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15 Jun 2013Disability Living Allowance (DLA) has been replaced
The government’s programme of disability benefit reforms have been introduced across the UK.
Disability Living Allowance (DLA) has been replaced for new claimants aged 16 to 64 with Personal Independence Payment (PIP.)
Under new assessment criteria, claimants will be asked to attend regular reviews and face-to-face assessments with an independent health professional. The health professional will ask questions about the claimant’s health condition or disability and how this affects their daily life.
It has also been confirmed that existing DLA claimants will not be re-assessed until 2015 or later, after the DWP has considered the findings of the first independent review in 2014.
However, there have been concerns about the impact on the reforms on current and future claimants.
The government has spent over £13bn a year on DLA. In ten years, the number of people claiming DLA has risen by almost 32% (from 2.4 million to 3.3 million). However, figures from the DWP estimate around 450,000 claimants will no longer be able to claim disability benefits by 2018.