As members who read our 'NEWS' section will have read have read at
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/2414-dwp-...ip-enhanced-mobility the DWP have confirmed that Enhanced Mobility will be restricted to 20 metres.
The DWP are wrong in stating that the higher mobility component for DLA was limited to those who could not walk 50 metres, now reduced to 20 metres.
When I was a Welfare Rights Lawyer and former DLA Tribunal member, there was no set distance in law that would cut off a claimant claiming DLA HRM, it was down to four elements, distance walked without the onset of 'severe discomfort', manner of walking, e.g. limping opt dragging a leg, speed of walking, and time taken to walk x metres.
Thus it was possible for a claimant seeking DLA HRM to be awarded it even if they could walk 200 metres, if they experienced 'severe discomfort' after say 50 metres since any walking after the onset of 'severe discomfort' had to be disregarded. A claimant seeking DLA HRM who also could walk say 200 metres was often awarded DLA HRM because walking that distance meant several stops and in some circumstances taking around five or six times longer to walk that distance than it would take for a non disabled person to walk the same distance.
There are ample Commissioners Decisions and Upper Tribunal Decisions, which are established as 'case law' so despite the DWP now limiting the distance to 20 metres, the established case law cannot be ignored and many claimants will use this case law to fight the restriction of 20 metres and in my opinion will succeed.
