surely this isnt right

chelleybelley

my mum has been on ssp for 3 months and the chances of her going back to work now are slim as she has severe osteoarthritis of her hip and needs a complete hip replacement...in the meantime she has applied for ctb and hb.she gets 75 per week for ssp and at the moment 44 per week working tax credit.her rent is 65 per week and council tax is 75 per month. the council have sent her a letter today stating she is entitled to 11.00 per week for help with her council tax and housing benefit...
she gets 119.00 per week altogether
rent is 65 per week
c/t is 75 per month
119.00 x 4 -476
rent is 260 p/m
r+c/t -mums money p/m is 35.25 per week to live on surely they have it wrong??
with c + hb her money will be 46.25??

dmg24

I haven't done the full calculation but at first glance that does look about right to me. Do you know what the relevant eligible amount of LHA is, and have you checked on https://www.entitledto.com?

mouseymousey99

Hello - You haven't mentioned DLA, has mum applied? Maybe too early? Someone who knows more than me will be along soon....

chelleybelley

hi i have checked on entitledto.com and it states she should get 32.44 per week help with ct & hb what should we do now??

glossgal

umm, housing/council tax benefit calculations aren't the easiest to explain so if you take it at face value-the government says a single adult with no disabilities (your mum won't have been ill long enough to qualify for disability premiums in her calculation, unless on DLA?) must have £60pw to live on (approx). Your mums weekly income minus her full rent is £54, therfore £6-7 per week help with rent is about right I would say?

I would get her to visit CAB or someone for them to check the figures, might be worth her getting advice about a disablity claim as well, although if her surgery is due shortly she will have to pass the 6 months f'orwards test'-sure somebody will be able to look into it for her

tanith

I had a hip replacement and was able to claim Incapacity Benefit I don't know wether that would be an option in your mums case or not...

chelleybelley

hi yes applied for dla for her but she cant get it dunno why she didnt appeal though so may be worth trying again? she's living on pennies per week after she pays her bills etc thought the government gave people around 60 per week to live on not what they have said she can live on.

Conor_3

chelleybelley wrote: »

hi i have checked on entitledto.com and it states she should get 32.44 per week help with ct & hb what should we do now??

Entitledto.com is frequently wrong in respect to HB and CTB figures.

chelleybelley

she talking to her doctors about the surgery she's in a right state yet is petrified of hospitals (and refused surgery) so they're talking about her seeing a psychologist to get her to have the surgery.thought you couldnt claim esa untill after being off work for 6 months?

glossgal

The trouble is the only outgoings the government/DWP are interested in are your mortgage and council tax-they don't take bills into account. If she's used to a wage then it will be hard to adjust to living off benfits-but it can be done (don't mean that to sound patronising so sorry if it does!).

She may have applied too early for DLA-you have to be ill for at least 3 months and as I said be expected to be ill to the same extent for further 6. If she is in a lot of pain, immobile, struggling to dress etc then she should definately get some advice about a claim, she won't be able to appeal outside of a month but there's nothing to stop another claim

dmg24

She would need to exhaust her SSP entitlement (or leave work) before applying for ESA. She will lose her WTC at this time also, which will also affect her LHA entitlement.

The LHA notification should give a breakdown of the figures used. If you have this, could you post them?

Does she live alone? Does she have any savings?

It won't make a huge difference, but in your calculations you are using four week figures with monthly figures. If you look at council tax, if it is £75 a month, then it will be £69.23 per four weeks, or £17.31 per week. You will get a more accurate result if you compare like for like x