DLA help please

atrixblue.-MFR-.

dmg24 wrote: »

That would only be applicable if the DLA award is for a child.

yes is thank you for correction, only applies to working tax credits and as stated above.

hoggle_2

murtle1981 wrote: »

Hi Hoggle.
Firstly, you can claim Carers allowance if you look after you partner for 35+ hours per week. You will get £53.90 per week and can ask to have it backdated (it will tell you more on CA application form). You WILL get it-its not like DLA or other benefits where you have to wait to see if it has been awarded or not. As long as he gets Middle rate care, you will get it without a doubt.
You will however get £53.90 per week taken from your ESA (£107.80 fortnight) BUT they will add a disability premium to your ESA of 30 odd quid a week...
So if you work it out, you will still be 30 odd quid a week better off. You are not really losing anything. They take CA off your ESA but then you get CA paid to you anyway. Then they add 30 odd quid a week back onto to your ESA.....confusing i know, weve been through it ourselves but you will be better off!
Just a word of advice....when my partner was awarded DLA, he was thrown off ESA and we were disgusted. It may not happen to you so please dont think it will but its happened to a few people according to our Welfare Rights office. Why, nobody knows. But if you DO find yourself in that posistion, you can claim Income Support rather than take it to appeal. You will claim IS for you and your partner in your name as you will be his carer (once you start claiming CA) He wont have to go for anymore medicals for ESA either! Hope this helps....:)
PS-Your DLA/CA shouldnt have an effect on your HB/CTB although you will need to double check...

Thank you very much for the great reply, it has been very informative.
My trouble is I am very apprehensive about rocking the boat. The claim for esa and housing benefit etc is all in my partners name so to claim carers allowance may means I will then have to claim IS in my name and I am worried about changing everything and end up losing out. We went a year without claiming dla as no one told us we could recieve it, thanks to this site we found out and now recieve dla. I don't want to mess up my current benefits but I do care for my partner so should claim carers allowance.

murtle1981

hoggle wrote: »

Thank you very much for the great reply, it has been very informative.
My trouble is I am very apprehensive about rocking the boat. The claim for esa and housing benefit etc is all in my partners name so to claim carers allowance may means I will then have to claim IS in my name and I am worried about changing everything and end up losing out. We went a year without claiming dla as no one told us we could recieve it, thanks to this site we found out and now recieve dla. I don't want to mess up my current benefits but I do care for my partner so should claim carers allowance.

The only reason we claimed IS is because my partner got thrown off ESA after a medical. We were disgusted with the decision as my partner had just started to receive DLA yet the ESA deemed him fit for bloody work!( Hes got severe Rheumatoid Arthritis). You will not have to change everything over, your partner will still claim ESA and HB etc. You will get CA, it wont rock the boat, dont worry. Plus you will get it backdated (i got mine backdated, ended up with over 500 quid lump sum) and now i get 53.90 per week. Sorry if i didnt explain myself properly earlier...but dont wory, you will be fine, you wont lose any benefits or have any messed up:j
if anything, you are going to be 30 odd quid a week better off!

Indie_Kid

murtle1981 wrote: »

We were disgusted with the decision as my partner had just started to receive DLA yet the ESA deemed him fit for bloody work!

DLA has nothing to do with being fit for work. The criteria for both benefits are different.

hoggle_2

Thanks murtle.
I must seem like I am an idiot but the benefits are so confusing. So what you are saying is I simply apply for carers allowance and they will award it to me but take it off my partners esa but I will then get an extra £30? Then and only then if they start trying to get my partner off esa I can then apply for IS?
If I apply will I just get a letter saying I am now getting carers allowance but my esa is deducted but I get the extra £30? And they sort it all out?
Apologies if I seem so dim but as I said its been a mine field.
On the goverment website it says the following
How much do you get?

The weekly rate is £53.90. This is reduced by the amount of certain other benefits, including State Pension, that you receive. If you receive certain other benefits at £53.90 or more a week, Carer's Allowance cannot be paid to you as well.
You may have to pay tax on the amount you receive.

My partners esa is more £53.90 a week so surely we will not qualify for carers.

Indie_Kid

You will qualify. But they take £53.90 off the ESA and give you £30.

murtle1981

sh1305 wrote: »

DLA has nothing to do with being fit for work. The criteria for both benefits are different.

i know...you can work full time and still get DLA. What i meant was i couldnt believe that he had passed 3 medicals for the ESA then on the 4th, he only got 5 points. Thought things were looking good for him when he got awarded DLA then we had to mess about changing benefits when he got thrown off ESA. You get things sorted then something else goes wrong but thats life...

murtle1981

hoggle wrote: »

Thanks murtle.
I must seem like I am an idiot but the benefits are so confusing. So what you are saying is I simply apply for carers allowance and they will award it to me but take it off my partners esa but I will then get an extra £30? Then and only then if they start trying to get my partner off esa I can then apply for IS?
If I apply will I just get a letter saying I am now getting carers allowance but my esa is deducted but I get the extra £30? And they sort it all out?
Apologies if I seem so dim but as I said its been a mine field.
On the goverment website it says the following
How much do you get?

The weekly rate is £53.90. This is reduced by the amount of certain other benefits, including State Pension, that you receive. If you receive certain other benefits at £53.90 or more a week, Carer's Allowance cannot be paid to you as well.
You may have to pay tax on the amount you receive.

My partners esa is more £53.90 a week so surely we will not qualify for carers.

I dont think youre an idiot, dont worry! Its very confusing as im sure a lot of folk will agree and i was worried that people would think i was dim when we first had to through it all!
Right, you WILL get CA WITHOUT A DOUBT
My partner only got thrown off ESA after a ESA medical deemed him fit for work. Him being thrown off ESA had NOTHING to do with him being awarded DLA as they are totally seperate benefits and have nothing to do with each other.
IF and only IF your partner ever has his ESA stopped, I was just advising you that you can claim IS as a carer.
There are only certain benefits that will make it not possible for you to claim CA but im not sure what those certain benefits are. If you are in receipt of ESA you WILL get CA.
You will get CA at a rate of 53.90 per week
Your partner will then have 53.90 per week deducted from his ESA (although hes not really losing it as it just gets paid directly to you in the form of carers allowance)
Then, the DWP add an extra 30 odd a week back onto your partners ESA (disability premium)....therefore you are up by 30 odd a week
Hope this has made more sense....:)

murtle1981

Just a quick note for all posters: When my partner got thrown off ESA, we got in touch with an organisation who helps people get what they are entitled to ie benefits and DLA etc and were told that ESA is not working properly for the people in this country.

murtle1981

hoggle wrote: »

Thanks murtle.
If I apply will I just get a letter saying I am now getting carers allowance but my esa is deducted but I get the extra £30? And they sort it all out
CA will get in touch with you within a couple of weeks of you sending the forms in to tell you it has been awarded, when you will get your first payment (its usually paid on a Monday) and how much your backdated amount will be for.
CA work closely with ESA, IS etc and will notify them that you are now getting CA and they will sort everything out from there although you can inform ESA yourself if you like.