Are you able to claim carers allowance for two people? I currently get it for my son but want to know if I can claim for my father also
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Are you able to claim carers allowance for two people? I currently get it for my son but want to know if I can claim for my father also
I’ll let our very own Lord Kitch answer that one :
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Why not be really patriotic and care for 2 or 3 ?
Sorry we cannot afford to provide any extra rations.
If more than one of you is needed to care for a caree , sorry , > only one Carers Allowance ration allowed.
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Current record … from the SCOPE forum , is 6 carees … and only one ration of CA paid … the equivalent of £ 11.03 per week , per caree.
Hello everyone. Thanks so much for your participation. Due to the large number of questions we received both via the forum and email, Danny and Suzette will continue to post their answers early next week. Please be assured that they haven’t missed your questions and that they’ll get round to answering them soon.
Hi there, and thank you for your query.
You are right that your benefits may be affected if you return to study. They may be affected if you are to claim Student Finance for your living costs, and/or if any bursaries would be payable.
Please see here for more information: Student finance for undergraduates: Extra help - GOV.UK and here: Student finance for undergraduates: Overview - GOV.UK
Your Carer’s Allowance would also be affected if you return to full-time study, and you cannot study full time and continue to receive Carer’s Allowance.
If the institution where a person is studying describes the course as full-time, then generally the Carer’s Allowance Unit would agree that this is a full-time course. If the institution where a person is studying does describe the course as full-time, but the course is for less than 21 hours per week, then it might be possible for the Carer’s Allowance Unit to consider the course to be part time, however this is complicated.
We would advise that a 3 year degree course of study is generally classed as full time and would be described as full time by your school or college. A part time degree would generally be over 5 or 6 years.
When calculating the 21 hours, they include only hours spent in ‘supervised study’. Any time spent on meal breaks or unsupervised study on or off the premises of the educational establishment is ignored.
Supervised study does not depend on whether a supervisor (i.e., teacher, tutor, lecturer) is present with the person. If the study is directed to the course of education and the curriculum of the course and it is undertaken to meet the reasonable requirements of the course, it normally counts as supervised study.
We would be unable to carry out a benefit check for you at this point until you had looked out what finance you would be loaned or awarded. However please do get back in touch with us directly on advice@carersuk.org if you would like a check once you have explored your available income further.
I hope this helps a bit.
Kind regards
Suzette
Carer’s Allowance is the lowest benefit of its kind at £66.15 per week. It is the main benefit for people caring unpaid for family or friends. At Carers UK, we believe this is far too low, and in no way reflects the invaluable work that carers do every day to support their loved ones.
Last year, we asked supporters to sign a letter to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions calling for Carer’s Allowance to be raised across the UK to ensure carers received the same level of Carer’s Allowance no matter where in the UK they live.
In January, Carers UK’s Chief Executive Helen Walker, along with Barbara, Joanna and Terry, three carers from England, Northern Ireland and Wales, delivered a letter on behalf of the 6.5 million carers in the UK to the then Secretary of State Amber Rudd MP. We want to say a huge thank you to each of the 8200+ people who signed the letter, who agree it’s time we made Carer’s Allowance Fairer for Carers.
We will continue to highlight how incredibly low the level of Carer’s Allowance is and have called on the Government to address the financial hardship that many carers find themselves in – half of working age carers live in a household where no-one is in paid employment, and 1.2 million are living in poverty.
Whilst we welcomed the announcement in April that the earnings limit for Carer’s Allowance was being raised by £3.00 to £123 a week, we will continue to call for better financial support for carers. Indeed it was a key ask in our Manifesto for Carers 2019, which you can see here: www.carersuk.org/manifesto19
Look out for the relaunch of our Fairer For Carers campaign in the new year! You will find this information on our website here: Our campaigns | Carers UK
Old news ?
DWP HAVE known of ALL the difficulties faced by carers since 2008 at least.
One of the TRUE bibles we have in CarerLand.
Real question that is legitimate ?
Why no " Sit down " since 2008 ???
Forthcoming Carers Strategy … an annex to the Green Paper / Social Care.
When will we be asked for our views … leading to a submission ?
( Around half the Carer Army deemed to be in poverty … 4 million … rising daily as caring duties force many to give up work … for some , even a few hours per week.
" Fairer for Carers " will not change the trend … in fact , do nothing to ease poverty amongst carers. )
Hi there, thank you for your post.
I understand from your post that you and your husband get some Contribution Based ESA, Carer’s Allowance, Pip and Housing Benefit. I hope that you also get some assistance for your council tax also via Council Tax Reduction.
It does sound like you are missing some benefits, and that would be Income Related ESA to top up the ESA and Carer’s Allowance you currently get as a couple.
It sounds as if you are worried that being on this benefit will affect any savings you may be left from your husbands’ parents. However, it sounds like this lecacy may be something that happens in the future, and you do not have this legacy at the moment.
Savings are taken into account for means tested benefits, and Income Related ESA is a means tested benefit. Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction are also means tested benefits and would also be affected by any savings you might have over a certain amount.
If you are both under state retirement age and do not have savings over £16,000 at the moment, it may well be worth applying for some means tested Income Related ESA to top up your income as a couple. You could be missing out on about £36 a week between you.
It will not cause your Housing Benefit to go down.
If in the future, you are left the legacy from your husdand’ parents then both Housing Benefit/Council tax Reduction and Income Related ESA will need to be informed. The amount of these benefits you get may then decrease of stop. The Contribution Based ESA and the Carer’s Allowance will not be affected.
Having Income Related ESA will also “passport” you both to help with health costs, such as free prescriptions, NHS dental and eye checks ups and so on.
You ask how much you can earn without affecting your Housing Benefit. We cannot say as it will depend on how much Housing Benefit you get at the moment and how much you expect to earn.
As this benefit is a means tested benefit, any other income will affect it, but it may mean that even with a reduction in housing and council tax benefits you are (as a couple) better off over all
If you have an idea of the amount of hours you may work and the earnings you may have, and wish for us to carry out a benefit check, please do email us directly on advice@carersuk.org and we will send you the information we would need in order to carry out a benefit check for you.
In regard to grants it might be with looking further afield.
The Carers Trust has a web page which looks at discounts and days out for unpaid carers and people they care for which you can access below
The organisation disability grants also have a useful page listing National disability discounts for days out with contact details for the different organisations.
Turn 2 Us are a charity which has a database of lots of different grant giving organisations – you can run a grants search with Turn 2 Us either online or over the phone (0808 802 2000).
The charity Carers Trust also holds some information on grants for carers: Grants & Financial Support for Unpaid Carers| Carers Trust
I hope this helps somewhat, but please do email us directly for the benefit check or with any questions.
Kindest regards
Suzette
Dear Helen,
Thank you for your post.
That does sound incredibly stressful.
We are not legally trained here so I hope we can provide some information that may help.
You talk about challenging your son not getting Universal Credit for 8 months. If this was official error on behalf of the DWP then you may be able to challenge this.
Citizens Advice cite Official Error as being:
An official error is an error made by a DWP employee or by someone employed to provide a service to DWP. The error could be that the person:
• got the law wrong, or
• failed to take into account information or evidence that may have shown you were entitled to the benefit or that you should have been awarded more money, or
• made a mistake about a fact.
If the decision on your claim is wrong because of an official error you can ask for the decision to be changed by revision. It does not matter when the decision was made, it can be changed at any time. This is known as an any time revision.
If the decision maker agrees that there was an official error a revision decision will be made which changes the decision from the date it was made.
A local Citizens Advice may be able to help you with a challenge of you may want to see if you can get some legal advice as below
• Law Centres Network has a list of law centres with a Legal Aid Contract
• The Disability Law Service has a free helpline providing legal advice on welfare benefits issues.
• www.advicelocal.uk
Your son can also make a formal complaint about the way his claim for UC has been processed. This would force the DWP to look at the issues your son has faced and to respond within specific time scales. There is further information about making a complaint available here:
It might be worth you having a benefit check just to make sure. You are not missing out on any benefits.
To do this please get back in touch with the advice team directly on advice@carersuk.org with the following information:
· Whether you are single or in a couple;
· Your date of birth and that of any partner/spouse if applicable;
· How many dependent children you have living with you (if any) and their ages;
· Whether you have anyone else living with you. If so who;
· What your level of earnings are (if any) and that of any partner or spouse if applicable – per week, month or year please specify;
· If you are in employment what your weekly hours of work are (if any) and that of any partner or spouse if applicable;
· Whether you or any partner/spouse are in receipt of any benefits currently. If so what and how much (please specify which rates apply and provide weekly amounts where possible);
· Details of any other income you or any partner/spouse have coming in;
· Details of any capital you or any partner/spouse have;
· What your full rent per week (before any Housing Benefit;
· If you are in a social rented property do you have any spare rooms; if you are in a privately rented property who do you live with;
· If you own the home you live in – what is the amount of your outstanding mortgage;
· What your council tax bill is for the year, before any Council Tax Reduction;
· What your postcode is.
Alternatively, if you would like to speak to someone on the phone you can call Turn2us for free on 0808 802 2000 who can do this for you, or if you would like to speak to someone face to face, you can contact your local Citizens Advice.
You can also do a benefit check yourself with online calculators such as Turn2Us or Entitled to. However, these calculators are not able to cover complex situations.
I hope this helps a bit and you are able to get some face to face or telephone support with your issues.
Kindest regards
Suzette
Dear Jaye,
Thank you very much for your post.
I’m afraid you can only claim and be paid Carer’s Allowance for one of the people you are caring for.
You might benefit from a Carer’s Assessment from your local authority in connection with your caring role. You can read here for more information: Carer's assessment | Carers UK
Many local carers centres now carry out the assessments on behalf of the council, and may have other forms of support. You can search for a local carer’s centre here: Support where you live | Carers UK. The Carer’s Trust website also has a local carer’s centre search: Local Carers Support Services Near Me | Carers Trust.
I hope this helps.
Kindest regards
Suzette
Hello there,
Carers grants administered by carers centres are not regulated by national legislation in the same way that carers assessments are. You are legally entitled to a carers assessment from the local authority of the people you care for. Carers assessments can potentially lead to a range of support, including direct payments to support caring expenses – you can read more about this here:
https://www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice/practical-support/getting-care-and-support/carers-assessment
In terms of grants, you may also wish to have a look through our page on potential options here: Grants and schemes | Carers UK
Best wishes
Danny
Hello,
Many thanks for your message.
My first piece of advice would be to link up with an organisation called Rethink Mental Illness who are a charity that are able to provide specialist advice to those living with mental health issues and their carers:
They can advise on the NICE guidelines regarding the treatment options for specific conditions and can also advise on the role of specialist mental health teams operating via the NHS. They also have a carers hub, which can be accessed here:
Regarding the support that is available via social services, you should be aware that you are entitled to a carers assessment to investigate whether you need any extra support in your caring role – you can read more about this here:
https://www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice/practical-support/getting-care-and-support/carers-assessment
This factsheet also includes information on the eligibility criteria for needs assessments as well as carers assessments, so if you or the person you care for is found ineligible for support via social services (but the eligibility criteria in the factsheet indicate that you should qualify), then you may want consider challenging the local authority decision. You are also correct that the local authority must consider promoting wellbeing in applying the eligibility criteria. Your options for challenging the local authority are outlined below:
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Complain to the local authority by writing a letter
Irwin Mitchell Solicitors have created this letter template for anyone to use for free. You should explain in your letter how the decision will affect you and why you don’t think it’s right. You can also ask for an explanation of how the decision has been made. More advice about writing your letter is provided by the Citizens Advice website. You should send your letter to the Director of Adults Services at your local authority. -
Complain to the Local Government Ombudsman
If you are not happy with the response to your complaint, you can then complain to the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO). The LGO investigates complaints where the council may have made the decision in the wrong way. They can recommend what the council can do to make up for their decision. You can find more information about this on the LGO website. -
Ask a solicitor for help
A solicitor can tell you if a judicial review may be possible. A judicial review is the way that people can challenge the lawfulness of a decision made by a public body such as a local authority. A judge will look at how the decision was made. More information about judicial reviews. To find a local solicitor who can help with social care issues, search the justice website and tick the Community Care box. Find out if you qualify for legal aid to fund your use of a solicitor on the gov.uk website. -
Contact your MP to alert them to the problem you are having
Your MP has an interest in how the local authority enacts UK government laws such as the Care Act, and can intervene on your behalf as his or her constituent. You can find your MP’s contact details on the Parliament website.
In case it doesn’t show, below are the hyperlinks for some of the above:
Find your MP’s contact details on the Parliament website: Social Care - Learning Disability - Advice and Support | Mencap
More information about judicial reviews: Judicial review - Courts and Tribunals Judiciary
To find a local solicitor who can help with social care issues, search the justice website: http://find-legal-advice.justice.gov.uk/
Find out if you qualify for legal aid to fund your use of a solicitor on the gov.uk website: Check if you can get legal aid - GOV.UK.
You can find more information about this on the LGO website: http://lgo.org.uk/
More advice about writing your letter is provided by the Citizens Advice website: Get advice about health costs and services - Citizens Advice
Irwin Mitchell Solicitors have created this letter template to complain to the local authority:*
http://www.irwinmitchell.com/medialibrary/im com/home/documents/formal_complaint_under_councils_complaints_procedure.doc
*You will need to copy and paste the above link into a new Internet Browser tab
Hello,
You can read all the repeals and revocations here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/care-act-statutory-guidance/care-and-support-statutory-guidance#AnnexI
Best wishes
Danny
Hi
I need some help I was a carer foe my grandmother until 2018 I did work part time until I now unable to work I need to claim contribution based ESA and pip
I am not sure if I can get the ESA as I haven’t worked 26 weeks in tax years 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 so am I entitled to claim this as the info I have read is unclear as it said if claimed carers allowance I can get it so I am confused please help
Hello everyone. Thanks so much for contributing to this thread and sending your questions. We hope the information provided was useful. The Advisers will post their answers to the last few outstanding unanswered questions, but after this, the Q&A will come to an end and this thread will be locked.
If anyone has a question about their caring situation, you can always post it in one of the relevant sections on this forum. Alternatively, our team of advisers can guide you to the best support. You can contact email them at advice@carersuk.org or call 0808 808 7777.
Cheers Lizzie.
Regards to Danny and Suzette … I trust that they appreciate OUR efforts on the forum as well … occasionally , going way beyond the CUK remit in order to reflect
the true reality out there … many from actual first hand experience.
CUK’s unofficial , second , advice team … and … open all hours ?
None of us are legally trained , either … nor paid.
The Forum … and the forum members who contribute … the most underutilized asset in CUK’s diminishing arsenal ?
Hi there, thank you for posting this question for us.
At present we are not aware of any plans for a bus pass for carers when they are not with the person they care for.
You may be able to get some help with your transport cost via having a carer’s assessment from your father’s local authority.
A Carers assessment should look at:
• How you feel about your caring role;
• Whether you are coping with the level of care you are providing now and how this might change in the future;
• What help you need to be able to carry on providing care;
• Your health, physical, mental and emotional needs and wellbeing;
• Work, study, training and leisure interests, including social activities and relationships;
• What happens in an emergency.
Here are some examples of the help that could be available following a carer’s assessment:
Help given to the cared for person to provide respite to the carer and/or:
• a Carer’s Grant
• a short holiday for you to enable the carer to have time to themselves
• help with taxi fares/transport costs
• help with driving lessons if driving was central to the caring role
Please see here for some information on our website: Arranging care and support for someone | Carers UK
You may find it helpful to contact a local carers centre, and many of these now carry out the carers assessments on behalf of the council, and often have other forms of support. Some have their own “carers grants” or “carer’s direct payments”. They would also be able to let you know if there were any transport concessions in your area
Our website has a local carer’s centre search: Support where you live | Carers UK as does The Carer’s Trust website: Local Carers Support Services Near Me | Carers Trust
I hope this helps but please get back in touch with any questions.
Kindest regards
Suzette
Free public transport for carers ?
Look no further :
( 27,197 reads as I type … what does that tell CUK ? )
CUK’s reaction ?
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Hi Chris,
I have requested that our policy team take a look at the companion travel issue in the New Year and I passed this request on last week when this thread first started. Larger issues like travel etc can sometimes take a lot of behind the scenes work to begin to action so the response may not be immediate. We’ll keep the forum updated as and when as to whether this issue moves forwards in the New Year.
Many thanks
22 December 2016 … page 3 of the above thread.
Since then ?
Complete silence … another no show in their 2019 general election manifesto.
( Needless to add , free public transport would put more monies into more carers pockets / purses than ANY other scheme currently running … especially at the poorer end !
800,000 odd claim CA … Fairer for Carers would produce £ 7 odd more per week … less decrease in other benefits paid … low millions use public transport ? )
Hi I have a friend who get care allowance for her mum she just found out yesterday that her mother cant get it now so allowance as stopped she was only getting £60.00 a week to manage and she is quite a ill person she is tearing her hair out with worry as she does not feel she is well enough for a full time job
Joan, to qualify for Carers Allowance you must be caring for someone with Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance or PIP, Personal Independence Payment. If one of these has stopped, then your friend needs to make sure mum appeals WITHIN THE TIME FRAME GIVEN. Over 50% of appeals are successful. Can I suggest your friend joins the forum herself?
Hi
I have contacted Rethink but very little was sorted out, there is no Rethink in my area, I have heard Rethink can provide Advocacy but they didn’t.
I have spoken to a few other organisations who in turn have referred me to other organisations miles and miles away but no one can provide local help, advocacy attending meetings, helping write letters etc.
I have had a look at the Rethink Carers Hub, I need these specific answers to my questions, but no one can advice.
I spoke to the councelling organisation my caree was referred to who have said in cases of personality disorder firstly theres a long waiting list and there would be a limited amount of sessions provided by the NHS which does not resolve the issue, really the solution is to pay for long term private therapy if they can scrape the money together, they can’t.
My caree needs a full package of support considering all aspects of their life, but as said before on this forum, Social Services just don’t offer help outside the home, they just don’t, I know that for a fact.
Social Services agree that my caree needs help but they simply don’t offer the service, it has been cut so cannot and will not be provided.
A carers assessment I have considered but again have to wait for months and again there is no support available, providing me with support?
Its my caree that needs the support not me, providing my caree with no support will just end up with them going back to A&E.
Under the Crisis concordat agreed by a number of organisations, appropriate referrals have to be made to stop the same thing happening again.
And there should be prevention of crisis, people get the right help and support and don’t reach crisis point.
My caree is getting no support from any source.
I have gone through Social Services complaints and the ombudsman, I just don’t have the time and energy to go through complaints again.
I have gone through mental health services complaints and just found so many errors I gave up , I am not willing to do the back and forth correcting the complaints officers errors.
Is there a quick complaints route? I thought the government was supposed to be improving and speeding up complaints precedures, faster resolution?
Mental health services have made it clear, if my caree is accepted for treatment then I the unpaid care get help and support, that is the rules and that is that.
I have been refused advocacy through the Care Act, so first of all I would need an advocate to help me complain about the advocacy service.
Again there is a waiting list for advocacy, so I would have to wait, how long they couldn’t tell me.
However I have been told I am ineligible for Care Act Advocacy.
I am going through the complaints procedure about my previous caree, so to sort out my other caree, can this be added to the complaint or a second complaint?
Again I need someone to help with the Social Services complaints procedure but have been refused advocacy.
I have contacted a solicitor previously and the MP , not a lot has been done.
My caree can barely get out of bed some days and needs a lot of help and support but as stated before most services that my caree needs have been cut and are just not provided- cleaning, shopping, disabled transport, you are just told to pay for it yourselfs.
And both the NHS and Social services should be helping and supporting carers , both services know the situation but have refused all help and support to caree and carer.
And in the situation of my caree having a needs assessment, shouldn’t I have been offered a carers assessment under the Care Act?
I feel there is an awful lot of wrong doing here, people who should be thinking about disabled peoples welfare but are doing absolutely nothing.
Social Services are ignoring the law, Mental health services are ignoring NHS guidance, I was able to access Mental health services but as my caree was not a service user no unpaid carer help and support could be provided.
But my mental health problems were being made worse because of the lack of unpaid carer support which is why I was referred to mental health services in the first place.
Going through complaints will take months, contacting a solicitor that will take months or years to sort out.
I am still grieving my friend I need more help and support, Social Services have provided none.