Hi, I'm Th02msn! Would my friend qualify for SDP?

Th02msn

Hi all

Newby here so be gentle…

I help a very close friend deal with his affairs and general daily living.

He gets ESA and is in the support group.  He also receives the enhanced rate of daily living component as well as the enhanced mobility component .

As far as we are aware (when we do the sums) he receives the ‘enhanced disability premium’ with the ESA (£19.55 per week) but I am almost certain he should be in receipt of the ‘severe disability premium’ 

Should he be awarded the SDP considering the above categories he currently falls into or do we need to make a justified case?

Im slightly hesitant to contact the DWP to enquire incase I make things worse for him.  Not that it should as the gent has significant disabilities which considerably reduce his ability to perform most daily tasks.

Nobody receives a carers allowance for him and he lives alone.

Can anyone give me some help?

Thanks

Th02msn

Thats what I thought.  Been reading on various other sites and it mentions that when you apply for changes etc , you can be moved onto universal credit (and be worse off) Certainly dont want that.

However, reading some of the answers on this forum, it appears that a lot of websites give out misleading or false information.

Its difficult knowing what to do for best.

Thanks for the reply Woodbine

Th02msn

Is it the DWP or ESA that i call?

Or are they the same lot?

poppy123456

ESA is part of DWP. It would be ESA that he needs to ring. He needs to ask to apply for SDP.

It is not a change of circumstances that will prompt a move to UC. 

No one must be claiming either carers element of UC or carers allowance for looking after him. 

Th02msn

Thanks for reply Poppy.  I was hoping I would see a reply from you as you seem to be very clued up with everything on here.


It is not a change of circumstances that will prompt a move to UC. 

Can you just clarify on above statement?  

So there should be no change to any of his other benefits?

Also - will it be backdated automatically?  When he received his notice of determination in March this year for ADP, it was backdated to August 2022.  Should the SDP be backdated to that date too?

Appreciate the help.

poppy123456

Claiming SDP will not prompt a move to UC. It’s that simple.

He will need to make sure he asks for it to be backdated to the start of the ADP award and it will be paid from that, if he was entitled. 

Th02msn

Thanks for the clarification.  We will contact them tomorrow.

poppy123456

You’re welcome.

Th02msn

Update…

Called this morning but the lady from DWP said you can only get the SDP if he is in ‘income related ESA’ 

You cannot get SDP in the ‘contribution related ESA’ group.

Does that sound right?  So much conflicting info online.

Thanks.

bg844

Th02msn said:

Update…

Called this morning but the lady from DWP said you can only get the SDP if he is in ‘income related ESA’ 

You cannot get SDP in the ‘contribution related ESA’ group.

Does that sound right?  So much conflicting info online.

Thanks.

How much ESA a week does he receive just for clarification? Does he have a recent letter that tells him this? I know you did say he receives EDP on top of his ESA but always worth double checking just so we can confirm or deny this.

Th02msn

Thanks for quick reply bg844.

He receives £298.10 every 2 weeks.

He was present with me when we called the DWP this morning but we were on hold for more than 1hr , by which time he had to go to a medical app! Sods law that they answered soon after he was unavailable.  Hence the reason nor me or him know which style ESA he receives.

For GDPR obviously DWP could not confirm any details to me without him present. 

Th02msn

We dont have any paper work for the ESA side of things.  

Im slowly working through everything with him to get things in order and see whats what.
The chap struggles with learning difficulties and understanding information so generally a lot of paperwork ended up in the bin.  🤦🏻‍♂️ 

Th02msn

It may be that he receives new style ESA.  In that case he wont qualify for SDP.

Does the £298.10 every 2 weeks make it any easier to work out which band he's in?

poppy123456

Th02msn said:

He receives £298.10 every 2 weeks.

Then at least part of it is Income Related because that amount includes the Enhanced disability Premium (£19.55/week, single person) known as disability income guarantee in ESA breakdown letters.

This means that the person you spoke to this morning is incorrect and he can claim SDP in with his ESA as i advised yesterday.

It's only those claiming New style ESA that it's not possible to claim the SDP or any other disability premium.

Th02msn

Thanks Poppy.

I so complex I wonder if the DWP staff even know the ins & outs!

poppy123456

Th02msn said:

Thanks Poppy.

I so complex I wonder if the DWP staff even know the ins & outs!

No problem. There lies the problem. When ringing any DWP department you're definitely not speaking to someone from DWP. It's someone from a call centre. Clearly this person didn't have a single clue what they were talking about. They only had to look at his claim to see that at least part of it is Income Related ESA, which means he can claim SDP.

I'd advise him to ring again and hopefully this time he will speak to someone a little more helpful.

Th02msn

Yes we will do that & be more prepared this time

Th02msn

Can I just ask how you figured this out?

Then at least part of it is Income Related because that amount includes the Enhanced disability Premium (£19.55/week, single person) known as disability income guarantee in ESA breakdown letters.

I did my own calculations to see if i could work it out.  The only formula i can see is £129.50 (ESA) a week and £19.55 a week above that for EDP.  Total £298.10 fortnightly.

Is this right?

poppy123456

Th02msn said:

Can I just ask how you figured this out?

Then at least part of it is Income Related because that amount includes the Enhanced disability Premium (£19.55/week, single person) known as disability income guarantee in ESA breakdown letters.

I did my own calculations to see if i could work it out.  The only formula i can see is £129.50 (ESA) a week and £19.55 a week above that for EDP.  Total £298.10 fortnightly.

Is this right?

Yes, that's correct. £149.05/week. Contributions based/New style ESA Support group is £129.50/week. The disability premiums are only paid with Income Related or the old contributions based, if you're entitled to the top up.

Th02msn

Contributions based/New style ESA Support group is £129.50/week.

So given the above info - he wouldn't be entitled to SDP.

It is my understanding that if you are contribution based or on new style ESA, you do not qualify for SDP.

My head is churning with it all 😆 

poppy123456

Th02msn said:

Contributions based/New style ESA Support group is £129.50/week.

So given the above info - he wouldn't be entitled to SDP.

It is my understanding that if you are contribution based or on new style ESA, you do not qualify for SDP.

My head is churning with it all 😆 

That's not correct. I already advised you that because of the EDP at least part of his ESA is Income Related so there's entitlement to SDP. 

If his ESA was all CB or New style then he would be receiving only £129.50/week (£259/fortnight) which he doesn't.