Carers allowance help

blitz

Hi, my dads has terminal cancer & weve been told hes got around 6 mths. Hes refused the carers package which means Im looking after him, though I dont live with him. I have to do quite a bit, he cant eat or drink which means hes fed through a tube, I have to change his feeds/water through a drip throughout the day/night, give him his mediences through a syringe into his tube twice a day, as well as clearing up sick, emptying his kemode(sp),urinal,washing & the usual housework duties. I have 3 children & must admit im finding very hard going,my brothers are of no help at all, but Dad is a lot happier at home so its worth it(hes been in hospital for several mths).
Does anyone know if I am entitled to carers allowance? I dont work but my husband does & I get £ 74 family tax credit, will they take this into account?

dmg24

Hi blitz,

Really sorry to hear about your Dad ...

You can claim Carers Allowance, but firstly you need to apply for DLA or Attendance Allowance for your Dad. There is information on DLA here, and AA here. You should be able to apply for this under the special rules, so the claim will be dealt with very quickly.

Information on Carers Allowance is here. You will be eligible as you are not earning more than £95 a week.

Anything else you need to know, just ask and we'll do our best to find out x

clairec79

You will have to declare your carers allowance to the tax credits though, as they do count it as income, so your tax credits will likely go down slightly

blitz

Thanks for the quick reply & link dmg24.

Ive read the info but im still unsure if id be able to claim & if I can will it be the full £55.55?

Its states

The weekly rate is £50.55. This is reduced by the amount of certain other benefits, including State Pension, that you receive. If you receive certain other benefits at £50.55 or more a week, Carer's Allowance cannot be paid to you as well

If you receive Child Tax Credit, any Carer's Allowance received will be taken into account as income

Many thanks for your help.

blitz

clairec79 wrote: »

You will have to declare your carers allowance to the tax credits though, as they do count it as income, so your tax credits will likely go down slightly

Thank you.

dmg24

As far as I know, your CTCs are not taken into account when working out how much CA you will get, as otherwise you would be penalised twice.

Easier to explain by example (can't think of the right words!):

CA is counted as income for tax credits, and so will slightly reduce your tax credits award. So if tax credits were counted as income for CA, it would reduce the CA, and then you would have to declare a reduced CA amount to tax credits ... and it would just go round in a circle?!

I think that is right, but someone will be along soon to confirm x

[Deleted User]

the only things that affect the amount of carers allow. are income support and earned income(inc pensions)

dmg24

woodbine wrote: »

the only things that affect the amount of carers allow. are income support and earned income(inc pensions)

IB is also counted.

Limana68

HI Blitz
Me and hubby care for my mum in our own home, she gets attendance allowance, high rate, and my hubby claims carers allowance as I work full time. He also works part time, up to the £95 allowance, but works around my shifts so there is always someone about most of the time for me mum and the kids.
I just wanted to say I know how you feel about it all getting a bit much, its the same for us, we have 2 kids, various pets and I have 3 brothers who are all pretty useless too! Its all left to me pretty much, 2 of my brothers live away but the middle one only lives one street away and does not really help at all, just an offer of a nights babysitting would be nice! So me and hubs could go out for a meal or something!
Anyway, winge over, my mum used to live on her own, but couldnt manage so we moved her in with us as I couldnt bear her going into a home.

Good luck with it all, and pm me if you want to chat as I know what you are going through..
Liz:o

woozywendy

I am sorry to hear about your dad. I looked after my mum when she was terminal and there was a benefit she received because she was given less than 6 months to live. Sorry I cannot remember the name of it. Maybe you have already applied for it. If not maybe someone on here will know or you could ask your doctor.

allotment_owner

woozywendy wrote: »

I am sorry to hear about your dad. I looked after my mum when she was terminal and there was a benefit she received because she was given less than 6 months to live. Sorry I cannot remember the name of it. Maybe you have already applied for it. If not maybe someone on here will know or you could ask your doctor.

It's probably the special DLA fast-track.