D.L.A LIFE AWARDS help needed

gingernights
gingernights Posts: 231 Forumite
edited 13 July 2010 at 6:48PM in Disability money matters
Hi just had my mum on the phone worried as my sister gets a life DLA award which my mum had to go to court to get fw years ago, she's worried about how these changes will affect my sister
as she is severely disabled will she still have to go through the new dla medical? her condition has also got worse since she claimed? as she has a life award and they told my mum my sister will never have to have another medical ever again has this now changed?

If anyone that has a DLA award for life do they now any more about it?

Also are these changes going to happen straight away or 2013?

thank you.

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Comments

  • Broken_hearted
    Broken_hearted Posts: 9,553 Forumite
    It said everybody so presume she will need one.
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  • Indie_Kid
    Indie_Kid Posts: 23,077
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    Even before this was announced yesterday, people were randomly assessd.
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  • gingernights
    gingernights Posts: 231 Forumite
    hi thans for replies bt my sister has never been called up before as her's was a life time award and they told my mum she is so bad she will have have to have another medical again.
    also he didn't say nothing about life time awards so my mum is confused.
  • TOBRUK
    TOBRUK Posts: 2,343 Forumite
    Assessments for people on IB and ESA have been carried out for months since Labour government announced changes in order to get people off Incapacity and into work.

    The trouble is now that everyone is panicking and no-one will know what is happening exactly until they announce further, and that may not be until October.

    Yes we can speculate, and all of us who are on DLA will naturally worry about it. I have only recently received a letter regarding my Incapacity assessment, but although I am on HRC and HRM INDEFINITELY I'm sure I will also be assessed AGAIN!

    Try not to worry too much until the time they do announce more details and exactly how they will go about it.

    It seems they are going to carry on with medical assessments for people on IB/ESA as they haven't announced otherwise - I didn't hear them mention IB at all in the Budget. I wonder whether they will reassess those on IB which are also on DLA and who have already been assessed this time round?
  • TOBRUK
    TOBRUK Posts: 2,343 Forumite
    also he didn't say nothing about life time awards so my mum is confused.

    He didn't go into any details, I don't think they have worked on the details of how or what they are going to do exactly. He has only said that it is a very complex issue - something along those lines on GMTV this morning, when they put questions to him regarding welfare.
  • dmg24
    dmg24 Posts: 33,925 Forumite
    hi thans for replies bt my sister has never been called up before as her's was a life time award and they told my mum she is so bad she will have have to have another medical again.
    also he didn't say nothing about life time awards so my mum is confused.

    Lifetime awards are now known as Indefinite awards. As others have said, they are subject to review in the same way as time limited awards are.
    TOBRUK wrote: »
    Assessments for people on IB and ESA have been carried out for months since Labour government announced changes in order to get people off Incapacity and into work.

    Assessments for disability benefits have been carried out for years, and have always been part of the application/ review process.
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  • sunnyone
    sunnyone Posts: 4,716
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    I am severly disabled and as long as the medicals are done at home or in a place thats totally accessable with disabled parking Im all for it.

    I have never had a medical since my accident in 1992 and people like me should be reviewed and most other people already get reviewed anyway, just because I got a life time award dosnt mean that no one should look at my case again and Im confident that my double high will be safe.

    Some people can improve and thats why medicals are needed, people like me cant but how are the DWP to know that if we arnt assessed?
  • hi thans for replies bt my sister has never been called up before as her's was a life time award and they told my mum she is so bad she will have have to have another medical again.
    also he didn't say nothing about life time awards so my mum is confused.

    sorry to say that she will have to have a medical sometime around 2013
  • MRSTITTLEMOUSE
    MRSTITTLEMOUSE Posts: 8,547 Forumite
    I don't get the benefits myself but I'm interested on behalf of my friend who does.
    She had an industrial accident and was awarded lifetime awards of Industrial injuries and DLA back in 1996.
    She had medicals for both and was awarded on first application and has not been asked to review her awards at any time since but then it is accepted her injury won't/can't improve neither.
    We were looking at the original award letters she received for both benefits and nowhere on the letters does it mention that the lifetime awards could be revoked.
    I realise that lifetime awards are no more and indefinate awards have replaced them however I wonder what would be the outcome if a lifetime award was challenged in court.
    Afterall being given an original "lifetime award" is not the same as being given an original "indefinate award" no matter how much the government think they might change the wording to legally cover themselves for claimants of that time.
    These awards clearly state "for Life" and do not have with the ability to be reviewed at a later date or periodically anywhere on the award letter.
    I'd be interested to see the outcome of a legal challenge of a lifetime award
  • candykisses
    candykisses Posts: 163 Forumite
    On MoneyBox Live this afternoon (23 June) (Radio 4) it was stated quite clearly that yes, only DLA claimants "of working age" will need to be reassessed, which obviously helps the older people and children if true.

    I copied the above text from another post on the forums re: DLA - does anyone else have any input regarding above.

    I logged on to listen to the broadcast and it did say what it says above.
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