DHP: Childs DLA included in income?

[justmum80]

Hi Legal Beagles,

I am a new poster and I hope that I am putting this in the right section.

I am hoping for some advice about a situation with my local Council.

Back in December I applied for Discretionary Housing Payment. I applied online and during the process I had to include all income that I receive, plus my expenditure. I have a 5 year old who is disabled, he receives £220 per month in DLA. I included this in the form as it does get paid into my bank (I explained on the form that it is my Sons DLA money), but it is my sons money and every penny of it is spent on him. I was very stupid because I assumed that the council would automatically recognize that it is not my income, so I did not fill out my sons expenditure on the application form (I should have).

In January I received a letter saying that I had not been approved for DHP because they say I had enough income to cover all of the rent myself, this is because they have included my Sons DLA in their calculations.

I emailed them to say that the £220 is my Sons, and not mine, so they shouldn't have included it and I asked them to reconsider.

Yesterday (Feb 7th) I received another letter from them saying that they have every right to include my childs DLA in their calculations. They also state that I did not put on the form any additional costs that my Son may have - they say that it would have been taken into consideration had I done that, but because I didn't they are not accepting any more requests from me to look into it again.

I am now at a bit of a loss of what I should do next? I personally feel that it is wrong that they are including a 5 year olds money into their calculations. I also feel that they should have given me the opportunity to tell them about my sons expenditure that uses the DLA money entirely.

Should I perhaps reapply? Any advice about this would be really good.

Thank you x

[enaid]

Hi, as far as I know DLA is not counted as it is a non taxable benefit let alone when it is awarded to a child.
Ok just pop on to your LA website and I have visited a couple just to make sure I have it right and neither takes DLA into account.
While on the site you should also find an appeal link
It is of no business of theirs what you spend the DLA it is for your son and having been awarded it should be enough.
I hope too you are getting all the other benefits you may be entitled to.

The sites I went on Manchester http://www.manchester.gov.uk/info/20..._tax_support/3

Hinkly https://www.hinckley-bosworth.gov.uk...fits_letters/5

[justmum80]

Hi enaid,
Thank you. I was really surprised at their outcome, they might as well be saying that if I didn't have a disabled child, I would be entitled to DHP.

The Council in question is Ashford Borough Council.

I already do claim housing benefit, but it is the Discretionary Housing Payment they have declined (I am not in arrears, I was hoping for some additional help toward my rent for the next couple of months as I am struggling financially at the moment) my rent is £850 per month, so even after housing benefit it is still £310 per month.

Seeing as they stated in the letter that this was their final outcome on the matter and that they won't be accepting any more requests to look at it again, does this mean that I cannot make an appeal? Sorry if that's a silly question.

[Kati]

would your local MP get involved??

[justmum80]

Hi Kati,

I was considering emailing my local MP today.........I wonder if it is something he could help with or not?

[enaid]

Well I don't think you can appeal it seems to be a very much yes or no and all depending on how long the funds for it last.

This info from turntous
How do I challenge a Discretionary Housing Payment decision?

You can ask your local authority to review its decision and you should receive the new decision and any reasons in writing.

There is no right of appeal against a Discretionary Housing Payment decision but occasionally you may be able to apply for a Judicial Review in the High Court; you will need to seek legal advice on this.

You could contact the local government ombudsman if you believe there has been maladministration.

Suppose you have read their rules on it but if not they are here https://www.ashford.gov.uk/benefits-...sing-payments/

[lgfa92]

DWP produce a guidance manual but the overall decision is down to the council but section 3.9 is interesting for you.

When deciding how to treat income from disability-related benefits such as Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or the Personal Independence Payment(PIP) , you must have regard to the decision of the High Court in R v. Sandwell MBC, ex parte Hardy. This decision places an obligation on LAs to consider each DHP application on a case by case basis having regard to the purpose of those disability related benefits and whether the money from those benefits has been committed to other liabilities associated with disability.

https://www.gov.uk/government/public...uidance-manual

[Wylderose]

Hi JustMumbo

When Discretionary Housing Payment requests are assessed, you will find that no two assessors will automatically reach the same decision because there is no template for how they are assessed.

Unfortunately because the Payment is Discretionary, there is no avenue to appeal the decision. You can request a revision but if the decision is reviewed and still comes back as a Negative award, then there is nothing that you can do apart from to apply again. A different assessor may view your case differently.

When assessing DHP's, we always take all the income received into account. When a household member receives PIP or DLA, we compare their disability needs/expenditure against the disability income because we appreciate that they are likely to have greater needs in certain areas.

If someone has high care needs, then we would look at the income being spent and offset some, not all of the expenses that relate to their care needs against the care component. Likewise if someone has to pay for extra taxis because they cannot drive and have countless doctor's/hospital appointments, we would offset a percentage of these costs against their mobility component - any remaining amount of the DLA//PIP would be disregarded. It is not used in the main assessment of your income and expenditure, only for what would be reasonable for disability purposes as this is what DLA/PIP are awarded for.

For example - Someone who is severely disabled with COPD and receives PIP care Enhanced and Mobility Enhanced would more than likely have extra trips to and from the hospital. They may also need to keep their house at a constantly warm temperature and therefore incur higher gas and electric charges than a household without a disabled person resident. A diabetic would have higher food costs because they have to be more careful about what food they buy. Someone with incontinence problems would have higher water costs, electricity etc.

The actual income that would be used would be your Income support (assuming you are a single parent) and your Tax credits less adjusted expenses (after expenses that would be covered by DLA/PIP have been taken into account).

We also look at other factors that may mean you cannot afford to live. This includes loans, hire purchase, credit card debts and arrears and where necessary we would refer the person to a specialized debt advisory service for assistance.

We are not in the business of saying "you have DLA therefore you can afford it". We have to look at what is reasonable to offset against the components that are awarded by the DWP to help out with the extra expenses that are incurred because of being disabled and that is why it is so important that someone who applies for a DHP is open and honest about what they have coming in and what they actually spend. If only some of the expenses are included a DHP will not be approved, because we won't have a true picture of their expenses and therefore will not be able to make a full and reasoned assessment.

All I can say is please try again.

[justmum80]

I just wanted to post a quick update.

I emailed the Local Authority Ombudsman who told me that I needed to file a formal complaint against the council first. So I have done that, it has been allocated to a complaints handler who is going to get back to me with a full response by March 2nd.

I have also emailed my local MP who has replied to me letting me know that he has also emailed the council on my behalf.

I will keep this thread updated with what's happening.

Thanks everyone.

[ploddertom]

You should also involve your local Councillor(s) in this.

[justmum80]

You should also involve your local Councillor(s) in this.

Thank you, I didn't even think of that to be honest so I will look into that today.

[justmum80]

I have now emailed my local Councillor.

[ploddertom]

I would advise initial contact be made by phone. In my view Councillors are contactable 7 days per week up until approx 9pm. If they didn't want disturbing then they should never have sought public office. If they refuse or are reluctant to work then go staright to the Leader of the Council and his/her opposite number.

[justmum80]

I received a response from my council today:

Dear .................

Discretionary Housing Payment Application

I am in receipt of your letter regarding your application for a Discretionary Housing Payment towards the shortfall between your Housing Benefit entitlement and the rent you are liable to pay.

Your initial application was refused on 05/01/18 due to excess income and this decision was upheld on 03/02/018.

You have queried the inclusion of your sons Disability Living Allowance in the income and expenditure calculation we have taken into account when making the decision not to award a Discretionary Housing payment.

I should advise you that Discretionary Housing Payments are very different to state benefits or Council Tax support in that they are intended to be paid for a very short period of time to people in desperate and immediate need until they are able to make any changes necessary so that they can live within their means. They are not a replacement for reductions in welfare benefits and funds provided by Central Government are limited, so objective criteria are applied to ensure that the limited resources are made available to the most needy.

The assessment of awards of Discretionary Housing Payments is therefore quite different from that of state benefits. Disability Living Allowance is taken into account but so are the costs which this income is intended to cover. These include mobility costs, care costs, special dietary needs, additional fuel costs and any other costs related to his disability.

If Disability Living Allowance was to be disregarded as income then the costs associated with the disability would also be excluded from calculations. The current process allows additional costs to be included making it a fairer assessment of need.

You have taken on a new tenancy with a shortfall of £50.72 per week, which you were fully aware of when taking on the new tenancy. Discretionary Housing Payments cannot be relied on to make up a shortfall that you were fully aware of when you took on the tenancy.

I note that you state the additional room you have is used as your son’s sensory room, therefore as this room is used for his disability it is reasonable to expect you contribute towards this through his Disability Living Allowance.

To enable me to reconsider your application please provide the following:

Bank statements from December 2017 and January 2018

Details of any further expenditure not listed on your original application

Documentary evidence to support any further expenditure

Please provide this information within four weeks of the date of this letter to enable me to reconsider application.

Should you have any further questions concerning this matter please contact me direct on 01233 330445 or andrew.carney@ashford.gov.uk

Yours sincerely



Andrew Carney

Senior Revenues and Benefits Officer


I want to add at this stage that I had no choice but to move as I was in a dire situation with my previous landlord (He made the property practically inhabitable) and Ashford Borough Council would not house me either, so moving into a more expensive property was a situation I had no choice in because I had to do it quickly.

I am wondering what peoples thoughts are on this response?

Thank you.

[enaid]

Well it's not an utter knock back, they have given you a chance, you have 4 weeks so you my as wellÂ* leave it as long as you can and see if you get any reply from your mp.