Hello and help please

Cherylanne

Hi. I'm here as a carer for a person whom I am taking to a PIP assessment tomorrow. Should the worst happen and he is turned down can anyone tell whether he will lose all his current benefits? Ath the moment he receives ESA, DLA(low rate), Housing Benefit and is exempt from Council Tax due to mental illness. Will he lose all of these and have to re-apply for Housing benefit as Universal Credit? Any help on this appreciated, thanks.

Adrian_Scope

Hi @Cherylanne and welcome to the community!

Depending on his age and circumstances, his housing rate may change. If he's under-35 it could drop down to the shared room rate as opposed to a one-bed. He won't need to re-apply for that though, it should automatically change.
As you're his carer, I assume he doesn't get SDP? If he does, he'll lose this from his ESA/Housing Benefit. It shouldn't affect his basic ESA aside from any premiums as they're different benefits.
(@poppy123456 I don't suppose you have time to help clarify this point?)

It's also worth noticing that if he loses DLA/PIP no-one will be able to claim Carer's Allowance for him. Don't forget though that if the worst were to happen, he can always do a a Mandatory Reconsideration and take it through to appeal.

Best of luck with the assessment tomorrow and I hope it all goes smoothly!

Cherylanne

He is 56 and although I'm his carer all I get for caring is NI contributions - I can't claim carer's allowance because he is on the lowest rate of DL'A but I think he does get SDP. I'm more concerned about the Housing Benefit and him having to sign on - which he just wouldn't be able to do and we will appeal if he is refused - it's just that I'm expecting the worst.

poppy123456

Thanks @Adrian_Scope for the tag.

HI @Cherylanne, If he's claiming low rate care DLA then no one would be claiming carers allowance for looking after him and he also wouldn't be claiming the severe disability premium in with his ESA because you need Mid/high rate care for these.

For council tax then he would need to contact his local council because all local councils have different rules. If he's exempt from it because of being severely mentally impaired (SMI) then it will most likely stay the same.

If the worst does happen once he's got the PIP decision then please do come back and i'm sure someone will advise you further.

Cherylanne

Thanks. Yes I knew he couldn't get carers but he does get something extra with his ESA - some sort of premium but not sure what. His 2 weekly payment for ESA alone is £256.90 - if that sheds any light. I gave up a permanent job to look after him and claim NI contributions in return so that my  (already delayed) state pension could be kept up to date. As long as theykeep paying his Housing Benefit and he keeps his council tax exemption at least I know he won't end up on the street and I can subsidise him for a short period until an appeal is sorted out.

Cherylanne

By the way, have you any idea how long it takes for the initial decision to come through?

Adrian_Scope

Thanks @poppy123456, I read it too quickly and didn’t notice the low rate DLA part. Sorry for the confusion @Cherylanne.

Cherylanne

No probs. and thanks both for your help. I'm at my wits end worrying about it - I'll need medication myself before this is over.

Adrian_Scope

The whole thing is very stressful! Hopefully the assessment will go well and you won't need to worry about any of this. 
Leave it about a week after the assessment and then he can request a copy of the assessor report. This will give you a good indication as to which way the decision may go. 
Best of luck to you both for tomorrow. I know how worrying it can be for the carer too. 

poppy123456

Cherylanne said:

Thanks. Yes I knew he couldn't get carers but he does get something extra with his ESA - some sort of premium but not sure what. His 2 weekly payment for ESA alone is £256.90 - if that sheds any light.

This will be the Enhanced disability premium, that's automatically paid when in the Support Group claiming Income Related. The premium will not be affect if he's not awarded PIP.

Cherylanne

Thanks. So many different benefits I can understand why they wanted to unite them but I don;t think they've done very well with UC.