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LCWRA and help with childcare costs

mrstiger

Hello

I’m new here, hi everyone! From extensive googling this seems like a wonderful helpful community but I couldn’t find the answer to my exact query so thought I’d set up an account here to ask.

I had my WCA last Wednesday and found out yesterday I’ve been awarded LCWRA (I know!!! Was expecting to wait for months!)

I understand that the LCWRA component of UC will be backdated to 3 months after I initially provided evidence. I submitted the claim on 21/1/21 and provided a fit note on 2/2/21. I think that means the LCWRA component will be awarded from 21/5/21 - could anyone confirm if that’s right please?

My main question though is about the childcare element and how that works with LCWRA. My daughter goes to nursery as I’m not physically able to look after her all the time that my husband is working (self employed low wage). Our savings have been pretty much obliterated paying for this. From everything I’ve read I’m pretty sure that we will now be eligible for help with up to 85% of the nursery fees up to whatever the monetary limit is, but I’ve used different benefit calculators to try to check and only 1 of them included the childcare element in our calculation. Which has scared me. Can someone please confirm if I’m right that we’ll get help? And if we will, any ideas when/if it will be backdated to at all?

Thank you so much for any help.

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calcotti

mrstiger said:

I submitted the claim on 21/1/21 and provided a fit note on 2/2/21. I think that means the LCWRA component will be awarded from 21/5/21

It's not as exact as that. The LCWRA is awarded for whole monthly assessment periods. The LCWRA element is included in the fourth assessment period beginning after you notified the health condition. What days of the month do your monthly payments cover?

calcotti

mrstiger said:.. I’ve used different benefit calculators to try to check and only 1 of them included the childcare element in our calculation. Which has scared me. Can someone please confirm if I’m right that we’ll get help? And if we will, any ideas when/if it will be backdated to at all?

Calculator results are obviously very dependant on how you input the information and it is easy to get this wrong. Because you have LCWRA you should be able to claim childcare costs.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-and-childcare/universal-credit-childcare-guide

If you have a partner you must both be in paid work, or have accepted an offer of paid work. Childcare costs may be paid if one partner is working and the other cannot look after the child or children because they:

have limited capability for work or limited capability for work and work related activity

care for a severely disabled adult or severely disabled child

are temporarily absent from the household (for example, in hospital, residential care or in custody)

mrstiger

Hiya

Thanks for the quick reply!

Sorry I wasn’t clear. Our assessment periods are from the 21st of one month to the 20th of the next month. So I was thinking that as I submitted my fit note on 2nd Feb, the first assessment period will be 21st Feb to 20th March. Then second will be 21st March to 20th April, then third will be 21st April to 20th May. Making me eligible for LCWRA payments from 21st May I hope?? ???

calcotti

AP is 21st to 20th of the month. Assuming your Fit Note covers the period from 21st January (or at least 28th January) then i would expect LCWRA to be included in payment for April to May AP (payable on 27th May). If DWP take the health condition as not reported until 2nd February then LCWRA would not be payable until 27th June.