Attendance Allowance

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The letter below was sent by a widow (The name is not given because all correspondence receives anonymity on this site). 

If one reads behind the words, we see an elderly couple trying to achieve some peace in France in their last years.  The husband is ill and needs constant care.  His wife wants to help.  In the UK they had some extra cash from an Attendance Allowance.  Immediately they left, this allowance was stopped.  Probably they did not even think that such stoppage was possible.  They knew that within the EU all movement  should be without hindrance.  They probably thought that the care and support for which the UK has responsibility under EU law would follow them.  It didn't and it still doesn't (consider Healthcare!).  The UK has a responsibility for the social care of all its retired citizens across Europe, but is reluctant to accept it.  

The situation in this case (AA benefits) is that only by being taken through the European Court of Justice has the UK been forced to show a responsibility towards its aged citizens.  The ECJ judgement was made in October 2007.  The UK has been forced to pay arrears of such benefits but STILL they will not pay back to the point of departure, but only to the date of the judgement.

Roger Gale MP is the only politician (as far as I know) who is fighting for the correct attitude on the part of the Government.  Does any other politician care?

At this time no politician has the specific responsibility to stand up for the interests and welfare of the British Citizen in Europe. 

Dear Sir,
I found your blog on the internet after looking up exportability of benefits.  I am just writing to ask if you have any knowledge whether anybody has successfully won an appeal to have their Attendance Allowance reinstated from before 2007? When my husband and I move to France in 2005 they immediately stopped his AA. They have just paid from Oct 2007 until he died in April 2008, but will not pay what he was entitled to (and that they stopped) from when we moved to France.  

I am sorry to email out of the blue but I really don't know where else to enquire for help and I know my husband would have wanted them to pay for what he was legally entitled to. I don't know whether to just give up fighting them now.
Kindest Regards,

I replied telling the lady of the history, and also informed Mr. Gale. 

Restoration of Benefits (DLA,AA,CA)

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 A letter has been received by David Burrage, legal advisor to the Association of British Expatriates in Spain, who is an expert in European Law, from the EU Commission on the subject of the repayment of suspended benefits – Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance and Carers Allowance.

Some people, entitled to one or other of these allowances, have had them discontinued when they emigrated from the UK to another EEA country. After a legal battle the UK had consented to pay these allowances back to October 2007.

Now the EU has said that they should be paid in arrears back to the time of departure from the UK.

Those who appealed against this suspension of benefit have the right to have this earlier disallowed decision set aside and remade, with an entitlement to a full recover of your benefit from the day following its withdrawal.

The final part of the letter from the EU Commission of 20/08/2010 indicates:-

That judgement is, in the light of a decision given by the Court subsequent to it, based on a misinterpretation of Community law which was adopted without a question being referred to the Court for a preliminary ruling; and

The national competent institutions (i.e the UK Dept of Work and Pensions) therefore have an obligation under EU law to review their initial decisions on the suspension of Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance and Carer's Allowance, to reopen that decision if necessary and pay the benefits in arrears for the whole period of unjustified suspension of those benefits.

From this judgement it is also clear that it is important for the EU citizens to appeal any decision with which they are not satisfied.

Some people get ‘warmed up’ about the payment of these benefits. The scenarios below puts this in perspective.

1. Let us suppose that a young couple has moved to France leaving elderly parents in the UK. Eventually one parent is left, with some increasingly disabling malady. In the UK she/he would receive an allowance to help with the difficulties of life. If she/he moved to France a few years ago to live with their children, such allowances would have been stopped.

2. An elderly couple decide to move to France for the improved quality of life. One of them is crippled and receives an attendance allowance. Their income dropped because the allowance was suspended.

Benefits Paid Abroad

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The Blog site (Brian Cave, organiser) is most grateful to David Burrage legal advisor to the Association for the British Expatriates in Spain for distributing the following information.

This is a Legal Statement from the EU threatening Britain with action before the European Court of Justice if Britain does not comply with the law to pay the sickness benefits to expatriates.

PRESS RELEASE from BRUSSELS. 24th June 2010
View here

Explanation of the Press Release from the Spanish Association document:-

Social security: EU takes action to guarantee care benefits for Britons abroad

The European Commission has sent a formal request to the United Kingdom to pay care benefits to Britons – often pensioners – residing abroad in accordance with its obligations under EU law. Under EU rules, Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance and Carer's Allowance are considered 'sickness cash benefits', which UK citizens resident in another EU country are also entitled to receive. The UK authorities now have two months to respond to the request, which takes the form of a 'reasoned opinion' under EU infringement procedures. In the absence of a satisfactory response from the UK authorities, the Commission may refer the matter to the EU's Court of Justice.

The right to live and work in any other European country is a fundamental right of the EU. As part of this, the EU guarantees people the right to social security coverage if they move elsewhere in Europe.

In the UK system, Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance and Career's Allowance are benefits which provide protection for people in need of personal care and people who look after them. Under EU rules on coordination of social security, UK citizens are entitled to receive these benefits when they are resident in another EU country.

However, in some cases, and contrary to the principle of free movement, the UK applies conditions on residence for the three benefits. In particular, among other requirements, the benefits can be conditional on the claimant having spent 26 of the previous 52 weeks in the UK (past presence test). This effectively contravenes the provisions of the EU system for coordinating social security benefits and infringes the rights of citizens living in another EU country.

Background

The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled (in case C-299/05 on 18 October 2007) that Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance and Career's Allowance count as sickness cash benefits. They are therefore exportable according to EU provisions on coordination of social security (EU Regulation 1408/71 and Regulation 883/04).

Further information

Your social security rights in the EU
View here

DLA, Attendance or Carer’s Allowances -- Pensioners AND OTHERS who have been deprived of their rights by the action of Whitehall! ACT!

To return to introductory posting of this blog.(Four Concerns)... click

This posting is now out-of -date but is retained for interest. - More recent postings on benefits (see Index) should be read.

On February 24th it seemed that much has been achieved.
Please refer to the Concern 1 links.
The matter still lies in limbo-land.
Read the sterling efforts of Roger Gale M.P.

Letter from Tima Hamilton...
Along with some fellow campaigners, we have decided on an email "bombing campaign" to force the DWP/Exportability Team to sit up and take notice. Here is what we would like people to do:

"For those who adhered to the Exportability Team's advice that "there is no need to contact us again on this matter", may I suggest that this is totally ignored (as we are!) and that all affected parties send an email demanding the reinstatement and back payment of their DLA (care component), Carers or Attendance Allowance in accordance with ECJ ruling C-299/05 of 18 October 2007. NOTE: Make sure that you put the email for the personal attention of: Ms Kettle.

regards Tina Hamilton

You can also refer to the reply made to the House of Commons on 2 February, during questions to the Works and Pensions team, by Ms Rosie Winterton (to MP Roger Gale's question see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5u6dE0uETsI), whereby she stated:

"We have been clear that if people claimed the benefit before they moved abroad, they are entitled to continue to claim it."

This statement has been reiterated in a letter to Roger Gale, a copy of which can be downloaded from: http://www.paysansgrigny.com/dla-campaign.html and attached to your email.

The email address (in case you don't have it to hand) is:
EXPORTABILITY.TEAM@DWP.GSI.GOV.UK

In addition, copy the same email to the following two address:

ministers@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
This is the email address for Minister for Pensions, Ms Winterton's office.

dcpu.customer-services@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
This is the email address to make official complaints to in respect to the Exportability Team (and any other DWP department).

When you receive the bog standard excuse from the Exportability Team, send a copy of their reply to with a suitable complaint to the customer services address (line above)."