Income Support, DLA, HB and CTC ?

Terrysdelight

Hi, my cousin is divorced from her husband, she works part-time (15 hours per week on minimum wage) and brings up her two children, one who is disabled by herself. She recieves DLA for her son and CA.

After her marriage broke down, she had to move into rented accommodation - she gets some of her rent paid by housing benefit, also something towards council tax. Physically, mentally and financially she is really struggling. My cousin is proud and doesn't want to be on benefits and feels she has to work. I can see her falling apart and my gut feeling is she would be better off mentally and financially if she gave up work and went on to income support.

Am I right in saying, if she was on income support she would recieve full housing benefit and council tax benefit? Would her income support be reduced by the amount of money she receives for her son in respect of Disability Living Allowance & CA?

Are there any websites that would be able to calculate her entitlement to benefits (HB, CTC, DLA + Income Support).

Many thanks for any advice.
Terri

Witter

If she was on income support (i dont think it would be reduced) she would get full housing and council tax benefit. Theres a few websites with benefit calculators. I think its entitledto.co.uk. I'm sure someone will confirm that and theres one on hmrc.gov.uk for taxcredits

elfen

The IS would be reduced due to CA, but they may put an addition on because of the DLA her son receives. It's a bit of a complicated one, all I can think of doing is applying for IS online and putting as much information in as she can, they'll phone her back (probably Monday or Tuesday, depending on how busy they are) and in the meantime go to her local council office ASAP and fill in the forms for LHA (new form of housing benefit, but if she says its housing benefit they'll know what you mean) - also get her to take as much proof as she can - ID/CA and DLA letters, tenancy agreement, bank statements etc as it'll help get the claim running quicker.

Odds on LHA will be sorted first, and she can update them once she finds out what IS she's entitled to.

Witter

If she was on income support (i dont think it would be reduced) she would get full housing and council tax benefit. Theres a few websites with benefit calculators. I think its entitledto.co.uk. I'm sure someone will confirm that and theres one on hmrc.gov.uk for taxcredits

DX2

Witter wrote: »

If she was on income support (i dont think it would be reduced) she would get full housing and council tax benefit. Theres a few websites with benefit calculators. I think its entitledto.co.uk. I'm sure someone will confirm that and theres one on hmrc.gov.uk for taxcredits

Her IS would be reduced because she gets CA, however she would get a carers premium.
She would get full HB and full CTB. If she applied for child support she would also get to keep this without it affecting her benefits.

Terrysdelight

DX2 wrote: »

Her IS would be reduced because she gets CA, however she would get a carers premium.
She would get full HB and full CTB. If she applied for child support she would also get to keep this without it affecting her benefits.

Would her IS be reduced because of the DLA (approx £300 per month) she receives for her son? Child Support - does this mean, money from her ex-husband for the children?

Would her housing benefit be reduced because of the DLA?

Sorry for asking so many questions - I'm just not up on benefits!

Many thanks
Terri

DX2

Terrysdelight wrote: »

Would her IS be reduced because of the DLA (approx £300 per month) she receives for her son? Child Support - does this mean, money from her ex-husband for the children?

Would her housing benefit be reduced because of the DLA?

Sorry for asking so many questions - I'm just not up on benefits!

Many thanks
Terri

No her IS will not be reduced because of the childs' DLA, DLA isn't means tested she keeps it all. Child support, yes money from the ex husband.

Her HB (housing benefit) again will not be affected by her childs' DLA or by any child support she may get.
She will get CA (carer's allowance) + IS (income support with a carer premium) which is about £41.00 per week plus her CTC (child tax credits), CB (child benefit) full HB (housing benefit) and full CTB (council tax benefit) and of course the childs' DLA.

Never apologise for asking questions

kingfisherblue

I'm a single mum on IS and I also have two children, one disabled. I also have an older daughter who lives at home.

I receive £41.78 IS, £53.90 CA, £172.35 CTC (includes the disability premium and severe disability premium). These are weekly amounts. I also receive my son's DLA. We use the mobility component for a car.

I also have the interest on my mortgage paid and full council tax paid (my daughter, now an adult, also lives at home and because she works, some council tax has to be paid. She pays this as it is a direct result of her employment).

I keep all of the child maintenance that I receive from the children's father.

My children get free school meals and there is a uniform grant every July (£29.50 for primary aged children and £44.50 for secondary pupils). I believe that most councils don't have uniform grants though.

Dentist, prescriptions, eye tests are free. I get a voucher towards glasses, but there are plenty of designs available in the price range that the voucher covers. As I have a specific problem with my eyes, the value of my voucher is increased to cover tints to the lenses.

My disabled child has a free bus pass (but we only discovered that he was entitled to this recently, and I have since spoken to a number of parents of children with disabilities who were not aware that they could apply).

If water rates are above a certain amount, and the disabled child needs additional water due to their condition, it might be possible to apply for Water Sure, which reduces the bill to that of an average household.

The OP's sister, whether she decides to continue working or not, can apply to the Family Fund for help with a family holiday, white goods, bedding, or play equipment, as her child is disabled.

www.familyfund.org

Terrysdelight

DX2 wrote: »

No her IS will not be reduced because of the childs' DLA, DLA isn't means tested she keeps it all. Child support, yes money from the ex husband.

Her HB (housing benefit) again will not be affected by her childs' DLA or by any child support she may get.
She will get CA (carer's allowance) + IS (income support with a carer premium) which is about £41.00 per week plus her CTC (child tax credits), CB (child benefit) full HB (housing benefit) and full CTB (council tax benefit) and of course the childs' DLA.

Never apologise for asking questions

I can't thank you enough - you are a star. I'm seeing my cousin this afternoon and I will let her know all this. No one want's to live on benefits, but they are in place for people with genuine needs, and hopefully this will reduce the pressure she is under.

Thanks again. :T

Terrysdelight

kingfisherblue wrote: »

I'm a single mum on IS and I also have two children, one disabled. I also have an older daughter who lives at home.

I receive £41.78 IS, £53.90 CA, £172.35 CTC (includes the disability premium and severe disability premium). These are weekly amounts. I also receive my son's DLA. We use the mobility component for a car.

I also have the interest on my mortgage paid and full council tax paid (my daughter, now an adult, also lives at home and because she works, some council tax has to be paid. She pays this as it is a direct result of her employment).

I keep all of the child maintenance that I receive from the children's father.

My children get free school meals and there is a uniform grant every July (£29.50 for primary aged children and £44.50 for secondary pupils). I believe that most councils don't have uniform grants though.

Dentist, prescriptions, eye tests are free. I get a voucher towards glasses, but there are plenty of designs available in the price range that the voucher covers. As I have a specific problem with my eyes, the value of my voucher is increased to cover tints to the lenses.

My disabled child has a free bus pass (but we only discovered that he was entitled to this recently, and I have since spoken to a number of parents of children with disabilities who were not aware that they could apply).

If water rates are above a certain amount, and the disabled child needs additional water due to their condition, it might be possible to apply for Water Sure, which reduces the bill to that of an average household.

The OP's sister, whether she decides to continue working or not, can apply to the Family Fund for help with a family holiday, white goods, bedding, or play equipment, as her child is disabled.

www.familyfund.org

Thank you so much for sharing this information. This will make such a difference to my cousin and her children. :T

Oldernotwiser

Your cousin can always make an appointment at the Jobcentre to see a Lone Parent Adviser who will be able to run through all the figures for her.