Advice on dealing with DLA

Alex_the_lad

Hello all. I'm after some advice about my fathers DLA entitlement.

He's received the allowance for about 15 years and has an indefinite entitlement. Back in June he was admitted to hositpal under section and was finally discharged 4 months later. We rang the DLA helpline to make them aware that he was home and also that also before he was discharged he had spent a week at home to assess how he would cope.

My understanding was that as soon as he was back that his DLA would be reinstated. However nearly a month on his payments have yet to begin. There was a short delay whilst we returned a form that DLA sent to confirm how much time he'd spent at home before final discharge from hospital. Aside from this we haven't had any sort of information or updates from DLA. We call the helpline a couple of times a week only to be told that the claim is with the decision makers and that they're unable to give us any further information.!

I just wanted some advice on whether this was usual and what's typical in terms of timescale etc. Also were we wrong to assume that the claim would automatically be reinstated. Also any advice on what I should do next would be welcomed.

Thanks in advance.

rogerblack

There is no such thing as an indefinite entitlement anymore, any award may be reviewed at any time.
In principle, the decision to begin payment again is separate from the decision to review the award, but it is not impossible they will do both at once.
Other than that, there are delays all throughout the system.
You can in principle request a callback from a decisionmaker.