new style esa and carers allowance

gildenel · December 2018

hi I have been receiving carers allowance for my disabled daughter for a number of years, we are now in receipt of universal credit, and I have been awarded new style esa support group, so the carers allowance is being deducted from the universal credit, but now im not getting the carers premium either, I rang uc and was told this is because im not allowed to be a carer, so would I be better discontinuing my claim for carers allowance? also I applied for pip and was turned down by tribunal because I receive carers allowance, or so I was told by my advisor. its just we rely on the carers allowance weekly at the moment.

BenefitsTrainingCo · January 2019

wance

gildenel,

In Universal Credit, you can't get the limited capability for work-related activity (support group) element for the same person as the carer element - so although you obviously are a carer, you can't get the carer element in UC, because you get the higher support group element (called LCWRA element in UC).

You're right about the carer's allowance (CA) - it just comes off your UC. It's up to you whether you give up the CA. At the moment it doesn't make any difference to your income because it comes right back off your UC, so if you give it up, you won't be any better off, but you won't be any worse off either.

Tribunals can be suspicious of disabled people who claim CA. It depends of course on what you are claiming PIP for, and what you have to do to provide care for your daughter. Case law makes it clear that a tribunal should look carefully at these facts and not just assume that because you get CA you can't also meet the descriptors to get enough points for an award of PIP daily living and/or mobility component.

If the tribunal relied on your caring responsibilities as evidence that you didn't have problems with the PIP activities and so couldn't score enough points, then it should have investigated to find out the nature of the tasks undertaken when you are caring and explain why they are relevant to PIP activities too. If they didn't do that, it could be an error of law. If you had an adviser, you might want to check with them (although depending when this all happened, it may be too late to do anything about the tribunal decision now - worth asking though).

Now you are on UC, you might decide that as giving up CA won't change your money, you could do that and make a new claim for PIP for yourself? Of course it will take some time to get a decision on that but it may be that you'll have a better chance of getting it if you don't say that you are also caring for your daughter - like I say it depends on the interaction between what you do for her and the points you think you should get in the PIP activities.

The only thing to watch out for is if you live in Scotland. If you live in Scotland, then I would be very careful before giving up carer's allowance. That's because in Scotland, you get an extra amount, called the carer's allowance supplement and worth £442 a year at the moment. That does NOT get deducted from UC so can be worth receiving. You still don't get the carer element though.

I hope that gives you a bit more information. You don't have to worry about your national insurance credits if you give up carer's allowance, by the way. You'll still get those anyway because of the other benefits you are on.

Will

lindaloo1964 · January 2019

Hi my husband has been on esa wrag for about 6 years because of his illnesses, however as I'm on pip and he's at home all day everyday and he cares for me ( taking into account his own limitations too), but he only applied for this 3 years ago.
Before esa he was on incapacity benefit, and the dwp have recently been changing our amounts of payment(esa) so we rang them up so as not to owe them anything, as we have been getting slightly more money and we didn't know why, we were told our case is complex, leading us to believe we may be included in the IB repayment situation, so now my husband has received an assessment form for his esa and we can't understand what has prompted this as we haven't got a change of circumstances we are exactly the same, so why would he need another assessment as if its a change of circumstances. Advice gratefully received. L

poppy123456 · January 2019

Hi,

It's perfectly normal to be re-assessed for ESA regularly, it happens to everyone. They can re-assess you at anytime. The form that he's received needs to be filled in and returned no later than the date stated in the later. If it's not received by that date then he risks being found fit for work and his ESA will stop. There's no extension of time given to return the form.

He needs to send evidence with the form because they very rarely contact anyone for evidence. Expect another face to face assessment as most people have them.

lindaloo1964 · January 2019

hi poppy.thankyou for your reply,I realised it might have been sent in error because the dwp stopped my pip for two days thinking my review form had been sent in late,however they found it and it had been signed for in time,so maybe the esa work assessment form was sent before my pip was reinstated,surely my husband being my carer means he doesn't have to look for work(he has many illnesses too).does this make sense that they sent the form in error of my pip and carers allowance temporarily stopping.hubby was found unfit to go to secular work about 18 years ago,but caring for me was advised by his advisor down at the assessment office,as my needs are much different and only classed as 35 hours,he manages this.so I'm hoping he doesn't need to have an assessment with his illnesses.

poppy123456 · January 2019

HI, @lindaloo1964

Is the form he received a work capability assessment form?

poppy123456 · January 2019

@lindaloo56

I've just re-read your other reply. Those that transferred from IB to ESA some were incorrectly paid because they were placed on Contributions based ESA and weren't assessed for an Income related top up. DWP are in the process of contacting all those that transferred across and are sending them an ESA3 form to be assessed for this top up. They are being sent this form, whether they qualify or not.

As your partner is in the WRAG then he won't claiming Contributions based ESA because this is only paid for 52 weeks, unless you're placed into the support group and then it's paid for as long as you remain in the group. So, he must be claiming Income related ESA and because this is means tested benefit then you will claim as a couple.

The form he's been sent could be the ESA3 form or the work capability assessment form, you'll need to check what it says on the front of the form. As he's claiming Income related ESA his payments are most likely correct but if it is the ESA3 form then fill in just in case. No face to face assessment is needed for this.

If it's the work capability assessment form then it will need to be filled in and returned no later than the date stated on the letter. If it's not returned by this date he could be found fit for work for failing to return the form.

Claiming carers allowance will not exempt him from being re-assessed for ESA, i'm afraid. Everyone in the WRAG and most people in the Support Group can be re-assessed anytime from 3 months. Hope this helps.

new style esa and carers allowance

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wance