Income for disabled — Scope | Disability forum
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Income for disabled

Bigsigh
Bigsigh Community member Posts: 5 Listener
Hello all can anyone p,ease help or advise, after my back injury I fought for a year with the benifit department to basicly get what I was entitled too after a year of medicals and told I'm fit for work ( I'm not) my sickness benefit exhausted, due to my wife working full time
Unfortunately her wage doesn't cover a household of two adults and a teenager, I get DLA but that gets my car otherwise I would be housebound,
Is ther anything else I can claim or funding to apply for or grants so we can make ends meet,

the other thing is I do need to do something got my mental state too and so was advised I could poss look at trying to qualify or apply to be a driving instructor where no physical work is required ,
But again I've no money to do this again is ther any funding grants ect to hell me

There's just no help at all for our situation , Thankyou all look forward to your advise hopefully for a brighter future

Comments

  • Debbie_Alumni
    Debbie_Alumni Community member Posts: 932 Pioneering
    Hi Bigsigh,

    Did you appeal the fit for work decision? If so, what was the outcome?
    It sounds as though you were on contribution based ESA and you only get this for 52 weeks if you're in the work related activity group (WRAG).
    If you had been assessed and placed in the support group, you would have been able to continue receiving contributory ESA for as long as you continued to meet the eligibility criteria for the support group.
    If you didn't appeal the decision back then, it would be worth looking into whether you can bring a late challenge and what your chances of success would be.
    I can help you find some local support with this.

    Best wishes
    Debbie
  • Bigsigh
    Bigsigh Community member Posts: 5 Listener
    Hi ther Thankyou for your help and reply , what if was is I do get DLA but granted for another year before my review,
    I've spinal problems so need a car to get about even short distances ,
    I don't get ESa as I've exhausted my 52 weeks like you say ,and I do not
    sign for my stamp , I don't see the need to sighn seems I've paid 34 years max into the system,
    if I signed on for (ESA /stamp only) i would be pressured to seek employment , I actually took voluntary redundancy due to my injury , I can't work because of my injury and medication so our only income is only my wife's wages,
    she's works long hours just to keep me, it's not fair really ,
    I can't even get a discount on council tax nor a weekly benifit, the system was horrible to me constantly trying to get me to go in courses and do CV when I'm registered disabled
    I told them point blank I can't work manual ,but the down side is we are slipping financially
    I just wondered if ther was any grants or funding I could apply for to maybe try and help me Or even help to try and get training and help to maybe set up driving lessons ect. As there no physical needed for that just oral instruction ,so us ther any sort of help for me funding ect ect , Thankyou
  • Debbie_Alumni
    Debbie_Alumni Community member Posts: 932 Pioneering
    edited March 2016
    Hi Bigsigh,

    You could try http://www.turn2us.org.uk which has grants database comprising of around 3000 charities offering funding.

    It might be difficult to find funding though particularly for this type of learning. It's worth checking the government website to see if there is any other help like an advanced learning loan. https://www.gov.uk/advanced-learning-loans

    I haven't been able to find any specific funding for becoming a driving instructor but I hope that the above suggestions go some way to helping you find the funding you need.

    Best wishes
    Debbie

  • Bigsigh
    Bigsigh Community member Posts: 5 Listener
    Hi ther   Thankyou for your reply. When I see what other people min amount to live on I feel we fall below that 
    with just my wife's warming and for it to keep three of us 
    what is the limit before you get help we get a total income for three of us two adults one child 

    24k a year before tax. That's not a lot 

    when I saw a program recentl where the give the family a years Benifits of
    27.5 k. They not paying tax and that's a basic wage. 
    I feel we need finisncisl help and should qualify for it 
    from the goverment. At least council tax discount 



  • Debbie_Alumni
    Debbie_Alumni Community member Posts: 932 Pioneering
    It might be worth running our benefits calculator just to see if there's any other help you might be entitled to. http://www.scope.org.uk/support/disabled-people/check-benefits If you get stuck or need some help feel free to get in touch with me at the helpline.

    With regards to the council tax, there's information on the government website about discounts for disabled people. https://www.gov.uk/council-tax/discounts-for-disabled-people. Local authorities all have their own council tax support schemes. I don't know which authority you live in so I can't find you information about your local authority's support scheme but I'm happy to look it up. If you would like me to do this, email me at the helpline and let me know which local authority you live in.




  • Bigsigh
    Bigsigh Community member Posts: 5 Listener
    Aw Thankyou so much for your advice and help il do what you've told me first with the calculater And go from tner :) 

Brightness