The Principal Act is amended in section 241 by substituting the following subsection for subsection (4A) (inserted by section 16 of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2008):

"(4A)

(a) A person who fails to make a claim for domiciliary care allowance within the prescribed time shall be disqualified for payment in respect of any day before the first day of the month following the day on which the claim is made.

(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), where a deciding officer or an appeals officer is satisfied that -

(i) on a date earlier than the first day of the month following the day on which the claim was made, apart from satisfying the condition of making a claim, the person became a qualified person within the meaning of section 186D(1) (inserted by section 15 of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2008), and

(ii) throughout the period between the earlier date and the date on which the claim was made there was good cause for the delay in making the claim,

the person shall not be disqualified for receiving payment of domiciliary care allowance in respect of any such period referred to in subparagraph (i) which does not exceed 6 months before the first day of the month following the date on which the claim is made.".