loss of dla

[Billywhiz]

my sister has cancer and is about to start chemotherapy. Her dla has just been cancelled and her appeal has been disallowed. Is there anything she can do about this?

[DIZZYNITA]

my sister has cancer and is about to start chemotherapy. Her dla has just been cancelled and her appeal has been disallowed. Is there anything she can do about this?

 

She or you should talk to the Macmillan. They have a benefit adviser who can help her. They are very good, they helped me.

She should have been allocated a nurse from the macmillan so tell her and the nurse will make an appointment with the adviser.

[Nystagmite]

if her cancer isn't terminal, then she may not get it if the problems don't last long enough. (3 months prior to claim and 6 months after)

[Billywhiz]

She can't work, she has a child and no other income. They have stopped all her benefits. How are they expecting her to cope?

[Nystagmite]

DLA has nothing to do with work. The criteria for DLA and ESA (what you get if you can';t work due to disability) is different. Unless she either meets the criteria for being terminally ill (death can be expected within the next 6 months) or has care and /or mobility needs that have lasted for at least 3 months and will last for another 6, she won't get DLA.

[sadone]

Dear god this country is getting more appalling by the day. I don't think this current government will be happy until we're all made homeless, I really don't.

 

Have you to tried making an appointment with her local citizens advice? Also for the time being has she tried claiming ESA or failing that JSA? What were the reasons she lost her DLA?

[ErikaPNP]

Billy, you need to give us a lot more information before we can give any advice. Having cancer and being treated by chemotherapy as awful as it is, is not sufficient information on its own to qualify for benefit and we therefore cannot advise on appealing based on that information, particularly that now the first tier tribunal have disallowed her appeal, any further appeal would be to the upper tier tribunal and would need to be made on a point of law.

 

I would urge her to speak to a Welfare rights representative urgently, where she can divulge more information and they can ask her appropriate questions. She should also write to the tribunal requesting a 'statement of reasons' for the disallowance - this will need to be done if there is a chance of appealing further and she only has one month in which to request it. a Welfare rights rep can go over the statement once received to determine if any error in law has been made.

 

If her condition has deteriorated since the initial decision has been made, she should put in a new application - but again I'd urge her to gain assistance with this - Dizzynita mentioned Macmillan - they should be able to assist with this.