Severe Disability Premium - 16yo living with parent

BlueMeany

Hi
Hoping someone can help me - as I don't want to spend another half hour waiting on an 0845 number, to speak with someone who appears as clueless as me!

Situation is this. Daughter lives with me, she is now 16, so is claiming ESA in her own right (assessment phase). She gets Higher Rate Care DLA & Lower Rate Mobility DLA. I'm her appointee (and her dad!)

DWP have sent out a claim form for Severe Disability Premium. I filled this in on her behalf but at question 9 "Does someone live with you?" I answered 'yes' - because she lives in my house (bearing in mind though that in theory no-one lives WITH her, as it is my house she lives with ME)
Gave it a week and heard nothing. Yesterday, I get another form - exactly the same - a claim form for SDP. I phoned them up and the ....erm... person on the phone said she wasn't entitled (it was saying so on the system), but to fill in the form again and send it back.
Why have they sent out another form, when surely they could have sent a letter saying she isn't entitled?
I can only assume that I have filled in the form incorrectly, and that at question 9 I should be answering 'No, no-one lives with me'

I don't claim Carer's Allowance for her as at the moment I am working and earning more than £100 a week.

Should I be sending this claim form back answering 'no', or should I just forget about it?

Help greatly appreciated as I can't find anything online, and its really difficult when you are trying to fill forms for a different person.

[Deleted User]

as another adult who is not claiming dla lives in the house then she is not going to get the SDP,however anyone who provides care could claim CA if they provide 35 hours a week of care(which can inc many things)and dont earn over £100 a week

BlueMeany

thanks for the quick response, woodbine.

Thats what I thought, but why send another form?!

Looks like I'll be leaving work (or reducing hours dramatically) shortly then, to be able to claim Carers Allowance, IS & HB etc etc...

Stupid situation this country puts you in, where a 'child' (for all intents and purposes) can't go to college or work due to severe disability, but that 'childs' parent loses £500 a month in CTC & CB.

So wish I could emigrate....

earthbound_misfit

BlueMeany wrote: »

Thats what I thought, but why send another form?!

DWP error - not uncommon

BlueMeany wrote: »

Looks like I'll be leaving work (or reducing hours dramatically) shortly then, to be able to claim Carers Allowance, IS & HB etc etc...

Am I sniffing a troll here? If your working income is lower than being on benefits you should be entitled to some housing benefit and possibly some income support. If you work at least 35 hrs then you might be entitled to working tax credit. You may also get a council tax discount.

BlueMeany wrote: »

Stupid situation this country puts you in, where a 'child' (for all intents and purposes) can't go to college or work due to severe disability, but that 'childs' parent loses £500 a month in CTC & CB.

Surely the ESA makes up for this shortfall? If not at present, it will do once she's on main phase ESA rather than assessment rate.

BlueMeany wrote: »

So wish I could emigrate....

Where, exactly?!
I am very critical in many ways of this country's benefit system (well, whole political/financial system lol) but it's a lot better than many other places and you don't seem to be falling into the usual pitfalls/poverty that plague the system (such as wrongly declared 'fit for work')...

skintmacflint

earthbound_misfit wrote: »

Surely the ESA makes up for this shortfall? If not at present, it will do once she's on main phase ESA rather than assessment rate. )...

Totally agree with earthbound here. ESA assessment rate is £71 approx and once on main benfit at least £99 to £106 . so where does the £500 loss coming from?

CB + CTC are paid to cover growing children's clothes , school uniforms and travel etc. In some respects I feel too many parents take these rather generous benefits for granted as lifetime awards, forgetting one day they will stop. but in your daughters case it will be repalced with ESA.

To say you'd consider stopping work or reducing your work hours, thus burdening the shrinking welfare budget with unecessary HB and IS costs , just so you can claim Carers Allowance speaks volumes.