What happens at the review?

The Disability and Carer Service (DCS) have told us that they cleared 7000 cases by mid July and are in the process of clearing another 7000 cases.

So far the outcomes are as follows:

The Pension, Disability and Carer’s Service, (PDCS) informed us that as of 6 February 2009 they had reviewed 16,576 Special Rules cases and that they had a further 436 cases to review to complete this exercise.

Out of the cases reviewed a total of 10,135 claimants kept their DLA at the same rate they were getting before the review; 1, 549 retained it under the Special Rules and the rest (8,586) were moved on to the Normal Rules.

A total of 2,377 claimants had their DLA disallowed completely and 3,948 had their awards reduced. On the other hand, a total of 116 claimants had an increase in their awards under the Normal Rules.

They’ve said they received very few complaints; only 35 in 6 months.  They also report a relatively low number of appeals but they have taken extra staff on to ensure proper scrutiny.

How the review works

1. You'll receive a letter and a form from the DCS. This will ask for information about your medical condition, your medication, and the professionals involved in your care.
2. When this form is returned to the DCS they will contact your consultant for details of your condition.
3. Once they have all of this information the DCS will make a decision about your special rules DLA - it could be for the claim to remain the same, be reduced or stop altogether. They'll inform you by post of their decision.
4. If the DCS need to they might ask you for more information about your day-to-day care. They'll write to you to do this.

If you don't agree wth the decision made by the DCS you can ask for a revision and then an appeal.

What should I do if I get a letter from the DCS?

• Please don't ignore the letter because a decision may be made about your benefit in the absence of the most up to date medical information.
• If you want to talk to someone before you complete the form please call THT Direct on 0845 12 21 200.
• Let your hospital consultant, GP or specialist know that they will be getting a letter asking for information about your DLA claim.
• Take that opportunity to discuss your medical condition with your doctor or consultant so that they can provide the most up to date and accurate information about your condition.
• If you do not want your GP (or any other persons or organisations) to be contacted please tick the relevant box on page 8 of the form.

Support for you

If as a result of this review your benefit changes, and you are unhappy about this, please get in touch with THT Direct so that we can help you decide what to do next and find you an appropriate advice agency in your area if you need help.