Universal Credit + Carers - New Claimant

NewburyVilla

Hi 

Mother has vascular dementia & now needs full time care, because of this I will now be her full time. It's awful, but it is what it is 

Please don't take the micky, & I know some of these questions maybe silly, but I've never claimed any benefit before in my life so just want to make sure I'm doing every right & above board.

I have less than £6k in savings (£4.8k). I know having below £6k is fine & i will be receiving £575 per month. Obviously I'll need to pay for my own bills etc (phone, credit card, cat insurance  etc). But my question is about spending. Can I withdraw any leftover money (out of my £575pm) & just spend it on what I want, when I want??? I need some private dental work done (failed root canal). I also enjoy spending a little bit on myself each month as a treat (fragrances, clothes, shoes etc). Do I need to keep receipts for all purchases? Am I allowed to draw cash out (e.g £2/300) for spending & keep some around the house? Technically (not that I would in a million years), but could i spent it all on lottery tickets, heroin & alcohol without any penalty? 

I just want to make sure I'm following the rules. Being a carer is stressful enough without worrying about being in trouble with the DWP 

Thanks 

poppy12345

You can spend your money on what you want to there's no limits to that. Savings of less than £6,000 are not counted. Are you planning on claiming Universal Credit? Is that where the £575 per month will come from?

Does your mother claim a disability benefit such as PIP daily living, DLA mid/high rate care or Attendance Allowance?

NewburyVilla

Thanks for replying Poppy. Yes the £575 is my universal credit + carers + £20 a month uplift. And my mother now gets the higher rate of attendance allowance as her care needs are now 24/7 - (filling out the attendance allowance form was a nightmare lol) 

So just to clarify, it's ok to have £5Kish in my  savings account & spend the £575 a month going into my current account on whatever I see fit? If I was withdrawing it as cash, buying clothes on ASOS etc, the DWP would NOT class that as deprivation of capital? Is that correct?

Thanks 

calcotti

NewburyVilla said: So just to clarify, it's ok to have £5Kish in my  savings account & spend the £575 a month going into my current account on whatever I see fit? If I was withdrawing it as cash, buying clothes on ASOS etc, the DWP would NOT class that as deprivation of capital? Is that correct?

Absolutely OK. The money is there for your use to support your chosen lifestyle whether that involves spending on clothes, streaming service subscriptions, cigarettes whatever. Any money left over at the end of the month the becomes capital. You are are also free to spend your capital unless the expenditure appears to be with the intention of increasing your benefit entitlement.

NewburyVilla

Thank you. calcotti said:

NewburyVilla said: So just to clarify, it's ok to have £5Kish in my  savings account & spend the £575 a month going into my current account on whatever I see fit? If I was withdrawing it as cash, buying clothes on ASOS etc, the DWP would NOT class that as deprivation of capital? Is that correct?

Absolutely OK. The money is there for your use to support your chosen lifestyle whether that involves spending on clothes, streaming service subscriptions, cigarettes whatever. Any money left over at the end of the month the becomes capital. You are are also free to spend your capital unless the expenditure appears to be with the intention of increasing your benefit entitlement.

Thank you 

pmlindyloo

You are also entitled to a Carer's Assessment.

Have a read of this:

Carer's assessments - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

NedS

You should also register with your GP surgery as a carer which affords certain (non-monetary) benefits, like preferential access to appointments and potentially earlier access to Covid vaccinations depending upon your age

NewburyVilla

pmlindyloo said:

You are also entitled to a Carer's Assessment.

Have a read of this:

Oh my. I wasn't aware of any of this. There's a few things on there I definitely could take advantage of

Thank you.

NewburyVilla

NedS said:

You should also register with your GP surgery as a carer which affords certain (non-monetary) benefits, like preferential access to appointments and potentially earlier access to Covid vaccinations depending upon your age

Excellent. Thank you 

calcotti

Are UC aware that you are caring so you get the carer element added to your UC calculation?

NewburyVilla

calcotti said:

Are UC aware that you are caring so you get the carer element added to your UC calculation?

Yes they are 👍