Benefit advice needed

CACHAF

Hi, I'm wondering if anyone can help as I am getting nowehere with the benefit agency and just getting more and more frustrated and upset.

My husband was made redundant at the end of February. At the time my gran was very ill and living with us so I could care for her full time. We phoned the benefit agency to register for benefits and were told that unless we both signed on as available for work we would receive nothing. I explained that I canot sign on as I am not available and eventually they offered us contribution based JSA (£65 ish a week) as my husband has always worked till now.

A few weeks later my gran had a heart atack, was diagnosed with diabetes and a very rare autoimmune diesease which means she is now so ill that I am living with her to give her 24 hour care (she cant come back to our house as she is too wek to climb our stairs and she lives in a flat) She needs to claim attendance allowance for me to get carers allowance but she has to have had the problems for 6 months to claim and all this is very new.

I don't know what to do. At the moment we receive the £65 a week from JSA and I have a cleaning job once a week that pays £12 and that is all we receive and we are going under. IS there anything else we can claim or does anyone have any idea what to do?

Hope someone can help,

Thanks,

Heather

Oldernotwiser

Do you rent your home or have a mortgage?

CACHAF

We rent and currently have a claim in for housing benefit and council tax benefit with extra forms for it to be back dated (we only had chance to fill the forms ina couple of weeks ago as my gran was too ill for me to even look at them) and a discretionary extra payment form as we need the extra room for when gran is ill and needs to come and stay (this gives me a break and lets me stay in my own house for a change which I desperately need to do).

CACHAF

Just wondered if anyone knows anything about Income Support and maybe that would be something we could claim?

Thanks

karenx

Income support is for lone parents and sick/disabled

Indie_Kid

You might be able to claim JSA? If it's income based, your husband's JSA would be taken into account too.

paulofessex

It may pay you to contact your local branch of Age Concern as they will be able to ensure your Gran is claiming everything she is entitled too they wil assist her in filling in the forms also. I think you have to be prepared that because you are caring for her it may not exclude you from the usual JSA rules and regulations.

Blackpool_Saver

Surely she must nearly be at the 6 month point if she was already ill and living at yours in Feb, get the forms for attendance allowance and get advice to fill them in, you do not have to be available for work if you are a carer.