Childs dla and all other benefits stopped

claire05

Hi everyone, I'm in abit of a mess at the moment and i was wondering if anyone has any advice or is or has been in the same situation as I'm at my wits end at the moment.
My 12year old daughter has high level ADHD and OCD, which iv been claiming dla for her since 2013, in July i was sent a renewal claim which i filled in and attached doctor reports to due to her condition getting worse as she's getting older and for all the chopping and changing of medication she has been on, i wasn't worried about the claim as her condition will not get better and as i said as she's getting older things seem to be getting worse.
6weeks later i received there decision that her dla will b stopping as they think that she doesn't need the same care as she did 2 years ago which is absolutely rubbish, my daughter is unable to b unsupervised out of the house she needs me to be with her as she will not think twice about running into the road and is unable to understand the dangers around her she can cause to herself and others, she still needs help every day with daily routines and needs to be watch ed d and supervised at night as she DOSE NOT SLEEP and she will just wander the house if let alone she finally fall asleep at 2.30am and will b up at 5.30 in the morning.
I got incontact with dla and asked them to look at the decision again as i still don't understand how they came to that decision, i explained that i cud send off more school and doctors reports of that helped which they agreed and said that i wud hear back from them in 6-12weeks, which i didn't have to got that long as the dreaded brown envelope came through 8DAYS later which can not b right as they didn't even get or read the new reports in that time and there decision was still the same and that the last payment will b the month.
Things have just got bad from worse since then 2 days later i received a letter from carers allowance saying that it will also b stopping, then i received a letter saying that my income support will also b stopping and more letters about my housing benefit and council tax will also b stopped, i got intouch with them again to ask how am i able to live and feed 3 children on no money which they said that i will have to apply for JSA and to come in for a back to work plan, i tried to explain that it will b very hard for me to go bk to work at this time, my daughter has 3 monthly regular appointments to monitor her medication and others for her condition, she will also have melt downs and refuse to go to school on a weekly basis and i also have to take her back and forth to school every day and the school will guarantee on ringing me once a week to pick my daughter up due school time is she is having a bad day, child care will also b impossible sue her one staying with a few people she knows and there was alot more i added as will and also they cud say to me was that i cud put in a new claim for dla or appel which cud take a very long time.
So at this moment in time I'm not sure what to do i will have to live on £73 a week which will just cover a weekly shop and gas and electric god knows how i will pay my rent.
If anyone has any advice or will b much appreciated........sorry about the long winded txt

Darksparkle

I can’t help with DLA I’m afraid, I’d imagine a mandatory reconsideration will be the best option but someone else can confirm.

Are you not receiving child tax credits or child benefit?

claire05

Ok thank you.

Yeah I get both but they said they will be recalculating my tax credits

Darksparkle

So you’ll still likely have around £220 per week from CTC and CB so won’t just be the £73 per week JSA.

Call the council about hour housing benefit/council tax.

You may want to read this regarding mandatory reconsideration - https://www.gov.uk/social-security-child-support-tribunal/before-you-appeal

kingfisherblue

To appeal your daughter's DLA, you need to show how much additional care she needs compared to another child of the same age. It will take time, however, and there is no guarantee that you will be successful.

For housing benefit and council tax benefit, I believe that you can go to the council and request a 'nil income' form. I don't know how long this takes.

You should inform Child tax Credits of your change in circumstances, but you were already on the maximum award. You should now receive the maximum award minus any disability premium that was added. Child Benefit doesn't change.

In the meantime, it sounds as though you should be claiming JSA. It's not ideal, but it gives you a bit of breathing space. You will need to participate in job seeking and possibly in other work related activities. However, you can job seek at all times of the day and night. I'm not saying that it will be easy, but it's possible, at least for the short term. Unless you are sent on a course by the Job Centre, or get a job, you will still be available to collect your daughter from school when necessary.

However, that leads to another concern. It isn't good that the school regularly ring you and ask for her to be collected. What strategies do they have in place to support her? They should be keeping her in school for the entire school day, and should have discussed with you what happens in the event of a meltdown - they shouldn't just be sending her home.

poppy12345

As you've already asked for the MR, which didn't change the decision as most MRs the decision remains the same. Your next step would be Tribunal Appeal and to fill out the SSCS1 form and to attach the MR decision letter to it. You could start another DLA claim off but expect to be refused as you've recently been refused, it can happen again. I would take the Tribunal route and take your daughter to the hearing. Those that appear at their Tribunal are much more likely to have a decision in their favour than those who don't. It's a long process and could take several months. Good luck.

pmlindyloo

Are you/have you received an 8 week run on of Income Support after your CA stopped? Sorry, but not clear from your posts.

If you have or are not eligible for it then you need to claim JSA whilst you appeal your child's DLA award.

Once on JSA you can then have your HB and CT reduction reinstated ( if it has stopped).

If you are still receiving IS then when you claim JSA the switch over should be straightforward as regards HB an CTR.

However, you should inform all benefits departments that the DLA has stopped.

When you apply for JSA make sure they are aware of what is happening so they can adjust your job seekers commitment accordingly. They should be flexible under your circumstances.