I propose to take Questions Nos. 321 and 327 together.
Since November 2011, recipients of domiciliary care allowance (DCA) have been given 4 months advance notice in writing of their child reaching 16 years and the end of the payment of DCA. They are advised that their child may be entitled to receive a disability allowance (DA) payment in their own right and of how to make such a claim. Prior to November 2011, the notice period was 8 weeks, but this was adjusted to advise customers to make application for DA well in advance of the child's 16th birthday.
The processing time for individual DA claims may vary in accordance with their relative complexity in terms of the three main qualifying criteria of the scheme. The average time to award a claim in 2011 was 17 weeks. Disability allowance section is currently undertaking a major service delivery modernisation project to improve the efficiency with which it processes applications from customers which should lead to faster processing times.
The qualifying conditions for DCA and DA are significantly different and as a result, an automatic transfer from one payment to the other is not feasible. The qualifying conditions include a means test on DA where none applies to DCA, while there are also differences in the medical criteria applicable to the two schemes. In addition, payment of DA is made directly to the child, whereas DCA is paid to the parent/guardian of the child.
Question No. 322 withdrawn.