ESA disability premiums advice

dottymcdotty

Hello All!

im the carer for my brother who is one of those people who were missed in the ESA migration and should be on income related not contributions. Anyway , 12 weeks in he's being assessed and I have a question with regards to the premiums as we can't figure out what he is and isn't entitled too.

upon speaking to a DWP telephone advice person, we were told that he wouldn't get the severe rate because he lives with me but he is a joint temant on the rental agreement.

however reading some of the comments on here and going on the turn2you site, it seems that if you are a joint tenant you should receive the highest amount! It's really conflicting and if anyone has any iformation on what he should be entitled too ... thanks so much 

poppy123456

HI,

The criteria for the Severe disability premium is you must be claiming either DLA mid/high rate care or PIP daily living, no one must be claiming carers allowance for looking after you and you must live alone or be classed as living alone.

The classed as living alone part means, he must be named on a tenancy agree and pay his share of half the rent. Does he pay half and does he claiming housing benefit for his share?

dottymcdotty

He meets that criteria.
it is a 4 way tenancy agreement and he pays his share of the rent and he does claim housing benefit for this.
i spoke to DWP adviser and we were told that despite him being a named tenant on the agreement and despite him having HB to cover this, because the other tenants are family members he isn't eligible for the higher premium.
yet all the calculators say he is eligible and the gov criteria isn't clear at all.
any ideas how we can pursue this moving forward? Thanks 

dottymcdotty

He is classed as living alone for HB purposes though. 

poppy123456

I think the issue here is that he lives with family members. You said above that you're his carer, is that correct? you don't claim carers allowance for him either, is that correct?

If a person lives with family members whether they have separate tenancy agreements or not then the family members are expected to care for that disabled person. There maybe some circumstances where the family members maybe working full time or have a disability theirself and are unable to care for that disabled person. If this happens then a decision maker will decide to pay that disabled person the SDP.

I found this link.

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/418468/response/1020146/attach/html/2/FoI 2988 reply.pdf.html

This was taken from that link.

The Severe Disability Premium is intended for those severely disabled people who live independently, and who are therefore most likely to need to purchase care. However, it is 
recognised that there are circumstances when people sharing accommodation should not be 
expected, or may not be able, to provide care for the disabled person. For this reason, the 
presence of certain people is ignored when deciding whether or not the disabled person lives 
alone. This means, for example, that no account is taken of people (other than close relatives 
of the claimant) who live in the same house because of a commercial arrangement.  
 

When a decision has been made on the ESA3 assessment then i'd advise him to ring DWP and ask them to send the IS10 form. Once he receives this attach a letter to the form explaining the living arrangements and then a decision maker will decide whether to pay the SDP or not.

dottymcdotty

Hi Poppy
thanks for your reply.
nobody claims carers allowance for him as two tenants work full time and one is a pensioner.
its interesting that they make this expectation isn't it because when the care act 2014 came into play, it clearly states that no family member is under any duty to provide care for a person over 18, so this assumption is quite conflicting with the law.

ironically it would also cost a lot more to put him into a residential placement . He has paid support currently to help him access the community.

its a shame he is penalised really for saving the public purse and for wanting to retain family links.

so the turn2us calculations are also misleading for situations like this?
thanks again poppy x

poppy123456

No problem. I think with the SDP it's paid because the person lives alone or classed as living alone which would make their disability even harder to manage because they are alone. The criteria is quite specific.

The benefit calculator is only as good as the information you put into it. As you're putting in the information that no one claims carers allowance for him and he's a single claimant then it will assume that he's entitled. It doesn't ask specific details of who he lives with. In some instances a benefit calculator is of no use, especially in cases like this.

He's classed as living alone for housing benefit purposes because of his DLA/PIP claim and other tenants in the house aren't counted when calculating any deductions in is housing benefit.

dottymcdotty

Thanks Poppy.
i think my issue is that it assumes a duty to provide care when in law it is explicit that there is no duty to provide care. I'm wondering if this has ever been challenged through judicial routes? 

poppy123456

For this then i'm afraid you'll need to get expert face to face advice from an advice agency near you. I'd start with either welfare rights or a law centre.

dottymcdotty

Thanks poppy. I have a few legal connections so might raise it in conversation with them. Wondering if this policy was introduced prior to 2014 and is now in conflict with the law?

poppy123456

I would have no idea i'm afraid. Do be aware that this may not be covered under legal aid.

jarvo40

Hi..I sympathise with you so much..I’m in a similar position in not knowing what the dwp contradicting rules are.. I’m in the income related support group and 2 weeks ago got married to a non eu woman who has no recourse to public funds and is not allowed to work.. I’ve been to my Jc and spoken to the manager and her colleague sent a letter off as advise but heard nothing back yet.. what is stressing me out is I’m still entitled to housing benefit but my single council tax allowance has stopped.. can anyone shed some light on this for me.. kind regards

poppy123456

jarvo40 said:

Hi..I sympathise with you so much..I’m in a similar position in not knowing what the dwp contradicting rules are.. I’m in the income related support group and 2 weeks ago got married to a non eu woman who has no recourse to public funds and is not allowed to work.. I’ve been to my Jc and spoken to the manager and her colleague sent a letter off as advise but heard nothing back yet.. what is stressing me out is I’m still entitled to housing benefit but my single council tax allowance has stopped.. can anyone shed some light on this for me.. kind regards

Hi,

If you now live with your wife, the reason why your single person discount has stopped for your council tax is because you no longer live alone. You'll still be able to claim council tax reduction just not the single person 25% discount.

jarvo40

Thx for your reply and I do understand why but it’s mainly my sdp I’m concerned about.. when I applied to bring my wife into the uk all my finances had to be disclosed and you had to meet a threshold so stupidly I never thought they would take a huge amount off of me if they will.. just can’t find an answer anywhere about this..legislation says sdp not paid if you live with someone but does that include my wife who cannot work or have public funds due to her visa conditions...

poppy123456

Yes, it includes this because you no longer live alone or classed as living alone. This means you're not entitled to the SDP.

jarvo40

Thx poppy for your response guess it’s another way the dwp has us over guess I’ll have to go down the carers route as my wife as non eu member has to have lived here for two years before she can qualify..trip to the cab I think..thanks 

poppy123456

You won't be able to claim carers allowance or be classed as her carer for UC unless she claims one of the above qualifying benefits.

jarvo40

I’m the one who needs the carer not my wife and as a British citizen I am entitled as I believe there are many duties she can’t help me with coz of my stature and hers..

poppy123456

Ah yes i see, sorry i got confused between comments.

jarvo40

Lol that’s ok don’t want anything I’m not entitled to just want clarity ..

poppy123456

The reason you're not entitled to the SDP is because you no longer live alone and that's part of the criteria to being able to claim it.