Guides & common questions
Plain-English explanations designed to make the next step easier to understand. Benefit rules and deadlines vary by decision and jurisdiction, so always check the current decision letter and official guidance.
Applications
Start with evidence that helps explain the difficulties relevant to the benefit being claimed: for example clinical letters, medication or care information, occupational therapy material and factual accounts from people who regularly help you. More evidence is not automatically better; relevance matters.
Decisions
For many DWP benefit decisions, it is the stage at which you ask the decision maker to look at the decision again before an appeal. It is normally requested within one month of the decision date, but exceptions and different routes exist, so check the decision letter.
Appeals
Keep the full bundle intact, note the hearing and submission dates, and identify the pages containing the decision, Mandatory Reconsideration Notice and evidence most relevant to the disputed points.
Preparation
A chronology can separate the sequence of medical events, applications, assessments and decisions. It can make a large case easier to navigate, but it should remain factual and distinguish clearly between documents, dates and recollection.
Data
Not in an ordinary first-contact email. Health data is particularly sensitive. Send only enough information to assess the matter until a suitable transfer method and document request have been confirmed.
Jurisdiction
Yes, but new DLA claims in England and Wales are for children under 16. Children in Scotland claim Child Disability Payment instead. Adults usually use different disability benefits depending on age and where they live.
Frequently asked questions
No. Raeburn Welfare Advocates provides independent unreserved paralegal and administrative support and is not a solicitors' firm or SRA-authorised practice.
Representation may be available where the applicable tribunal rules and circumstances permit. Any hearing role is assessed and confirmed in writing; we do not claim a general right of audience in courts.
No. For an initial assessment, a short summary, the relevant decision or form, where you live and the deadline are usually more useful than sending a large unstructured record set.
No. We do not provide FCA-regulated financial advice or insurance distribution services. We may help organise information you already hold or explain generic terminology where that remains within our lawful scope.
Tell us the exact deadline and the date on the decision in your first message. We will assess what can responsibly be done in the time available. We do not guarantee that contacting us pauses, extends or protects a statutory or tribunal deadline.
Our core public service pages are written for England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland use different disability-benefit systems or administrative routes. If you are outside England and Wales, tell us your location before booking so we can confirm scope.
No. We can improve organisation, clarity and preparation, but decisions are made by the relevant authority or tribunal.
Yes. If the work is reserved, regulated, outside our competence or otherwise outside our remit, we will say so and will not present it as covered merely because it is connected to a welfare matter.