Urgent Advice for family member please

sheilds

Hi ,
Can I ask for advice on behalf of a family member please.
They have just got married-the husband has severe Cystic Fibrosis,cannot hold down any type of job and currently gets disability allowance and housing benefit. Wife only earns part-time wage of £150pw.
They have only now been told that the marriage means they have to live on wife's wage only which doesn't even cover their rent.
Can this be right and is there any where they can go for advice as the stress is really affecting the CF sufferer-the husbands- health really badly?
Thank You
S.

dippy3103

They could probably get some housing benefit on low income grounds & depending on the local scheme possibly council tax reduction scheme help.

DomRavioli

Does he receive DLA/PIP? That would be the immediate benefit that isn't means tested.

If the husband only qualifies for income related ESA then yes, it is correct with regards to ESA.

May get some HB and council tax reduction as dippy has said, but that is on a local area basis.

Keeping_Positive

Try using https://www.entitledto.co.uk

missbiggles1

If the wife can up her hours to 30, they'll be able to claim working tax credits.

allen35

If his wife works 24 hours there will be no entitlement to (ESA IR) Income Related Employment & Support Allowance (shouldn't be working over 24 hours as £150 will be below NMW)

If working less than 24 hours the ESA will top up the income.

For either of the above full entitlement to Housing Benefit will apply, they will need to declare the change in circumstances to Local Authority and submit last 2 months wage slips or 5 weekly.

There are a few scenario's to consider which are dependent on whether he receives Disability Living Allowance and what rates, whether his ESA is contribution based, how many hours his wife works, can she increase to 30 hours for Working Tax Credits, can she reduce hours to claim Carer's Allowance.

Really need more info' OP!!

TELLIT01

Earnings of £150 pw will completely knock out any entitlement to Income Related ESA, at least during the assessment phase.

BigAunty

Marriage itself is irrelevant to having the joint household income taken into account for means tested benefits - cohabitation is sufficient to trigger this. Were they living together before the wedding? And if so, was it declared to the relevant benefit authorities?

pmlindyloo

I believe the wife would only need to work 16 hrs a week to claim working tax credits as her husband is classed as 'incapacitated'.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/leaflets/wtc2.pdf

TELLIT01

BigAunty wrote: »

Marriage itself is irrelevant to having the joint household income taken into account for means tested benefits - cohabitation is sufficient to trigger this. Were they living together before the wedding? And if so, was it declared to the relevant benefit authorities?

That thought just occurred to me too. Marriage will make no direct difference to their entitlement. Only if they were living entirely separately before their marriage would there be any financial impact.

Js_Other_Half

It might be worth contacting the cf trust:

http://www.cysticfibrosis.org.uk/who-we-are/support-for-all/helpline