Advice on disability allowance.

gunboat4

My wife works part time and has been getting adult disability for about 3 years. Today she has received a letter from tax credits and benefits, stopping her allowance. Her disability is that she can hear nothing unless she has her hearing aids in. This decision is a real hammer blow to our family. Is this all to do with the goverment trying to cut costs and would it be worth appealing against this decision. Thankyou.

Vicky123

She must have had care needs to get DLA in the first place, has anything changed?

McKneff

If she has hearing aids and she can hear as good as the rest of us with them in, where is the disability needs.

When my child was as school, many years ago, I used to get incencsed at one teacher who siad they made special provision for
her because she was shortsighted. She was only shortsighted if she didnt have her glasses on, which was only at bedtime......
With her glasses on she could see as well as anyone else. Logical isn't so I asked for no special treatment.

gunboat4

The letter reads, there are 4 conditions, aged, 16 or over, work 16 hours or more,have a disability that puts you at an advantage, and satisfy the qualifying benefits test. In this case you do not meet the qualifying benefits test. As you stated your qualifying benefit was DLA the adult disability element is only payable for the duration of the award of the DLA , i have adjusted your claim as a result. You will soon receive an award notice detailing your tax credits for 2010-2011 which includes your right of appeal. If you have an adviser please show them this letter. I would be very grateful if you could break this down for me in simple terms because i dont really understand it at all, thankyou

bunny999

If you don't get DLA then you don't qualify for the adult disability element.

tomitma

Its really like saying someone who wears glasses should get DLA, because they can't see without them. If she can hear with hearing aids, then she is not disabled, unless there is something else wrong with her. I am also completely deaf with out my hearing aids, thats why I wear them all the time.

MrsManda

gunboat4 wrote: »

The letter reads, there are 4 conditions, aged, 16 or over, work 16 hours or more,have a disability that puts you at an advantage, and satisfy the qualifying benefits test. In this case you do not meet the qualifying benefits test.
As you stated your qualifying benefit was DLA the adult disability element is only payable for the duration of the award of the DLA , i have adjusted your claim as a result. You will soon receive an award notice detailing your tax credits for 2010-2011 which includes your right of appeal. If you have an adviser please show them this letter. I would be very grateful if you could break this down for me in simple terms because i dont really understand it at all, thankyou

In order to get the disability element of working tax credit you need to meet 4 conditions:

1. Aged 16 or over
2. Work 16 hours or more
3. Have a disability which puts you at a disadvantage
4. Receive a qualifying benefit.

According to what you've said, to meet condition 4 your wife said she receives Disability Living Allowance.

Is your wife still receiving Disability Living Allowance?

DLA is often awarded for a set period of time then needs to be reassessed. I think what may have happened is that the Disability Living Allowance award letter which your wife used to claim the disability element of Working Tax Credits had an end date which has now passed so unless she has a new award letter, according the Tax credits she no longer meets the 4 qualifying conditions.

MrsManda

Just found the WTC Disability Helpsheet on direct.gov.uk HERE (link opens into a pdf.) To satisfy condition to 2 on the basis of a hearing impairment the following must be true:

Hearing impairment
• You cannot hear a telephone ring when you are in the
same room as the telephone, even if you are using your
usual hearing aid.
• You have difficulty hearing what someone two metres
away is saying, even when they are talking loudly in a
quiet room and you are using your usual hearing aid.

zaksmum

Was your wife getting DLA, OP? If she does have a severe hearing impairment she'd be entitled to it. You should appeal if that's the case.

bertiebat

zaksmum wrote: »

Was your wife getting DLA, OP? If she does have a severe hearing impairment she'd be entitled to it. You should appeal if that's the case.

I'm not sure this is the case. The OP has indicated that she uses a hearing aid and this would be taken into consideration for the care and mobility needs required to get DLA.

sunnyone

McKneff wrote: »

If she has hearing aids and she can hear as good as the rest of us with them in, where is the disability needs.

Lots of people assume that hearing aids "cure" deafness but they are just amplifiers and dampners which dont even come close to tackeling the many causes of deafness, I wear my aids because what little I can hear using them suppliments my lip reading which works well for one two one, face to face chats in quiet places but in 99% of situations they are useless.