Benefits

New! FREE Online Benefits Guide

A new guide to benefits is available online to help people receiving health-related benefits navigate their way through their entitlements to help make decisions about work and employment. Designed for people to work through themselves, this looks like it will be helpful to all those who work with people receiving benefits who want to understand the rules about permitted work. http://socialfirmsuk.co.uk/category/tags/benefits

Carer’s Allowance

Carer’s Allowance is a taxable benefit for people who cannot work or have a low income because they are looking after someone who is ill or disabled. You may be able to get Carer’s Allowance if you are aged 16 or over and spend at least 35 hours a week caring for a person who gets either:

• Attendance Allowance
• Disability Living Allowance at the the middle/higher rate of the careConstant Attendance Allowance at or above the normal maximum rate with an Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
• Constant Attendance Allowance at the basic (full day) rate with a War Disablement Pension

To claim Carers Allowance contact the Benefit Enquiry Line on

Telephone: 0845 6084321 between 8.30 am and 5.00 pm Monday to Thursday, and between 8.30 am and 4.30 pm on Fridays.

You can contact the Benefit Enquiry Line for a claim form and advice on how to fill it in.

Telephone: 0800 88 22 00 between 8.30 am and 6.30 pm Monday to Friday, and between 9.00 am and 1.00 pm on Saturdays.

Claiming other benefits and entitlements

If you qualify for Carer’s Allowance, you may also be entitled to:

• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Income Support
• Pension Credit
• Housing Benefit
• Council Tax Benefit

Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)

Some people are caring whilst looking for work and it might be appropriate for them to claim JSA. However, to claim JSA you must be available for and actively seeking work and you will have to sign on regularly to prove this.Like ESA, JSA can either be means-tested or based on National Insurance contributions. The amount of means-tested JSA you get varies according to family circumstances, income and age. It is not possible to get means tested JSA if your savings are higher than £16,000.

To claim Employment and Support Allowance or Jobseeker’s Allowance contact Jobcentre Plus on

0800 055 6688.

Pension Credit

Pension Credit is a benefit for people over 60 on a low income, and if you are a carer you may be entitled to an extra amount.  To find out if you are entitled and how much you could get, phone The Pension Service on 0845 60 60 265 or go to www.direct.gov.uk/pensions Claims can be completed for you over the phone, they will then be sent out for you to check and sign.

‘Caring about your pension’ gives information and advice on how carers can protect their pensions for the future and details of what carers who are already receiving their pension can do.

To be sent free copies of these guides call 0808 808 7777 or contact the Centre.

Tax Credits

Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit are paid to top up the incomes of families or workers with a low income. The amount you get of either/both depends on your household income and savings. Child Tax Credit is a means-tested benefit paid to people with a child under 16 (or 19 if they are in certain education or training). It can be paid to people both in and out of work. Extra money can be paid if you have a disabled child.

Disability Living Allowance (DLA)

Disability Living Allowance is a benefit paid to people of working age to help with the extra costs of long-term illness or disability. To qualify for Disability Living Allowance the claim must be made before the person’s 65th birthday. Income and savings do not affect whether you can get Disability Living Allowance, or how much you get. Disability Living Allowance is split into two parts and claims can be made for either or both of these components:

• care component – for the help someone needs to look after themselves and can be paid at one of three rates (lowest, middle or highest).
• mobility component – for the help someone needs getting around and can be paid at one of two rates (lower or higher).

To claim Disability Living Allowance call the Benefits Enquiry Line on 0800 88 22 00

Housing Benefit

If you have to pay rent and are on a low income, you may be able to get Housing Benefit to help. Your family circumstances, income, savings and rent charges will affect how much you get. You cannot usually get Housing

Benefit if you have savings of more than £16,000.  To claim Housing Benefit, contact North Tyneside Council’s housing benefit department on 0845 2000 104 or visit www.northtyneside.gov.uk

Council Tax Benefit

This helps people on low incomes to pay their Council Tax (or Rates). The amount you get depends upon your family circumstances, income, savings and the level of your Council Tax. You cannot get Council Tax Benefit (or Rates Rebate) if you have savings of £16,000 or more unless you qualify for the guarantee element of Pension Credit.

Reducing your Council Tax bill

Disability reduction scheme

You will qualify for this if a disabled person lives with you and you have an additional bathroom or kitchen in the property which is needed by the disabled person or there is a room (other than a bathroom, kitchen or toilet) needed by and mainly used by the disabled person or there is enough space in the property for the disabled person to use a wheelchair indoors.   This reduction applies regardless of the level of your income or savings.

Council Tax discounts

People who live alone qualify for a 25% Council Tax discount. If there is no one in the property, the discount will be 50%. In some circumstances, if the home is empty, you may qualify for full exemption. Seek further advice.

When a council works out how many people live in a property, certain people including some carers and people with a severe mental impairment, are not ‘counted’. This means you might get a discount even if you don’t

actually live alone. As a carer, you may qualify for the discount if:

• you provide at least 35 hours of care a week, and
• the person you care for gets the highest rate of Disability Living Allowance care component or the higher rate of Attendance Allowance, and
• you live with the person you are caring for, and
• you are not the partner of the person you care for, or their parent if they are under the age of 18.

You don’t have to get Carer’s Allowance to get this discount. If there is more than one carer in the property, each carer can be disregarded. Council Tax discounts can be backdated as far as 1993 if all the qualifying conditions were met during this time so it could mean you can get a significant refund on Council Tax you have already paid.

To claim Council Tax Benefit/discount or for more information, contact North Tyneside Council. 0845 2000 104 or visit  www.northtyneside.gov.uk

If you think you might be missing out on benefits you can have a full Benefits check by ringing CarersLine on 0808 808 7777

Tell your GP that you are a carer!

Your GP can help you look after your own health, and will be aware that when arranging any treatment for you, they must also make sure that the person you care for is looked after. As a carer, you can also ask for a free flu jab every winter, and it may be worth asking your GP for a regular health check.