Esa help for my mum please...

bp1888

Hi im really hoping someone here can help ive had a real stressful afternoon on the phone to jc plus, my mum has been on esa cb since august last year, she has been diagnosed with cushing's disease, arthritis, diabetes, she is in the limited capability for work group. My mum has also been homeless for the past 19 months, the council have finally found somewhere that is more than suitable for her and when we went to go and get her housing benefit and council tax benefit sorted today the girl behind the desk told me that she wont be entitled to it because she is not on ib esa is this true, also found out she is unable to claim for a community care grant or a budgeting loan due to this too, she has no saving's or other income

dazzadub

i dont think thats correct, the council is about how much income the family has that are claiming.

if you work and have low income you can claim aswell.

so i would fill the forms in and send off. if not id go cab

Indie_Kid

If her income and savings are below a certain amount, then she'd be entitled to help with rent and /or council tax.

bp1888

thanks, i thought this to be the case does anyone know if she can switch from cb based esa to ir based esa would seem to make things alot easier or am i missing the point, i have no experience with benefits neither does my mum

CouponWoman

Housing and council tax benefit is based on her income and even if she is on contribution based esa she should get housing and council tax benefit. She might not get all her rent and council tax paid though.

If you mum lives alone (or will do when she moves in) she should try an claim income support just in case she is entitled. This would automatically entitle her to full housing and council tax benefit.

Maybe your mum should also claim DLA straight away too. This, depending on what rates she is awarded, could give her more entitlement to income support and in turn H & CTB.

Your mum probably misunderstood the council worker, its all a bit complicated. I hope you mum filled the form in regardless, as benefit is only paid from the first rent day after the claim form has been submitted.

Good luck

Indie_Kid

You can't claim income support and ESA at the same time.

dazzadub

i dont think you can change from ib to cb esa, contribution esa is only given for the first 6 months of your claim if you have enough ni contributions

Indie_Kid

dazzadub wrote: »

i dont think you can change from ib to cb esa, contribution esa is only given for the first 6 months of your claim if you have enough ni contributions

CB ESA is paid for the length of your claim.

bp1888

i was with her when she went to fill the forms the lady didnt let her fill the form in as it would be a waste of time, i phoned jc plus when we got home, and was told to go back which im doing tomorrow, one person i spoke too said something about only being on cb for six months too, he passed me too someone else who told me to fill out an esa3 form to switch, and when my mum spoke to them she was told there was no such form

AsknAnswer2

The six month cut off for contribution based allowance only applies to Jobseekers, not ESA. There is a form called a JSA3 for switching from contribution based JSA to income based JSA when contributions exhaust at 6 months, but no such form for ESA because Fowith ESA, you get contribution based allowance for the duration of the claim, though this is to be changed to a 1 year time limit for those in the WRA group following the spending review.

A person cannot switch to income related ESA when they are entitled to contribution based ESA.

bp1888

could i ask, what the difference is and why would she be on the cb one and not the ib one thanks again for all you helpful advice