DLA been stopped.

[fiorelli]

Phoned DLA to inform them that L now goes to Specal school from Monday morning to Friday afternoon during the termtime.

 

I was informed that they would have to divide the DLA in accordance to when he is at home. DLA was supposed to go in bank today. We have been given a total of �0.00 - zilch - zip - nadda - nothing. No mention of DLA at all on my bank account. It has been there without fail for the last 3 years.

 

Bug*er.

[bid]

Hi Fi

 

You will find that the mobility element of his DLA won't be affected in any way. It's the care element that will now be paid proportionately. You will get a form that you have to fill in detailing the dates he is now at home retrospectively and then send that back before the money goes into your account. I used to fill it in at the end of each half term or so.

 

I don't know if you get Carers Allowance. If you do, you might be OK to keep it as he's home every weekend as you will probably still be caring for him for the requisite hours. As my son was home every third weekend I lost my CA.

 

HTH!

 

Bid

Edited October 16, 2007 by bid

[fiorelli]

Hi Bid,

 

Thanks for replying.

 

I have already spoken to CA, and they have said that as long as DLA comes back as he's entitled to it, then I will keep CA, as I will be caring for him for around 64 hours a week (they include overnight as well which I didn't realise). It is just a shock as when I notified DLA over a month ago, they didn't mention that it would be stopped until a decision had been made.

 

Have you any idea how long it takes?

[lorryw]

Just a thought (and dont mean to confuse the issue) but what happens during school holidays? Surely you will be able you claim for those. It all sounds complicated to me.

[fiorelli]

apparently, when they have made their decision, I will have to fill out a form every week to let them know when L is at home.

[bid]

You don't have to fill in a form each week (at least not when I was still doing it at the beginning of the summer), but you have to claim for each day he is at home, including the school holidays.

 

I used to fill in the form about every half term or so, or at the end of a long holiday.

 

It's a simple form, just a list of 'from/to' dates to be filled in.

 

Once everything is up and running, the payments are quite quick after sending the form in.

 

They have probably stopped the DLA at the moment because they will check with the school that he is a boarder, etc.

 

Bid

Edited October 16, 2007 by bid

[Kazzen161]

You get paid one/seventh of the weekly DLA care rate for each day or part day he is home.

 

So, if he comes home at 4pm on Friday and returns on Monday at 8am, you would get paid for 4 days.

Plus, for every time he is home for a period of 28 days of more continuously (eg: the summer hols) you get a 28 day run-on (so when he goes back in Sept, you get paid for the next 28 days even though he is back at residential). This means you will get paid for the first 28 days that he is in school now.

 

You get the mobility part paid whether he is at school or home.

 

If you get CTC - as long as he is entitled to dla, you still get CTC for him and the increased

premium(s) whether he is at home or not.

 

However, if you get money via income support for him, you do not get ANY money for him while he is awa. You have to send letters every 28 days to let them know when he has been home (they only pay for each day that he wakes up at home) and they send a giro - that is even more complicated!!!).

 

Why the rules for Tax credits and IS are different, I have failed to find out even after exensive enquiries.

 

You are entitled to still get Child Benefit for him as long as you still have parental responsibilty for him.

 

It is all a bit complicated to start with, but OK once you know what to do.

[fiorelli]

Thanks all for replying.

 

Bid, the lady I spoke to at DLA said that as he comes home every weekend, I should fill in the forms every week, but that most probably I will get the forms every month.

 

Kazzen, That is good to know about the CTC. I don't get IS so don't have to worry there (thankfully!), and CA said that as long as he is still getting some sort of DLA and I'm caring for him for more than 35(?) hours a week then I'll still be entitled to CA.

 

It is all so confusing, and trying to explain to my husband why DLA is going to be reduced is a nightmare - his opinion is that L is still disabled, and that it is his (L's) money, and what happens to it if he doesn't get it. So trying to explain why it has been stopped completely while they sort it out is even worse!

[bid]

The reason the care element of his DLA is only paid when he is at home is because when he is at school you are not meeting that care element, it is being funded by the LEA/SS, IYSWIM...

 

Bid

[fiorelli]

I do bid, but trying to explain that to my husband so that he understands is a nightmare - I've given up trying to explain!

[scrappyb]

this thread is really useful, thanks

 

my son is just off to residential school - just finishing an assessment so place as of Nov, so we'll be doing all this too

[fiorelli]

Just spoken to DLA again, and they confirmed what you guys have told me, that the mobility part will be paid in full, and that (when the decision makers have done their job) the care part will be divided by the amount of time he is at home.

 

They have sent a message asking that they continue to pay the mobility part while a decision is being made re care part.