Your Rights

Disability Living Allowance

Summary: Disability benefit for people who become blind or partially sighted before the age of 65.

• How to claim DLA
• The care component
• The mobility component
• Completing the claim pack
• Challenging a decision
• DLA and other benefits
• Further information

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Disability Living Allowance (DLA) is a benefit for people who need help with mobility or personal care or both.

DLA is tax-free and can be paid irrespective of income, wages or savings. You must be under 65 when you first make your claim but you can carry on getting DLA from age 65.

You do not have to have someone looking after you to qualify for DLA. It is the need for help that counts, not whether the help is actually being provided.

No claimant has automatic entitlement to DLA - in order to receive the benefit you will have to meet certain conditions.

DLA consists of a care component and a mobility component. There are three rates of payment for care and two rates of payment for mobility.

How to claim DLA

Telephone the

• Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Benefits Enquiry Line (BEL) free on 0800 88 22 00

or

• Disability Benefits Unit on 0845 712 3456

and ask for a DLA claim pack.

The date you phone for a pack will be logged as the date of your claim, as long as you return your claim by the required date which is stamped on the claim pack. You can also claim via the Government's Directgov website.

If you need help completing the pack you may want to contact a local advice service such as Citizens Advice. You can also get help by ringing the BEL and asking for the forms completion service or home visiting service.

DLA cannot be backdated, so you should claim as soon as you think you may be entitled.

The care component

Lowest rate care component

The lowest rate care component is worth £17.75 per week. It can be paid either if you need some help with personal care or if you need help to prepare a cooked main meal.

Help with personal care may include help with seeing when bathing and washing, looking after your appearance, choosing clothes, cutting up food, taking medication, getting around and reading mail. You can also include help you need with seeing to carry out social and leisure activities, or while working or studying. For lowest rate care component you must need this sort of help for at least one hour a day. Care needs related to disabilities other than sight loss are also relevant.

The DLA lowest care component can also be paid, if you need help to prepare a cooked main meal for yourself, even if you can manage to prepare convenience foods or snacks. For example, you may have difficulty reading recipes or instructions, chopping and peeling vegetables, or using a cooker and hot pans.

Middle and highest rate care component

The middle rate is worth £44.85 per week. It is for people who require care or supervision, during the day or the night. The highest rate of £67.00 per week is for people who need help during both the daytime and the night-time.

People with serious sight problems who get the middle rate of DLA care component usually get it because they require attention with personal care frequently throughout the day. This generally means showing that you need some help in the morning, some during the afternoon and some in the evening.

For further examples of the kinds of care or attention needs that may count see Guide to claiming Disability Living Allowance or Attendance Allowance for adults.

You can also get the middle rate if you need to have someone keeping an eye on you continually during the day to avoid danger.

Night time rules

You must regularly need attention twice or more, or for 20 minutes or more, during the night. For example you may have to get up a few times every night to use the toilet and need someone to help you to get there safely.

You can also qualify, if you regularly need someone to be awake to watch over you to avoid you getting into danger, either for about 20 minutes or more, or at least three times.

The mobility component

Lower rate mobility component

The lower rate mobility component is worth £17.75 per week.

It is for people who need help with getting around outdoors. If you are blind or partially sighted you can get this if you are able to walk but need someone with you to help you find your way around in unfamiliar places, or to make sure you are safe.

Higher rate mobility component

The higher rate of the mobility component is £46.75 per week. People with sight problems cannot receive the higher rate for mobility if they do not have other problems with walking such as those mentioned below.

Deafblind people can get the higher rate mobility component. You do not need to be totally deaf or without sight to qualify but a specific definition is used to determine which claimants are deafblind.

People who cannot walk at all or who have difficulties with walking, perhaps because of severe pain or breathlessness, may get the higher rate.

Please seek further advice if you believe any of the above problems apply to you.

Completing the claim pack

You should give details on the claim forms of both your care and mobility needs so that you are assessed for both components. Make sure you complete the pack as fully as you can and explain your problems in detail. Don’t underestimate the amount of help or supervision that you require.

Phone us on 0845 766 9999 or see our 'Guide to claiming Disability Living Allowance or Attendance Allowance for adults' for tips on completing the claim pack.

Challenging a decision

If you are refused DLA, or if your needs change, you have the right to ask the Disability Benefits Centre to look at your claim again.

Alternatively, you can ask an independent appeal tribunal to reconsider the award you have been given. If your claim is unsuccessful:

• contact RNIB Welfare Rights Services for advice

and

• see Challenging a decision about DLA and Attendance Allowance

DLA and other benefits

If you get Income Support, Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit, you may find you get more benefit once you get DLA. If you are successful in claiming DLA, and do not already get these benefits, you should seek advice about claiming them. If you already get the benefits when you are awarded DLA, check whether you can get higher amounts of these. Tell the offices that pay these benefits about your DLA award.

Further information

RNIB Welfare Rights Service
105 Judd Street
London
WC1H 9NE
Telephone 0845 766 9999

Fax 020 7391 2079
Email brit@rnib.org.uk

Please note that we can only give advice about benefits for people with sight loss and their carers or dependants.

If you use a language other than English please let us know which language. We will try to arrange a telephone interpreting service.

Or phone the Department for Work and Pensions Benefits Enquiry Line on 0800 88 22 00.

You don't have to feel that you're alone in dealing with sight loss - join RNIB as a member and share experiences with others. Call 0870 787 0077 to find out more.

This information gives general guidance only and is not an authoritative statement of the law.

Join our campaign to tackle the unjust exclusion of blind people from the higher rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance. Taken for a ride.

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Content author: brit@rnib.org.uk

Last updated: 20/10/2008 15:51