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17/04/2008, 19:02 ebaynut Joined on 06/03/2007 Posts 128 Re: DLA some movement The DLA office phoned us today, in response to the letter we sent after the announcement was finally made. He was just confirming what we already knew, in that the 'mobility' element was not included in the claim for exportation. He again confirmed their belief that the 'care element' would qualify the claimant to an E121. He explained to us that the details of how the new ruling is to be applied are still very vague, and they are still receiving new information, and that as such were unable to offer any further confirmed clarification. He also informed us that they had received over 2000 enquiries since the announcment,  and were having to examine each case individually, which is likely to cause some delays, especially in view of the fact that they don't as yet have all the information required themselves. He also said that due to the large response, they have had to divide up the cases into two groups: 1) Those planning on making the move to within the EU. 2) Those who have already relocated, and are reclaiming lost benefits. They will be dealing with the 'planning to move' group first, so unfortunately a further delay for everyone making an appeal for re-instatement of benefits, as these are likely to be more complex. The water is still very muddy! Puzzled, You are quite right....all very shady , and funnily enough doesn't surprise us in the slightest. Is that just us being overly suspicious, or experienced? Grecian, Having gone through the statement again, and reviewing the web site in it's entirity, we tend to agree that it is very ambiguous, and that the current wording has that 'not quite right' feel about it. When we questioned the DLA officer, he implied that they themselves believed that it was not going to be connected to a duo-claim for IB.........however, our gut instinct is, if they can defer their responsibility in any way, they will certainly try that route. Again, are we being too cautious or realistic? PS: Have sent you an email Cooperlola, Thanks for the update, have edited previous post with new address details.    Report

24/04/2008, 0:08 ebaynut Joined on 06/03/2007 Posts 128 Re: DLA some movement Noticed another change in the wording on 'this page' of the announcement, not sure of the relevance, but it seems to be clarifying who will be eligible.      Report

24/04/2008, 9:57 Grecian Joined on 24/01/2007 West Yorkshire Posts 87 Re: DLA some movement Hi ebaynut, having looked at the site again, I am at a bit of a loss as to what has changed, can you enlighten me please, I have obviously missed it. We have so much going on at the moment, regarding decisions to be made, I am not keeping up with events. On a personal note regarding the DLA situation, we have still not heard anything back, responding to the letters we have written to Blackpool, I do wish they would hurry up and make their minds up one way or another, so at least we can then plan accordingly.        Report

24/04/2008, 12:41 ebaynut Joined on 06/03/2007 Posts 128 Re: DLA some movement Grecian, We know exactly what you mean - it all starts to blur together when you have read it more than 10 times! The bit that 'we had noticed' had changed was the wording in the following text: Taking your disability benefit with you when moving to live in another EEA state or Switzerland you have paid enough national insurance contributions to be able to claim a contributions based sickness benefit, like short term Incapacity Benefit. Generally, you need to have worked in at least one of the last three tax years and to have paid a certain amount of national insurance contributions in that year to meet this. The Department for Work and Pensions will be able to check your national insurance records and tell you whether you have paid enough.   you are a family member of someone who has paid enough national insurance contributions for them to be able to claim a contributions based sickness benefit. A family member is a spouse, civil partner or someone who is dependent on a parent The section which clarifies that NI contributions are considered, and 'you are a family member.....' has also been added. We noticed this in particular, because that indicates that my wife is covered, regardless of not having paid NI contributions herself. A small change I know, but definitely an important ammendment as far as we are concerned as she is not eligible for either short/long IB. It was so ambiguous before, and as you had pointed out, could also be interpreted as being linked to being in receipt of IB. For those wishing to make the move, this is so crucial to obtaining the required healthcover via an E121. Likewise, we have heard nothing further from DWP, and wonder if anyone else has had any response from them?    Report

24/04/2008, 14:00 Benjamin Joined on 21/08/2005 Vendée South Posts 1,564 Re: DLA some movement The section which suggests that the UK Government is still considering whether to allow claims from those already living abroad but who never claimed before they left remains intact. On Mrs Benjamin's behalf I requested and received a DLA claim pack which has been returned to Blackpool earlier this week.  In view of the fact that this issue may take a long time to resolve I have asked them to acknowledge receipt of the claim. We shall see. We've pretty much decided that if the claim is allowed, we, if given the chance, will return to the UK for any assessment which may be required. I don't fancy putting my language skills to the test with an unknown French medical practioner. Benjamin Snips, snails and puppy dog tails    Report

24/04/2008, 15:18 Grecian Joined on 24/01/2007 West Yorkshire Posts 87 Re: DLA some movement Having read through the whole statement on the DWP site again, and with what you have posted ebaynut, I have got to admit I am still not 100% certain as to what they mean. Taking the bit about having paid enough NI contributions within the last 3 years, would tie in with something one of the many operators I have spoken to at Blackpool said to me. He claimed the government were concerned that anybody from within the EU, could come to Britain, claim the benefit, and then return to their native EU country with the benefit. Not quite sure why they are starting to worry now though, it doesn't seem to have worried the UK government before. So I guess they are trying to implement a fixed period of NI contributions having being paid, before the benefit is exportable. This still begs the question that anybody on long-term IB, who had obviously paid enough NI contributions before they became unfit for work, thus enabling them to be able to claim the benefit in the first place, will now be in the position, unless they have paid any NI contributions within the last 3 years, will not qualify for the exportability of DLA. So I am now thinking that my first interpretion of  the statement could be correct, that anybody on long-term IB will be able to take the care element of DLA with them. This then throws up the question, what would happen if IB were to be taken away in the future, will this mean that DLA goes along with it, to anybody living within the EU, and not Britain? This seems unfair as DLA is claimable, even if the recipient is working. Also with the CA exportability scenario, I have not paid any NI contributions within the last 3 years, even though I have been working part-time within this time frame. So again does this mean  that if IB were to be stopped, and DLA went with the IB payment, then CA would also be stopped as well. (Exploding head smiley required here please).        Report

24/04/2008, 16:14 Benjamin Joined on 21/08/2005 Vendée South Posts 1,564 Re: DLA some movement  Grecian wrote: This still begs the question that anybody on long-term IB, who had obviously paid enough NI contributions before they became unfit for work, thus enabling them to be able to claim the benefit in the first place, will now be in the position, unless they have paid any NI contributions within the last 3 years, will not qualify for the exportability of DLA.   I always thought that if you were on long term IB then your NI contributions were credited as if you were still working. If this is an important issue to you rather than a what if? then I would check that out with the benefits Agency. Having just had a quick look on the Directgov site it appears that you can get NI contributions if you're on certain benfits but I've been unable to find a listing of these. Benjamin Snips, snails and puppy dog tails    Report

24/04/2008, 16:43 Benjamin Joined on 21/08/2005 Vendée South Posts 1,564 Re: DLA some movement Just adding to my posting above. Mrs Benjamin had only 30 years contributions when she was awarded long term IB in 1991 but she still receives a full state pension so I would guess what I thought about contributions being credited appears to be true. Benjamin Snips, snails and puppy dog tails    Report

24/04/2008, 19:38 Grecian Joined on 24/01/2007 West Yorkshire Posts 87 Re: DLA some movement You are quite right Benjamin, NI contributions are credited if on IB/CA, but I am not sure if credited contributions will be looked upon the same as work based paid NI contributions. The only thing that I base this assumption on is, I started a thread some while back entitled E121/E106 maybe a strange question. On this thread I asked the question if IB were to be stopped, would we be entitled to an E106 for upto two years, if living in France. After telephoning Newcastle, the answer to this question is no. To receive an E106 you have to have employment based NI contributions, paid up before you leave the UK. I also asked if we could pay a lump sum for NI contributions, if the need arose, again the answer was no. So if the government is basing the exportability of DLA on work based NI contributions, then I guess we would draw a blank again, if IB were to be stopped. Saying that though my wife was not in receipt of DLA until some 4 or 5 years after she was receiving IB, so in this instance I guess DLA was obtainable through credited NI contributions, as opposed to work based NI contributions. (Another exploding head smiley please)!      Report

25/04/2008, 0:54 ebaynut Joined on 06/03/2007 Posts 128 Re: DLA some movement  Grecian wrote: So if the government is basing the exportability of DLA on work based NI contributions, then I guess we would draw a blank again, if IB were to be stopped. Saying that though my wife was not in receipt of DLA until some 4 or 5 years after she was receiving IB, so in this instance I guess DLA was obtainable through credited NI contributions, as opposed to work based NI contributions. (Another exploding head smiley please)! Indeed Grecian. My wife has not paid many NI contributions (housewife/mother), which is why she is not eligible for NI based IB, either short or long term. AFAIK, her eligibility to DLA, (at the highest rate for both components), is based on her Brit residency. I certainly don't recall any mention of my own NI contributions having an impact on her eligibility. She underwent a rigorous examination, and a comprehensive report from a consultant. I also agree with the possible implication that the residency issue is what the government are looking at, as you only have to reside in the UK to qualify for residency (which is the only requirement for nhs cover), with (AFAIK) 6 months residency giving entitlement to social benefits. I found these links that explain 'NI Credits' & 'NI contributions and benefits' . The water is not just muddy............it's swamplike!!!    Report

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