Confused and Frustrated

N1ck

I was on ESA whilst caring for two elderly parents. I have just  been awarded carers allowance for only part of the time period I applied for.

Their reason for this was that I hadn't applied within the stipulated time period.

I was unaware of such a rule but obviously, they won't accept this as a reason to reconsider. What would be my best stance on this?

If carers allowance is means tested should it be used to calculate my housing benefit allowance?

Last query for now lol. How is it that BOTH the DWP and housing benefits are allowed to take into consideration a small private monthly pension of 120.00 in their award calculations?  They did whilst I was claiming ESA is this the same for Carers allowance?

Surely that's doubling my allowed income?

gnmeads

Hi N1ck Welcome to the Scope community and sorry to hear of your problems. I think you should ask one of our benefits advisers just follow this link: https://community.scope.org.uk/categories/ask-a-benefits-advisor

Sam_Alumni

Hi @N1ck
I have passed this on to our benefits advisors so I hope they can offer some support soon

BenefitsTrainingCo

Hi N1ck,

A CA claim can be backdated for a maximum of 3 months, or back to the date the disabled person's qualifying benefit was paid from, if the CA claim was applied for within 3 months of the date of that decision.
So when you say you've only been awarded for part of the time applied for because you didn't claim in time, I hope that helps you to understand the decision. If not, please give us a bit more information about the dates of the claims and the decisions.
If you are claiming Housing Benefit, and you are not getting the full amount because of a passported benefit not being in payment (ESA IR/IS) then Carer's Allowance is taken into account, but it's not really taken into account in full as you get a carer premium within your Applicable Amount (that's the amount the government says you need to live on, and is used to decide your entitlement).
Means tested benefits such as ESA IR and HB do take into account other income and your small private pension would be counted, however if it is not taken into account for CA. I am assuming you are old enough to take a private pension but are not old enough to get your state pension? 
Finally, you say you are not getting any ESA anymore and you have a small pension and CA, are you getting any other income at all? As you may be able to claim a top up of Income Support if you have no other income or savings, although it would only be a small amount. If you have a partner though, their income will be taken into account as well.
I have advised as best as I can with the available information, but if you have any further questions please do not hesitate to come back to us.

Lee