called a week ago to find out what was happening, she was told that no-one had been allocated to the review but the decision would still be made prior to the end date. She called again today for an update due to hearing nothing and being concerned about it. She has been told now that it was processed as a change of circumstances instead of a review and had been completely refused. They also said that a letter was sent dated the 20th July. She asked what the grounds for refusing were and was told that doing the cream for the eczema only takes 15mins a day (it doesn't as it's various creams on her whole body several times a day plus a particular washing routine every day) and that prompting from teachers at school to do it plus assistance for the areas that she cannot reach herself don't count. There was no acknowledgement of her pain, anxiety, distress, mobility and other problems at all and when my daughter said this she was just told well she doesn't have any professional input or paid for help at school.

It seems as though they have panicked that they hadn't made a decision in time and refused it by only looking at the eczema and saying that at the age of 6 (on Saturday) she is old enough to do it herself and doesn't need any extra care over the level of other children her age.

We sent in evidence of the involvement of dermatology, physio and the fact that she is waiting on the pediatric, podiatry and camhs referrals along with diaries and other evidence although the school now has policy of not getting involved in dla claims.

My daughter has informed them that she will be doing an MR (using the guides on here) but is it worth her also starting a new claim from scratch at the same time ?

Is it normal that they would say it's been processed as a change of circumstances rather than a renewal and then completely ignore the additional issues and also to make a decision so quick after saying that no-one had even been allocated to it only a week ago?

Thanks in advance for any insight anyone can give!