Advice - caring for parent

River12

My mother has been very ill in hospital and can no longer live alone. She is now living in my home.  I have cut down my working hours to care for her (working weekends and evenings) so she is not alone. She has got Attendance allowance but she is unable to afford care home fees so the cost of providing her a home and doing the care is met by me. I wondered if there’s any compensation for this situation as it’s having a large impact on my earnings and my life. 

lisyloo

There is carers allowance but you may not qualify.

If she can't afford residential care then this would be met by the local authority. Of course that might not be what she (or you) want but there is state provision for that so that you can can carry on your normal life.

FlorayG

A bit more detail -was she previously renting or does she own property? Why did they let her out of hospital if she is unable to live alone and was living alone ( I went through this with my mother)?

River12

Thanks for your responses. My mother was renting on her own but has had a couple of falls etc.  and I’ve taken her into my home so wondered if there was support for people looking after a parent in their own home. Sounds like Carers Allowance is worth investigating. Thank you 

elsien

Carers allowance is means tested so if you earn over £151 a week you won’t be eligible for it, just so as you know. 

Another question about residential care.
She may well not want to go, and you may be quite happy to have her in your home, in which case it’s not an issue.

But affordability would not prevent it from happening if she is assessed to need that level of care as the local authority would step in. 

Has she had a care act need assessment at all? That would be the first step in getting any further help if needed. 

If she still wants to live more independently, there is also the housing with care option that she could look at which gives her own space, but with help on hand when she needs it.  That would probably need to go through the local authority as well. 

Any other compensation would be in the form of your mother paying you some of her pension and attendance allowance  towards reasonable living expenses. Which she would be doing for paid carers if you were not around. 

lisyloo

Basically no there isn't any compensation (apart from carers allowance) if you/she choose to go down this route.
The state will provide residential care so that you can live your life as normal.

Brie

The local authority may also provide some caring assistance in your home for her.  So help with showers, getting her in/out of bed.

What you need to do is think about how much income you are losing, think about your mom's income currently including AA and think about the expense of having mom in your home.  When we combined homes with MiL I took all the bills and divided them up allocating 1/3 to her.  (household was me, OH & MiL).  I then added on anything that was additional expense for MiL - buying the meals she liked, her sherry, extra for having the heat on non stop, laundry (bed linen needed frequent washing), etc.  I came up with a total and that was the "rent" she paid to us. 

When eventually local authority was looking at funding her in a care home they were fine with this rent being paid.  

River12

Thanks very much for all your thoughts, lots to explore. Many thanks 

Rubyroobs

Carers allowance if your earnings are less than £151 a week. She can use the Attendance Alllownce to pay you more if she wishes as that is intended to also help towards the costs of being unwell.

lisyloo

Yes forgot about help at home. They will provide up to 4 visits per day. This wont work if she needs constant background supervision e.g. at risk of falls.
They will look at her income, assets and her costs e.g. there may be extra laundry etc.
If she doesn't have money then it will be provided for her.
There is a needs assessment and a seperate financial assessment that looks at her ability to pay.
When I did it I found it relatively generous e.g. £300 per week allowed before having to pay.

Spoonie_Turtle

On the benefits side, depending on your overall financial situation there is also potentially Universal Credit.  The carer element for that is less than Carers Allowance but there is no hard earning limit, only the threshold based on your overall situation and what UC elements you'd be eligible for. 
Worth checking whether you'd be entitled to any UC:
https://www.entitledto.co.uk/
https://benefits-calculator.turn2us.org.uk/

[UC and Carers Allowance can be claimed simultaneously but CA is deducted in full from UC.]