Help — Scope | Disability forum
Please read our updated community house rules and community guidelines.

Help

mezza91
mezza91 Community member Posts: 3 Listener
Hi I'm just wondering if anybody could help me as I need some advice. I haven't been able to work since November 2016 due to depression, anxiety and emotionally unstable personality disorder I had my assessment for esa in June 2017 and was put into the support group of the contribution based esa, the following month I was awarded high daily living component of pip. After recently looking at all of it in really confused about the disability premiums basic, sever, enhanced, with esa as their are so many conflicting stories out their whether imentitled to it theirs are some saying you have to be on income related to qualify, other parts it says you have to be out of work for a year and other saying if you don't claim careers allowance which I don't and receive the high daily live rate you qualify, my registered person phoned up yesterday to speak to esa and the woman advised me to fill out a form online which I did with my registered person and they asked question whether I lived alone which I don't, am I in receipt of careers allowance which I don't do I get high rate of dailiy living for pip  which I do is parnter registers blind he is not and that was it. If I didn't qualify why didn't she tell me on the phone that I didn't and not have me fill out the form as if it doesn't apply to contribution surely it's in their database?or do you still get it for contribution or being out of work 12 months?  She said I would hear back in the post in the next couple of days so I'm just a little bit confused can anyone help thanks. 

Comments

  • Richard_Scope
    Richard_Scope Posts: 3,638 Scope online community team
    Hi @mezza91

    Thanks for your post and welcome to the Community. 
    Scope
    Specialist Information Officer and Cerebral Palsy Programme Lead

    'Concerned about another member's safety or wellbeing? Flag your concerns with us.

    Want to tell us about your experience in the community? Talk to our chatbot and let us know. 
  • BenefitsTrainingCo
    BenefitsTrainingCo Community member Posts: 2,621 Pioneering
    mezza91,

    What Mike says is absolutely right - the call centre won't have the knowledge to tell you, but the information you gave should be used to make a decision on whether you can get income-related ESA.

    To clarify - you can ONLY get the extra premiums in income-related ESA. There are lots of reasons which would stop you getting income-related ESA, including having a partner who earns too much or just works too many hours.

    Each premium has some additional rules as well. There isn't a disability premium in ESA, so no need to worry about that one. For the severe disability premium, it's not about whether you get carer's allowance but about whether someone else gets it for looking after you. However, in your case, I'm assuming your partner isn't on PIP/DLA, and you've said that he isn't registered blind, so I don't think you are entitled to the severe disability premium.

    If you're on the highest rate daily living component of PIP, then that is relevant for the enhanced disability premium. You might be entitled to that, but you won't be able to get it if you can't get income-related ESA for another reason (for example, because of your partner's work).

    I hope this helps! There are so many rules, it is confusing, and I know the DWP don't explain it - but see what happens, & if you don't understand the answer you get in the post, feel free to come back to the forum for advice.

    Will
     
    The Benefits Training Co:

  • mezza91
    mezza91 Community member Posts: 3 Listener
    Thank you everyone for your advice really helped :)

Brightness

Do you need advice on your energy costs?


Scope’s Disability Energy Support service is open to any disabled household in England or Wales in which one or more disabled people live. You can get free advice from an expert adviser on managing energy debt, switching tariffs, contacting your supplier and more. Find out more information by visiting our
Disability Energy Support webpage.