Dla award for child

Bootyboo1

Hi my teenager as just been awarded DLA middle rate care
We claim universal credit and I claim carers for my wife
And she gets pip
When we inform universal credit will we have the dla amount deducted from our claim
They take my carers allowance off our claim they say its classes as a income
We don't know much about the benefit system so any info will be appreciated
We don't know what we are entitled to or what we could lose
Thank you

calcotti

The DLA will be ignored as income for UC. It is extra money to help with the cost of providing for your child. This is the same as for your wife’s PIP which is ignored.

In respect of the Carer’s Allowance, although it is taken into account as income, you do get a carer addition in your UC which is worth £160.20/month.

As a result of your child’s DLA I think your UC will increase because you will get an extra disabled child element included which is worth £126.11/month. You should be able to get this element added back to the assessment period in which the DLA start date falls.

Bootyboo1

Thank you very much for replying
Our UC payments are the 5th of every month
We got the backed dated DLA payment yesterday
My work coach mentioned UC may back date but she didn't how far back

calcotti

Although you got the first payment yesterday the start date of the DLA award will be earlier because of the time it takes to assess a claim once it is made. You should have an award letter which confirms the start date. You need to tell UC this. UC should backdate the disabled child element to the start of the assessment period in which the DLA start date falls.

bigbill

Bootyboo1 wrote: »

Hi my teenager as just been awarded DLA middle rate care
We claim universal credit and I claim carers for my wife

Do you get any extra in your UC for your wife being sick or unable to work?

Bootyboo1

No we don't get anything extra for my wife on uc
We have just been sent a medical assessment form to fill in
She has been handing in fit notes since the start of uc claim which was March
She had been on income related ESA for years before this and was in the support group but was told to claim uc when she failed to attend her medicals
Which we wasn't aware of the first one and the second one her grandma died
So we have waited a while for a medical form to be sent from the UC which turned up on Monday
Her work coach did state she was going to try make it so her medical needs from her ESA would be put onto her uc award so we wouldn't have to put my wife through another medical
But not heard nothing for weeks since the work coach mentioned it to us
We have struggled since claiming uc and had numerous food bank vouchers from support workers
My wife as nothing but guilt thinking it's her fault we are in this mess but we can't undo it now we just have to survive the best we can we have 3 children but only got awarded for 2 because our youngest was born after a certain date they said
Sorry to ramble on we just have no idea what we are entitled to and I just want to make sure my wife and daughter are well enough again one day that I can go back to work and provide for them like I used to and not be stuck in this confusing system

bigbill

Put a note in the Journal stating the child now has DLA Middle Care and your wife is the main Carer for them, this should add an additional Carer Element to your on-going UC award, possibly linked back to the DLA start date?

If later she goes into the Support Group this would stop but being in that group is worth more from UC than the Carer Element.

Bootyboo1

Iv updated it my child's DLA claim started on the 28/05/2019
I rang universal credit to confirm I had done it correctly
And she wasn't very helpful so I asked what would happen now
She said nothing it would just make it so my wife wouldn't be relied on for work commitments
She didn't say anything additional elements added to our claim
She sent like she was rushing me off the phone to be honest
But it's all on the system now

calcotti

I suggest you state that, following the DLA award, you would like the carer element added to your UC award for your wife acting as carer (assuming she is going 35 hours of care) and that you understand this can be backdated to when the DLA award started.

If your wife is later found to have Limited capability for Work and Work Related Activity she will get the LCWRA element instead of the carer element as she cannot get both and the LCWRA element is worth more.

Alice_Holt

Bootyboo1 wrote: »

She had been on income related ESA for years before this and was in the support group but was told to claim uc when she failed to attend her medicals
Which we wasn't aware of the first one and the second one her grandma died

If this occurred less than 13 months ago - ask for a reconsideration of the DWP decision to stop her ESA as she had a "good reason" for non-attendance of the second ESA WCA.
If you are in time to appeal this decision and the decision is accepted by a tribunal - then she could be backdated the ESA payments till the time she claimed UC. And then her UC claim may be increased by an additional LCRWA payment of c£330 pm.

Here is the MR form you need to complete to ask for the decision to be looked at again:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/challenge-a-decision-made-by-the-department-for-work-and-pensions-dwp; Or use this as a template:
https://www.leicester.gov.uk/media/178163/mandatory-reconsideration-request.pdf

Here is info on challenging a decision:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/benefits-introduction/problems-with-benefits-and-tax-credits/challenging-a-benefit-decision/challenging-a-dwp-benefit-decision-on-or-after-28-october-2013/appealing-against-a-benefit-decision/appealing-against-a-dwp-benefit-decision/

https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/forum/10-dla-esa-queries-results/97208-what-qualifies-as-a-valid-reason-not-to-attend


As you don't fully understand a very complicated benefits system, please, please, do get advice from your local advice agency / CAB when a DWP decision goes against you. Very often these can be successfully challenged - don't just accept it.

Bootyboo1

I would like to say thank you all for taking the time to help and advise me
We have spoke with someone from citizens advice
They are going to help us in regards to appealing the ESA medical and also said what the previous poster said that we are still in our rights to appeal the decision
Also a case manager put a message on our journal to say that my wife as now been put on our claim as our daughters carer and also my daughters child element as gone on
She asked us why it as took us from the 28th of may to update them on her dla award because a decision maker is looking at our claim so I replied and said that we only got the decision last week but the letter stated the award started in may
Our question is why has she sent it to a decision maker and how long will it take to hear from that person

Thank you again