Disability allowance - how do you appeal against decision?

[yoyo]

My father has been receiving higher-rate disability allowance and recently had to reapply. He has just heard that he has been refused higher-rate and will receive lower rate. This means he will lose his blue badge. He really needs this as he is incapable of walking any distance without some form of support (he has severe arthritis through his body and damage to disks in his spine which means he has limited sensation in his limbs).

Can anyone advise me on how to appeal?

The first thing you can do is ask for a straight forward review, which you can request over the telephone. It's a good idea to gather further evidence such as letters from GP's and other medical professionals and from relatives or anyone else who knows your fathers situation. Get as much as you can and send it off requesting a review. You can let them know by phone that you are planning on sending in further evidence and ask them to review when they receive it.

Often this is successful. If it is not then you need to appeal, you can request an appeal form from them to complete.

Why is the blue badge affected? I thought an OT assessed needs for this? Maybe it works differently in different boroughs.

Thanks. Have just spoken to him with your advice. He is in a real panic. Apparently you automatically lose the badge if you are not awarded the higher-rate.