what can we claim

savings_girl · 26 February 2005 at 5:52PM

hiya, can anyone advice us what we can claim, my husband is starting a fulltime course at college in september. i work partime 12 hours (£95), we get chid tax credits for our 3 kids one of which is disabled (we get middle rate care and lower rate mobility dla). we also claim carers allowance £76. could we claim income support or job seekers allowance.
thank you in advance for any replys.

Fran · 26 February 2005 at 6:17PM

As I understand it, you cannot claim Income Support as a couple when one of you is doing a full time course. (The only time you can is as a single parent).

Is there any way you can do 4 hours more work, in which case you should be able to get Working Tax Credit.

Info re benefits/tax credits can be found on Citizens Advice Website - Adviceguide

Your husband should check through the college for any possible help available through them too.

savings_girl · 26 February 2005 at 6:21PM

thanks for your prompt reply. no i can't get any more hours at work though i would love to do more. thanks anyway

Ted_Hutchinson · 26 February 2005 at 6:27PM

As your husband will not be actively seeking work there is no possibility of claiming JSA.

If you answer the questions here Entitled to it will probably be able to work out if you are entitled to anything else.

It is also worth getting a Welfare Benefits Healthcheck from your local welfare rights office. You may find the guide to Getting Help with Your benefits from benefitsand work useful if you don't know where your CAB is.

If you want a general guide to all the benefits available then Benefits: a concise guide to benefits, pensions and tax credits, A guide (MG1) is quite useful.
The actual amount you get for each benefit is listed in Social security benefit rates (GL23)

If however you want to find out if an income support claim would be worthwhile you could phone 0800882200 on Monday and get them to work out your "Applicable Amount" which is what the law says you need to life on.

Without knowing your Rent/mortgage/council tax details it's difficult to give online advice so a face to face interview with a Welfare Rights adviser would be your best option.

savings_girl · 28 February 2005 at 2:38PM

just found out that my husband can not claim carers allowance if he does a full time course. this seems so unfair my husband still we be our sons main carer. all my husband wants to do is go to college, yet as it stands we can't afford to loose his wage that he gets now and loose carers allowance as well. any ideas what to do now?

Spendless · 28 February 2005 at 2:55PM

What about finding an extra job - for 4 hours. So you can claim WTC? AFAIK you can add two jobs together.

When a friend of mine lost her job, she had the promise of a job on a 12 hour contract and what she was going to do was take on an Avon round, which would have given her the extra 4 hours she needed each week (she had previously been an Avon lady for the full 16 hours required when she first became a single mum).

As it happens she found a different job which was more than 16 hours and didn't need to do it.

Check this info out though - as it happened over a year ago - and might not be the case now.

Good Luck
xx

Fran · 28 February 2005 at 3:22PM

There is some info on the Carers UK Website, which includes:-

"You must not be a full-time student

If you study for 21 hours or more a week, you won't qualify for the Carer's Allowance. You cannot claim during any temporary absence from the course or during the holidays.

If you study less than 21 hours a week you can get the Carer's Allowance. Only time spent in "supervised" study counts towards the 21 hours. Breaks and private study are not counted. Homework and revisions may count as supervised study."

Your husband should check how much "supervised study" he will be doing. Also could you reduce your hours in order to be entitled as it appears you would be better off by being able to claim? This needs checking with experienced advisors, I suggest you visit Citizens Advice or similar to look at your options.

what can we claim

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