I need help: Carers Premium?

Welcome to the community @bignig121,

as as suggested by steve51 previous, there's lots of advice on benefits on the link provided and benefit advisors on hand to answer question also, please do see if they can assist you further on this matter,

happy to help if needed, just give me a shout.

kind regards 

bignige121,
Income-related ESA isn't possible to get now. Unless your wife is already receiving ESA (which she isn't) you can't make a new claim for income-related ESA. It has been replaced by UC.

You might want to check how much UC you would get in your current circumstances. Your wife wouldn't have to do anything because she is a carer. You would get a carer premium in the UC, but carer's allowance would come off as income. You shouldn't have to look for work because you earn enough to not have to work search, although you might have to do other things like go to interviews at the job centre. There could be a problem with your part-time study if it interfered with what you have to do to get your UC, and there's even a possibility they could decide that you can't get UC at all because of the part-time study (if it's not compatible with your work-related requirements).

I'd be very cautious about claiming UC because of all the above. In addition, if you are currently getting Housing Benefit (HB), it might be better to say with your current situation as HB doesn't require you to do anything.

It's possible that your wife could claim what is called 'new style' contributory ESA instead of carer's allowance. She would need to have worked and paid national insurance contributions for at least one tax year in the past. Any contributory ESA she gets would mean carer's allowance stops, as you say. Contributory ESA starts off at £73.10 a week but could be more if she is found to have limited capability for work-related activity (also called the support group). That involves going to a work capability assessment (usually a medical which is held face to face). If you claim UC as well, the contributory ESA counts as income and comes off the UC. 

She can still be someone who doesn't have to do anything to get UC, even if she doesn't claim carer's allowance, as long as she continues to have caring responsibilities for your son and he still gets benefits (I assume DLA?)

The thing I'd be slightly worried about is that if her PIP stopped because of her caring responsibilities, it's possible that ESA/UC will take that into account as well. That is, they might decide that she can't have limited capability for work/work-related activity because she is caring. That isn't necessarily correct at all, but I am worried that could come up in a work capability assessment.

As regards her PIP, I don't know why you've decided not to appeal but if there is any chance PIP stopped because your wife is a carer, it is worth appealing as this isn't necessarily correct. The decision has to show how the caring activities relate to the PIP activities. It may be worth appealing anyway if you are not sure why PIP stopped - these decision are often wrong. I know it's stressful, but lots of people on this forum have been successful at appeal (mandatory reconsideration hardly ever works for anyone, unfortunately).

Will