If you made a claim for DLA for a child, and you didn't get the result you hoped for, you don't have to give up. There are things you can do to challenge the decision.
“We didn’t get anything”
You may feel that you should just give up. But the DWP are often wrong. You may be entitled to a lot more help than you are getting - and everybody should get what the law says they are entitled to. Read How DLA care component and mobility component work to check whether you should qualify. If you appear to be entitled, ask for a mandatory reconsideration.
See Challenging a DLA decision - what you need to know if you need more help. If they don’t change their decision you should appeal. You have nothing to lose.
“They’ve given us less than I think we should get”
Read How DLA care component and mobility component work to check you understand the rules correctly for the different rates. If you think your child requires enough additional help to qualify for a higher rate than you’ve been given, you should ask for a mandatory reconsideration.
See Challenging a DLA decision - what you need to know if you need more help. If they don’t change their decision you should ask for an appeal.
“We got care but no mobility component”
Read How DLA care component and mobility component work to be sure you understand the requirements for the different components and the age requirements.
If your child might qualify on the basis that they need more encouragement, prompting or supervision than another child of the same age, the crucial test is about unfamiliar journeys. It doesn’t matter if they can manage brief familiar journeys without any additional help. But if they get very anxious, or might run off or run into the road, you should get an award for mobility. Ask for a mandatory reconsideration.
“We had to claim again and they gave us less than they did last time”
If you had to make a renewal claim or had your case reviewed, you may still have a good case for the amount you used to get, but you may not have.
It can be hard to tell because your child may need less help than they did when they were younger, but so do the non-disabled children of the same age that they are being assessed against. Because you are used to it, you may be underestimating the amount of extra care the child needs. If you are in this position, it is particularly useful to get advice (and not from the DWP!) See How to find an adviser to help with your child’s DLA.
If you can’t get to see an adviser, talk it through with a friend who has a non-disabled child of the same age. Often this will help make it clear if you are continuing to provide substantially more care and supervision than other children of that age require.
Read How DLA care component and mobility component work to check if you are still entitled to the rate you used to get. If you think you are, you should ask for a mandatory reconsideration. See Challenging a DLA decision - what you need to know if you need more help. If they don’t change their decision you should appeal.
Act quickly if you can!
You have one month from the date of the letter they sent you to ask them to look at it again.
If one month has already passed, you should still ask. They don’t have to accept it, but they usually will. Explain that the delay was unavoidable or a result of your child’s disability (or your own).
You can also ask for a mandatory reconsideration or appeal after the deadline if you have a good chance of winning. They do sometimes say no but your request is likely to be accepted if less than 13 months have passed since you were sent the decision.
