Disability living allowance (DLA) is designed for clients who require care and/or have mobility need...
Disability living allowance (DLA) is designed for clients who require care and/or have mobility needs because of illness or disability before the age of 65. Clients with the same needs first arising after their 65th birthday will be entitled to attendance allowance.
The benefit is a non-contributory,
tax-free cash benefit in the form of
a flat rate weekly allowance. DLA is comprised of two components, the first for mobility and the second for care (see disability conditions).
There are also restrictions on age, qualifying period and a requirement to pass the residence and presence test.
Qualifying period
A person is entitled to DLA if they:
l Meet the disability conditions for a period of three months prior to the claim.
l Will continue to meet the conditions for a further six months from the date of the claim.
If the claimant is terminally ill, the deferred periods will not apply.
The lower age limit for the care component is birth (three months old including the deferred period) while for the mobility component the child must be at least five years old.
A person must claim DLA before their 65th birthday. Once a DLA award is made it can be paid for life.
Care component
To be entitled to the care component of DLA, the claimant must satisfy one of the following conditions. By day they:
l Require prolonged or repeated attention in connection with their bodily functions.
l Cannot prepare a cooked main meal for themselves if they had all the ingredients.
l Require continual supervision through the day to avoid substantial damage to themselves or others.
By night they:
l Require prolonged or repeated attention in connection with their bodily functions.
l Require someone to be awake or watch over them to prevent substantial damage to themselves or others.
Apart from the cooking test, the tests apply to a child under 16, but it must also be shown that their needs are in excess of the normal requirements of a child of the same age, or they have substantial needs which a younger child may have.
To qualify for the middle care component rate, special provisions apply for people who require renal dialysis. A patient will qualify if they undergo renal dialysis two or three times a week and:
l Attention or supervision is required during dialysis.
l Attention or supervisions is required in connection with their bodily functions, or if they may potentially harm themselves or others.
They will then be considered as satisfying either the day or the night 'care component' test. These special provisions will apply even if the person receives out-patient dialysis, but only if they receive no help from hospital staff.
Mobility component
The claimant is entitled to this element of the DLA if they are aged over five years and:
l Cannot walk at all.
l Are virtually unable to walk.
l Have had both legs amputated at or above the ankle, or were born without legs or feet.
l Are both deaf and blind and need someone to help them when they are outdoors.
l Are severely mentally impaired with acute behavioural problems and are receiving the highest rate of care component.
Payment period
An award of DLA can be made for life or a fixed period. If both the care and mobility elements of the benefit are paid, they can be paid either for life, or both for a fixed period, or one for life and one for a fixed period. Claimants in receipt of either component will normally qualify for the Christmas bonus.
If the client goes into residential care or a nursing home permanently under arrangements made by the Social Services Department, the care component of DLA may stop after four weeks. If the Social Services Department has asked the customer to contribute to the cost of their care, they will recalculate the amount of their contribution so the customer will not be worse off. However, the care component of DLA will not be paid to people who finance their care in residential homes.
The mobility component of DLA is not affected if a customer moves into residential care. DLA is withdrawn, however, after 28 days, or an aggregate of 28 days in hospital.
Amount payable
The care component will be payable at one of three weekly rates. The highest will apply for a person who requires attention or supervision both day and night.
The middle rate would apply to a person who requires attention or supervision by day only or by night only.
The lowest rate will be applied to those who need attention with bodily functions from another person for a significant portion of the day or cannot prepare a cooked main meal if given all the ingredients. A terminally ill person will be entitled to receive the higher rate.
If the customer is in receipt of any of the following benefits, DLA will be combined with that benefit:
l Income support.
l Disability working allowance.
l Incapacity benefit.
l Jobseeker's allowance (income based).
l Retirement pension.
l Severe disablement allowance.
Fiona West is marketing assistant at Guardian Financial Services
