How does dla appeal work

The first step in the appeal process is to ask DWP to change their decision. If you ask for mandatory reconsideration, the DWP has to look at your claim again and give you a formal response. UK, or write a letter to the DWP explaining why you disagree with their decision. The address you need will be on your DLA decision letter. You need to make sure that the DWP gets your request for mandatory reconsideration within 1 month of the decision date.

If you've missed the 1 month deadline it's still worth sending your mandatory reconsideration. You'll need to do this within 13 months of the decision. You can also call the DLA helpline to ask for mandatory reconsideration. If you do this we recommend that you have everything in writing in case you need written proof later on.

If you prefer to call, you should still write a letter to the DWP summarising what you talked about over the phone. Relay UK - if you can't hear or speak on the phone, you can type what you want to say: then You can use Relay UK with an app or a textphone. You can find out how to use video relay on YouTube. If you've missed the 1 month deadline, you can still ask for mandatory reconsideration, as long as it's within 13 months of the decision.

You'll need to explain your reasons for being late - for example if being ill or dealing with difficult personal circumstances meant you couldn't apply in time. You can get help with your appeal from your nearest Citizens Advice or a local disability support agency. They can help you with the paperwork and might speak on your behalf.

You can ask your local Citizens Advice if they can help you find someone. You can ask for an appeal on GOV. The most important part of your appeal is giving the specific reasons why you disagree with the decision. Use your decision letter and mandatory reconsideration notice to list each of the statements you disagree with and why. You might have done this already when you wrote your mandatory reconsideration letter - if so, you can use the same examples and pieces of evidence again.

This is incorrect. He often throws fits - in the past he has knocked heavy things off shelves and hit his head on furniture. This could cause him substantial damage. He needs continual supervision to avoid damage to himself. You should do everything you can to avoid missing the deadline. If you have missed the deadline, you can still submit your appeal up to 13 months after the date of the original decision.

This may sound daunting but you can get someone to go with you for moral support. Having an oral hearing gives you more opportunities to put your case forward and a better chance of winning. If you are having a hearing over the phone or video, ensure your phone or computer is charged and that you know what you have to do.

YIf you are going to a face-to-face hearing, you can claim travel expenses for the day of the hearing if you use public transport or travel by car. You can also claim for a meal if you are away for more than five hours. If you have to take time off work, you may also be able to claim expenses for loss of earnings. And if you have had to pay a carer or childminder you can claim expenses up to the National Minimum Wage for the time you have been away.

Before you go to your hearing, check what the current rules on expenses are on GOV. The clerk will help you fill in a claim form. Make sure you take receipts for your travel and lunch. If you have lost earnings, make sure you have a letter from your employer confirming this.

This is really useful and also stops the hearing or the preparation for it from getting too stressful. Remember to take these with you to the hearing so that you can tick them off as you say them. The guidance below assumes you are going to a face-to-face hearing. While social distancing measures are in place as a result of the coronavirus, you are most likely to be offered a telephone or video hearing rather than to go to a face-to-face hearing.

Most of the guidance below will still be useful. You will be offered a video or telephone hearing instead and this may result in you getting the higher award. When you arrive at the tribunal centre you will usually be shown into a waiting room. You might have to wait here for a little while. When the panel is ready for you, you will be called into the room. Sometimes the tribunal will decide the case in your favour just on the evidence, statement, or your explanation on the appeal form.

If you can't do the date they give you, contact the tribunal centre and ask for another date as soon as you can. Don't put it off or just do nothing about it - they are usually extremely helpful. You may have to explain why you can't go and you should have a very good reason, like a hospital appointment.

It is a good idea to follow up the phone call with a letter and to keep a copy - that way, if anything goes wrong, you can prove you told them. If you leave it until the last minute, they may not change the day and the appeal might happen without you. If they refuse to change the date, you should do everything you can to move your other appointment. When you go into the room it looks like a big, empty office there will be a big table in front of you.

You and anyone who goes with you will sit at one side of the table and the panel will sit on the other side. The person that sits in the middle of the panel is the Judge.

One of the other panel members is a doctor; the other is someone who knows a lot about disability. At least two of the three of them have to agree to the decision. The panel should introduce themselves and explain what will happen.

Remember the panel does not work for the DWP. They are here to see that you get the benefit if you can show your child is entitled to it. For example if you are waiting for a particular letter or report that you want to provide, explain why it is important for the tribunal to see it and say when you think you will be able to send it in. If this happens, try to keep calm. Don't take it personally. Stick to what you wanted to say, and answer their questions fully.

It is ok to tell them that you feel they are going too fast, or making you anxious, or you feel you are not getting an opportunity to explain. The DWP has a right to send somebody to your appeal to explain why they made their decision. Don't worry about this though.

If they do send someone, it will not be the person that made the original decision about your claim. In the unlikely event that the panel are considering reducing your existing award for example because you appealed the decision not to give you the high rate of care and the panel feel that you may only be entitled to the lower rate or no award at all , the judge will give you warning and ask if you want a few minutes to consider your options.

This is very rare. But if it does happen to you, ask for the hearing to be stopped and explain that you wish to withdraw the appeal. If you do this, the Tribunal is very unlikely to take away the benefit you get at the moment.

In some areas, hearings are often postponed. Usually, if this has happened, you will get a phone call earlier in the day to warn you not to go. Hopefully this won't happen to you, but it is possible that you will arrive to find that you have had a wasted journey. At other times appeals are delayed in order to get more evidence.

This can be frustrating, but it is often better in the long run as the tribunal will have more information to base their decision on. Sometimes it also means that the Tribunal will pay for expensive medical reports that you have not been able to afford. The panel will usually make the decision that day. You will be asked to go to the waiting room while the panel discusses your case.

This usually takes between minutes. You will then be asked back into the room and told the decision. They will give you a written outline of their decision as well. Sometimes the panel will not be able to make a decision quickly.

If this happens, they will post it to you instead. It should arrive within a week. It was quite a long wait but once it got started it was all right. They introduced themselves and explained what was going to happen. They were quite friendly. They asked me what help Suzy had needed this morning.

I explained she had been really tired because she was up half the night. She has night terrors and takes a long time to calm down. I explained the help she needs to have breakfast and what a battle it is sometimes to get her to eat anything. I tried to remember to explain why that was more than most nine year olds need. When I had, they asked me to go back to the waiting room. When they called me back in, they told me that they had given me high rate care and low rate mobility.

We went out for pizza and a new toy to celebrate! If social distancing measures are in place as a result of the coronavirus, most of the advice below will still apply.

Before the hearing, sit down with your friend and write a list of all the help their child needs. Take it with you on the day and tick them off as they are said. If at the end of the hearing there are still things that haven't been said - you can remind them. Try not to answer questions on your friend's behalf. If you realise that your friend has left bits out when answering a question - try to remind them, rather than say it for them. However, if they are finding it difficult or becoming very emotional you can answer the question yourself although it is best to ask the Tribunal Judge if it is OK first, just to be polite.

If they get upset or stressed you can try to calm them down. If this doesn't work, ask them if they want a short break. Read through this guide particularly the sections about the hearing and what to do on the day. This will help you to know what will happen so that you can help your friend.

If you were successful, the DWP will work out how much they owe you. You will start receiving the new amount every month, and a sum covering the amount they should have been paying you all along. You will usually receive your money in about 4 - 6 weeks. If you already receive Universal Credit, the amount you recieve may go up as you will now be entitled to the disabled child element.

For some parents, these additional benefits are worth more than the DLA. Check if you are entitled to any extra benefits now by speaking to an adviser see How to find an adviser or by using the benefits calculator on the Turn2Us website. If you weren't successful, you will be sent a leaflet to explain your options.

Sometimes you might be able to appeal to the Upper Tribunal. This is like a higher court. However, this can only be done if the panel did something wrong with the law. It is very complicated, and very few people can do this without an experienced adviser. The DWP also has the right to appeal to the Upper Tribunal if they think the tribunal panel did something wrong. This rarely happens. If it does happen, they will write and tell you. This is a benefit expert who can give you advice about your claim.

They may also be able to help you prepare for the hearing. If you are lucky, you may be able to find an adviser to be your representative at the hearing see below.

This means a panel of three experts who do not work for the DWP will look at your claim and see if the right decision was made. If they think the wrong decision was made, they will change it.

This can be physical help such as spoon-feeding a child or doing buttons up if they are old enough for other children of the same age to be able to do this without help.

Or it can be non-physical help such as prompting a child though the stages of getting dressed, or encouraging a child to eat or stay focussed.

This is anything to do with the body and how it works, for example eating, drinking, washing, dressing, going to the toilet, sleeping, thinking and communicating. This is the person who organises the hearing and deals with the paper work.

This means anything that you reasonably need to do every day or most days. This includes things like eating, washing, dressing, taking medication, sleeping and so on, and also learning, communicating, and having fun. We have used this phrase because we think it is more easily understood. This is the government department that deals with most benefits, including Disability Living Allowance. This is the name for the panel of three experts who do not work for the DWP who will hear your appeal to see if the DWP made the right decision.

This is when your appeal is looked at by the Tribunal. We strongly advise you to go to a hearing in person. You have a much better chance of success if you do. This means the DWP will look at their decision again. You must ask for a mandatory reconsideration before you can appeal a decision. See How to ask the DWP to look at their decision again. You will have received two copies.

You must include a copy of the mandatory reconsideration decision notice with your appeal form. During the coronavirus crisis, some cases may be looked at by a judge who, on the basis of the papers alone, thinks that you are entitled to a higher amount.

Both the claimant and the DWP will be asked if they accept the preliminary view. This is an expert in benefits who might help you prepare for the hearing and may be able to come with you to help you put your case. At the time of writing, this is the form you use to ask for an appeal. See How to ask for an appeal for advice on how to fill it in. This means where the child needs someone with them to avoid substantial danger.

This could be because the child might need to be physically restrained to stop something from happening for example, running into a road or where they need to be watched in case something happens for example, a seizure and they need help afterwards. All children need some degree of supervision, so to entitle a child to DLA the child must need a lot more supervision than other children their age. This is the person that sits in the middle of the panel who will make a decision on your case.

They are legally qualified. If you weren't successful in your appeal, you might be able to appeal to the Upper Tribunal, but you can only do this if the panel made a mistake with the law. This is called a mandatory reconsideration. If you don't agree with the mandatory reconsideration decision you can make an appeal to the Tribunal Service which is independent of the DWP.

The time limits are strict, you will usually be given one month to dispute a decision, so it is important to seek advice and act quickly. Further information on Challenges and complaints. If you would like to tell us more please visit our contact page. Donate Your Situation Back Your Situation In this section you will find information about benefits and grants relevant to your situation.