Attendance Allowance to Be Abolished

I was so depressed this morning on hearing the news that benefits to the sick and disabled are being cut in order to enable the well off to get tax cuts to increase their spending power. What a sad society we are when the most vulnerable are having to subsidise the better off. How much longer can the people in this country, the majority, who did not vote for this government put up with this?

Signed and sahred. Thanks Lazigirl for drawing attention to this.

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/124016

Nearly 65,000 signatures in 3 days to try to reverse the cuts to ESA.

lazygirl it feels like pushing a rock up a hill. Hardly a day goes by now when I don't sign a petition. I won't give in though. At least I've stood up and been counted.

Signed . I hope people remember at the next GE !

An update to say my DM has been awarded the higher rate AA. By the time we had completed the forms and provided additional information, it was quite a sizeable document. We received the news within 10 days of the receipt letter.

We took lots of advice - such as is being given on this thread - especially from Galen.

Good luck to all who are still applying/waiting X

That's good news jogging. Good to hear that claims are being processed promptly.

Just out of interest Jogginggirl have they told you your DM will have to wait for a period before she receives the AA? I seem to remember we had to wait for several months and wasn't sure if they thought she would get better (95 and with dementia as well as many physical issues ) or die It did seem yet another bit of nastiness on the part of the government

The situation /difficulties described in the form have to have been in place for 6 months. Or the diagnosis of an illness.

This gives people time for their illness/condition to stabilise. E.g. Someone who has had a stroke may be very different after 6 months of therapy. It is all about money of course. My last job was completing these forms. Also DLA forms. So when my husband was left with a colostomy bag, a urostomy bag, plus a permanent drain from an abscess in his pelvis (10 years ago) I completed the best form I had ever done. It was refused immediately, and when I asked why was told he had all the equipment, and was able to use it effectively, so he had no difficulty. I was helped to add information over the phone with a decision maker. There were lots of things that I hadn't put, and I had thought myself an expert. I was too close to the situation. So my advice would always be to ask for a "detailed explanation" over the phone and take objective advice. He was awarded high rate mobility go 18 months and low rate personal care component for life.

They were pensionpat if that was a reply to me. She had been diagnosed with dementia - Alzheimer's - three years previously and all her mobility problems and the aids she needed to overcome them had been in place I would think some ten years prior to that, gradually increasing over those years. She had also doctors notes of a broken pelvis four years before we applied and a TIA some months - six or eight I would think - again before we applied. Although the TIA did prompt more alarms being put in they were in response to problems that were already in place and I would be surprised if it was only these that gave her the higher allowance - but then, what do I know

gracesgran - No, there has been no delay and, indeed, the first payment has been made. As it will be back-dated to the date they received the application, we are expecting another payment to be made.
My DM was diagnosed with dementia in August 2015.

To be honest I am still in shock at the speed at which this has been processed but grateful

I really do wish you all well with this very painful task

I've just asked a question about Attendance Allowance on the Care and Carers topic, then I spotted this!

Needless to say, I've now signed the petition.

Signed.

you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/attendence-allowance-abolished

Over 100,000 signatures on this petition now.
They are aiming for 200,000.
Anyone put it on facebook?

www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/3481-dwp-recruits-180-presenting-officers-to-cut-esa-and-pip-appeal-success-rates

Government has managed to find some extra money for this.

Will the appeals have to be appealed next?

You can only appeal against a tribunal decision on a point of law. The appeal is to the Upper Tribunal ( the people who decided that sitting on the edge of a bed to don an item of apparel is 'using an aid or appliance')

There used to be presenting officers in DLA but they seem to have become a rare breed.
They do vary, some are very helpful and fair,others act as if the payment is coming out of their own pockets.
They are only there to put the DWP's case.
The tribunal makes up its own mind!

What do the presenting officers do? What are their qualifications?
If there is spare money - £22 million found - would it not be better to use it to ensure that there are not so many disputable decisions and therefore appeals in the first place?

Crossed posts, Galen.

They are supposed to be very learned in SS law. Our tribunals are more so I feel as they consist of a Judge for the legal interpretations, a doctor for the medical bits and a person who is either themselves disabled or knowledgeable in the care of disabled persons

Galen in my day the presenting officer (PO) was supposed to be a Friend of the Court and their job was to make sure the tribunal considers all the facts available, not just those that are advantageous to the department. Unless that's changed, they are not only there to put the DWP's case.

I recall many heated discussions between decision makers (adjudication officers in my day) and POs who were often fiercely independent. The quality of the original decision and the skill of the PO were more often than not the deciding factors in the outcome of the appeal. The PO cannot give facts on behalf of the department that are not part of the appeal documentation. As you know, the tribunal can only apply the law to the facts presented.

I am surprised that a PO is not present at most tribunals. This used to be the exception rather than the rule.

Sorry I got distracted and missed the last few posts.

Appeals Officers used to be experienced decision makers who knew the law from back to front. Appeals Officers prepared the appeal documents and presented appeals (not always the same ones they prepared). Appeals Officers and POs were never 'recruited' as such, they were usually decision makers moved into Appeals work from other parts of the organisations.

Never see one since pip came in and rarely before. Usually only on fraud and overpayment cases. Oh! And in SMI cases.
Most of the old POs were amicae curae or whatever the correct Latin is, but some would defend the DWP decision to their last breath, even it was blatantly wrong.
A lot of the appeals succeed because fresh evidence is produced which was not available to the DM.

Galen do you know how many decisions are being taken further on a point of law these days? So handy to have a resident expert!