DLA and AA are social security benefits intended to help with costs arising from a disability, where it is necessary for the disabled person to require assistance, from another person, with looking after themselves or getting around on foot. DLA is paid in two components - care and mobility. Each component is sub-divided into rates - two for mobility and three for care. Entitlement depends on meeting criteria set in social security law.

AA has only two rates, entitlement to which mirror that of the high and middle rates of DLA care component.

The increasing rates do not necessarily reflect increasing severity of disability. For example, someone with arthritis may get the same level of benefit as a double-amputee.

It is important to understand that entitlement is based on the disability conditions (i.e. the help needed from another person).

The higher rate of the mobility component has six disability tests:

1. you are unable to walk;
2. you are virtually unable to walk;
3. the exertion required to walk could be dangerous to your life or could lead to a serious deterioration in your condition;
4. you have no legs or feet
5. you are both deaf and blind
6. you get the care component at the highest rate and have a severe mental impairment with extremely dangerous and disruptive behavioural problems

The test causing the greatest area of dispute is number 2; that you must be ‘virtually unable to walk’. The average person’s idea of virtually unable to walk is more severe than that required by the law.

In establishing virtual inability to walk, the law says that, for most of the time:

It is the physical act of putting one foot in front of the other that should be measured. Your ability to walk is measured until you begin to experience severe discomfort; any walking after this time is ignored. Severe discomfort is subjective and means different things to different people. The courts have said that severe discomfort is less than severe pain or distress, and is far from being excruciating agony. In addition to pain and discomfort, severe discomfort may include:

• breathlessness, tiredness or fatigue;
• risk of falls brought about by poor balance, gait, ataxia, etc;
• the length of time it might take you to recover from any severe discomfort;
• the risk of walking increasing damage to an affected area or causing a general deterioration in your condition

It often helps to do a ‘test’ of how well you can walk (with a friend or carer acting as note-taker) so that you have some firm evidence of your walking disability. This simply involves you walking as far as you can before you feel severe discomfort – at which point you stop. This distance is then measured, as accurately as you can, to find out how far you have walked without severe discomfort. While you are walking, your note-taker is making notes about how fast you are going, what your gait and balance is like, are you using a stick or leaning on walls, etc. At the same time, you are calling out how you feel about these things and about your pain and discomfort – where is the pain, how bad is it, etc.

For the low rate of the mobility component, it must be shown that you can walk out of doors, but that, on unfamiliar routes, you cannot take advantage of this faculty without guidance or supervision from another person for most of the time.

This rate is usually (but not exclusively) appropriate for people who have a sensory impairment, learning disability, mental health problem or those at risk of danger from falls, blackouts or seizures.

Guidance can include physically leading or directing you so as to avoid obstacles or places that may create physical hazards or lead to anxiety or aggression, etc. Supervision is a more passive activity and may include someone monitoring your physical or mental state in readiness to intervene if necessary. Sometimes, all that may be required is conversation or reassurance (but the need for it must still be reasonable).

For the middle and higher rates of the DLA care (or AA), it is necessary to show that the you require either:

• frequent or prolonged attention throughout the day and/or night in connection with bodily functions; or
• continual supervision to avoid substantial danger to self or others

The amount of attention or supervision required and whether you needs the help during the day or night (or both) determines at which rate the benefit is payable. ‘Bodily functions’ means anything to do with the body and the way it works; and can even extend to such things as socialising (where the assistance would help the disabled person lead as normal a life as possible) taking medicines, walking, dressing and eating (there are many more examples). The average lay person’s idea of bodily functions and the amount of attention or supervision required to qualify for benefit, tends to be more severe than you might think. So, if you have any doubts about whether you should claim or not, it might be a good idea to get help and advice..

The low rate of DLA care component becomes payable where the attention needed is ‘substantial’ (about an hour a day) but not ‘frequent’, or where the disabled person is unable to plan, prepare or cook a traditional, labour-intensive, ‘main meal’ for one (i.e. meat and two-veg). Importantly, this is a hypothetical test and it is irrelevant if a person never cooks, eats ready meals or take-always, or has someone else to cook for them. What is important is the question of whether or not, given the ingredients, a claimant has the mental, physical or intellectual capacity to undertake the activity safely, within a reasonable time and with a reasonable degree of care and skill.

The benefit office will sometimes contact your GP for information about your medical condition. However, your medical diagnoses are not as important as the amount of help you need. If you have medical professionals such as social workers, occupational therapists, physiotherapists or community nurses you should ask the benefit office to contact that person.

You might even consider contacting them yourself so you have some medical opinion to send with your claim pack.