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Universal credit extra bedroom

scraggs

Hi there can anyone clarify if you can claim extra bedroom if I am disabled ( secondary progressive ms ) I don't sleep in same bedroom as husband due to my health issues universal credit have told me I cannot claim for this bedroom as I don't have overnight carer ( my husband is my carer) but I'm sure I have seen somewhere if a person is disabled and on DLA middle rate care and cannot share a bedroom due to disability they too can get second bedroom rate and don't need to be like they say have to have a overnight carer? The other issue I have is esa I am in the lwcra support group but on contribution based have been since migrating over from 2011-12 I don't have no assets or savings am I entitled to top up of income based as well as contribution based ? I am 60 and get free prescriptions atm but before had to pay all my medication etc is it right that I'm on contribution based only ? So for 11 years been having to pay for all meds etc due to fact I am on contribution based only any advice greatly appreciated.

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Comments

poppy123456

Whether you're entitled to an extra bedroom will depend on the reasons why you can't share a room with your partner.

If you're claiming UC as well as Contributions based ESA then there's no income related top up for your ESA because you're claiming UC.

scraggs

Thankyou for your reply I did read somewhere that you can get a second bedroom paid for one is if you have an overnight carer and the other is if your disabled and get DLA middle care and cannot share the bedroom due to you disability I was turned down due to no overnight carer but do fit the other criteria IE due to my ms it's not possible to share same bedroom due to fact I have to keep getting up to use the toilet night cramps etc the list is long so need my own bedroom the other question is only been on UC for less than a year. so why was I put on just ESA contribution based support with no ESA income related when I was on low income. So sorry for the questions it's just I am confused on criteria for all these benefits but thank you for replying x

calcotti

scraggs said:.. only been on UC for less than a year. so why was I put on just ESA contribution based support with no ESA income related when I was on low income.

No one has been able to get income based ESA as a new claimant since 2018 (or earlier depending on where you live). UC replaces income based ESA.

However I note that you refer to

scraggs said:
..is esa I am in the lwcra support group but on contribution based have been since migrating over from 2011-12 I don't have no assets or savings am I entitled to top up of income based as well as contribution based ?

What are you referring to when you say migrating over? Was this from Incapacity Benefit? If so, DWP made a mess of the transfers and mistakenly didn’t award income based ESA top ups to lots of claimants. They were later forced to carry out an exercise to check all transferred claims but that exercise has been completed. You should have been contacted as part of that exercise and asked to supply additional information so that they could reassess your entitlement.

Many people were owed many thousands of pounds in arrears and one claimant has just won a claim for additional compensation because of the extra expenses incurred as a result of not having access to free prescriptions and free dental care etc.

sahra

Hi just wanted to let you know that as far as I know you can only get contribution based esa for 365 days I was awarded it a little while ago now and then after the first year I got transferred over to income based esa but the letters I received from the department did keep mentioning I was on contribution based esa but now on income related so I believe you shouldn’t have to pay for your prescriptions when this happens
hope this is helpful in some way

calcotti

sahra said:

..as far as I know you can only get contribution based esa for 365 days

That is not correct. The 365 day limit only applies to those not in the Support Group. A claimant in the Support Group can get it indefinitely.

For those on older ESA awards they could be getting a mix of contribution based and income based ESA (which DWP would generally label as an income based award).

There is no income based ESA for newer claimants, as per my previous reply.

scraggs

Hi thankyou for your replies it's all confusing to me to be honest☹️ I was put onto contribution based ESA from incapacity benefit. I made a claim for UC only last year ( as had to for help with my rent) as I'm in the lwcra group support my award is ongoing. And should have just moved over but had a big muddle up on that as I was not automatically moved over my ESA support group and they was asking me what work can I do etc but didn't ask my husband the person that is my carer as I'm not able to work but they just was harassing me not my husband but igot the mp involved and the the appointment to see when I could start work was completely stopped and I was still awarded my ESA lwcra support group. It was such a very stressfull time. I think I have missed out on the dwps mess up as I was just swapped over from incapacity benefit to ESA support group contributions without them looking to see if I was able to have income related top up at the time which we had no assets or savings but had to pay all my medication since approx 2011 sorry if I don't make sense of it all so mind blowing

calcotti

scraggs said:

I think I have missed out on the dwps mess up as I was just swapped over from incapacity benefit to ESA support group contributions without them looking to see if I was able to have income related top up at the time

As advised, you should have been contacted when they carried out the IB to ESA transfer review and would have been asked to supply information about your finances.

scraggs

Was not informed about anything from ESA 😢

poppy123456

Before you claimed UC was your husband working at all?

calcotti

scraggs said:

Was not informed about anything from ESA 😢

Perhaps they had enough information to know that you would have no entitlement to income based ESA (which would be based on you joint circumstances with your husband).

scraggs

Has no income husband on carers

scraggs

Husband not working has been my carer we just had contribution ESA support group carers and DLA middle rate care so was and still are struggling ☹️

calcotti

scraggs said:

Has no income husband on carers

If your only income was contribution based ESA and CA and not excluded by savings I would expect you to have been entitled to some income based ESA but it would depend on how much transitional protection was included on your ESA as part of the transfer. If the transitional amount exceeded the income based entitlement then no income based ESA would be payable.

scraggs

Hi thankyou for your reply much appreciated when I was on incapacity benefit it was the same amount that I am on on contribution based lwrca support group it's always remained same amount.

calcotti

scraggs said:

Hi thankyou for your reply much appreciated when I was on incapacity benefit it was the same amount that I am on on contribution based lwrca support group it's always remained same amount.

If it never changed that is because of the transitional protection that was added at the time of transfer from IB to ESA. It is possible that the amount of transitional protection was such that it took you over the amount you could have got on income based ESA. Not possible to say without knowing what you were getting and your circumstances at the time.

scraggs

Just DLA middle care high mobility carers allowance and incapacity benefit

poppy123456

It's impossible to know without knowing exactly how much ESA you were receiving before you claimed UC.

scraggs

Same as now ? Was 99 pounds on incapacity benefit but that was back in 2011-2012 I do believe I have was not informed correctly ESA contribution is classed on ni contributions ? But I have not worked ? And don't have assets or savings like I said no income just incapacity DLA middle care high mobility and carers allowance and had to pay all medications due to being put on contribution based ESA ! And not being entitled to income based ? Income based is based on your income isn't it ?? So if on low income surely should not have been on contribution based ESA only or should been on income based only ? Totally confused 🤔😢

scraggs

Atm contribution is £75 pound ish with additional payment of 35 pound ish ? I'm not sure exact but near enough correct as the 35 pound ish is top up due to support group but incapacity benefit was near the same amount

calcotti

scraggs said:

I do believe I have was not informed correctly ESA contribution is classed on ni contributions ? But I have not worked ?

Anybody transferred from Incapacity Benefit was treated as if they had paid the necessary NI contributions and was therefore entitled to contribution based ESA. Transitional protection was included at the time of transfer so the amount of contribution based ESA would not be less than the previous benefit entitlement.

Current amount for contribution based ESA Support group is £114.10/week. Are you still receiving the ESA?