Factsheet 52 July 2014
Disability Living Allowance
About this factsheet
This factsheet covers Disability Living Allowance (DLA), a tax-free and non-means-tested benefit to help cover the costs of disability. A gradual process to phase DLA out for people of working age and replace it with a new benefit called Personal Independence Payment (PIP) started in April 2013.
If you are making a new claim and you are over 16 you can no longer make a new claim for DLA. If you are 64 or under you should claim PIP instead of DLA (see Age UK’s Factsheet 87, Personal Independence
Payment, for details).
If you are 65 or over and you have care needs you may be able to claim Attendance Allowance (AA). Please see Age UK’s Factsheet 34, Attendance
Allowance, for more details.
The information in this factsheet is correct for the period April 2014 – March 2015. Benefit rates and other figures are expected to increase again in April 2015 but rules and figures sometimes change during the year.
The information given in this factsheet is applicable in England, Wales and Scotland. Different rules may apply in Northern Ireland. Readers in Northern Ireland should contact Age NI for information specific to where they live – see section 10 for details.
Section 10 also has details of how to order other Age UK’s factsheets and information materials and the telephone number for Age UK Advice.
If you need more detailed advice or representation, it is often best to find a local service offering this. Your respective Age UK organisation can give you contact details for a local Age UK, or you could contact one of the
Inside this factsheet
1 Recent developments 4
2 What is Disability Living Allowance? 4
2.1 How much is DLA? 5
3 DLA or PIP? 5
4 Who qualifies for DLA? 5
4.1 Rules about your age 6
4.2 The care component 7
4.3 DLA mobility component 8
5 Changes of circumstances 10
5.1 If your condition changes 10
5.2 Terminal illness 11
5.3 Going abroad 12
5.4 Hospital and care homes 13
6 Decisions and payment 15
6.1 If you disagree with a decision 15
6.2 Payment 16
7 Reassessing existing DLA claimants for PIP 16
8 DLA and other benefits 19
8.1 DLA as income 19
8.2 Overlapping benefits 19
8.3 Effect on means-tested benefits 20
8.4 Council Tax 21
8.5 Benefits for carers 21
9 Useful organisations 21
1
Recent developments
The Disability Living Allowance (DLA) rates for 2014/15 are as follows.
Care component Highest £81.30 Middle £54.45 Lowest £21.55 Mobility component Higher £56.75 Lower £21.55
Personal Independence Payment (PIP), a new benefit for people of working
age with disabilities has replaced Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for all new claimants over 16.
A process to reassess many existing DLA claimants for PIP started in
October 2013 but some existing DLA claimants will be unaffected (see section 7).
The residence conditions for DLA changed in April 2013 (see section 4) as
have the rules about payment during temporary absence abroad (see section 5.3.1).
2
What is Disability Living Allowance?
Disability Living Allowance is for people who made a claim before the age of 65, and who, because of their physical or mental disability or illness:
need help with personal care, or need supervision by day, or need
someone to watch over them at night; or
are unable to walk, have great difficulty walking, or need someone with
them when walking in unfamiliar places outdoors; or
DLA does not depend on national insurance contributions, is not affected by savings or income (other than Constant Attendance Allowance and War Pensioners’ Mobility Supplement) and is paid on top of other benefits or pensions. DLA is not taxable.
2.1
How much is DLA?
There are two parts to DLA: the ‘care component’, which is paid at one of three rates, and the ‘mobility component’, which has two different rates. Care component Highest £81.30 Middle £54.45 Lowest £21.55 Mobility component Higher £56.75 Lower £21.55
These components can be claimed separately or together and a DLA award can be for an indefinite or fixed period.
3
DLA or PIP?
A new benefit called Personal Independence Payment (PIP) was introduced during 2013 and since 10 June 2013 now replaces DLA for all new claims
See Age UK factsheet 87, Personal Independence Payment for more details. If you are already receiving DLA, see section 7 for information about whether and when you may be required to put in a claim for PIP and stop claiming DLA.
4
Who qualifies for DLA?
To qualify for DLA you must fulfil all the following conditions:
you meet one or more of the care or mobility conditions described in
sections 4.2 and 4.3, and
you were aged under 65 when you first claimed, and
you have satisfied the disability conditions for at least three months, and
are expected to satisfy them for at least the next six months (but if you are terminally ill, there are special rules - see section 5.2), and
you are not subject to immigration control, and
you are habitually resident in the UK when you make your claim and have
been in the UK for at least 104 of the preceding 156 weeks (unless you are applying under the special rules for terminally ill people).
Some people can be treated as having been in the UK while abroad,
including service personnel and some people from European Economic Area (EEA) states.
If you are a UK citizen who is living in an EEA state or Switzerland and you have a link to the UK social security system – for example you receive other UK state benefits – you may be able to claim the care component of DLA without being resident in the UK.
4.1
Rules about your age
Although you must have become disabled, and made a claim, before the age of 65, once you are awarded DLA it will continue, without an age limit, as long as you satisfy either the care or mobility conditions (unless or until you are required to make a claim for PIP instead; see section 7).
If you are receiving DLA and your care needs change after you are 65, you may be able to qualify for the middle or highest rate of the care component after six months.
You cannot normally start to receive the lowest rate of the care component or any rate of the mobility component after the age of 65. However, you may be able to receive it if you are already getting one of the components and you can show that you met the conditions for the other component before the age of 65. See section 4.2 for more information.
4.2
The care component
The care component of DLA is for people who need help with personal care, supervision or watching over because of physical or mental disability. It does not matter if you live alone or with other people, or whether you have a carer - what matters is that you need help with personal care, supervision or
watching over. Whether you are actually getting any help is irrelevant, and you do not have to spend the allowance on paying for care: it is up to you how you use it.
However, your local authority may take your DLA care component into account when assessing whether, and how much, you need to pay for any care services you receive. See Age UK’s Factsheet 41, Local Authority
assessment for community care services, for more detailed information. In
Wales, see Age Cymru’s Factsheet 41w, Local authority assessment for
community care services in Wales.
Middle and highest rate care component
You will receive the middle rate if you meet either a day or a night condition. The highest rate is for those who meet both a day and a night condition, or are terminally ill.
Day conditions You may meet the day-time conditions if, because of your disability or illness, you require frequent help throughout the day in
connection with your bodily functions, such as eating, getting in or out of bed, going to the toilet, washing and taking medication. Seeing and hearing are also bodily functions. For example, if you are visually impaired and need someone to read your post to you, or you are deaf and need help with communicating, this could help you satisfy the requirement for needing ‘frequent help’. You may also meet the conditions if you need continual supervision throughout the day to avoid putting yourself or others in substantial danger. Supervision might be needed if you are in danger of falling, or you get confused, or have fits or seizures or your condition is likely to deteriorate or relapse without warning. You may also meet the conditions if you need someone with you when you are having renal dialysis.
Night conditions You may meet the night-time conditions if, because of your disability or illness, you require prolonged (at least 20 minutes) or repeated (at least twice nightly) attention during the night to help you with your bodily functions – for example, going to the toilet or getting in and out of bed. You may also meet this condition if another person needs to be awake for a prolonged period or at frequent intervals throughout the night (generally at least three times a night) to watch over you to avoid putting yourself or others in substantial danger.
Lowest rate care component
You may receive the lowest rate if you need help with bodily functions for a significant portion of the day. For example, you might need some help to get up in the morning and go to bed in the evening but do not need any help for the rest of the day.
You may also receive the lowest rate if, because of your disability, you could not prepare a cooked main meal for yourself using a traditional cooker, even if you had the ingredients to hand. The meal can consist of whatever is
appropriate to your culture. Even if you would not normally cook anyway, you need to describe how your ability to plan, prepare and cook a meal would be affected by your illness or disability.
4.3
DLA mobility component
Although the mobility component is given to people who are unable or virtually unable to walk, or need help getting around, you can spend it how you choose. It is not available to people who become disabled, or make a claim, after the age of 65. Local authorities cannot take into account your mobility component when assessing whether, and how much, you need to pay for any care services.
Lower rate conditions
You may receive the lower rate of the mobility component if you can walk but need someone with you most of the time for guidance or supervision when out of doors in an unfamiliar place.
Higher rate conditions
You may receive the higher rate mobility component if you meet one of the following conditions:
you are unable to walk or have great difficulty in walking without severe
discomfort or seriously affecting your health because of a physical
disability. Several factors are taken into account: the distance you can walk, the time it takes to cover that distance, your walking speed and the way you walk. There are no set distances or times; everything is considered
together. Any symptoms you experience when walking, like pain, breathlessness, or dizziness, are relevant, as are recovery times after walking.
you are registered severely sight-impaired (blind) and assessed as 80%
disabled through deafness and need someone with you when you go outdoors.
you are certified severely sight impaired or blind, and you meet particular
requirements regarding your visual acuity and visual field.
you have lost both legs at or above the ankle or were born without legs or
feet.
you are severely mentally impaired and have severe behavioural problems
and get the highest rate of the care component. Using a car
If you get the higher rate of the mobility component of DLA, you can apply for road tax exemption for one car. It does not matter whether you are the owner of the car, but the car will have to be used primarily for your benefit to get the exemption. You will get details about this and the Motability Scheme when you first get the allowance.
Under the Motability scheme you can use your higher rate mobility
component to get a contract-hire or hire-purchase car, powered wheelchair or mobility scooter. To access this scheme your higher mobility award must have at least 12 months left to run.
You can also apply to your local authority for a Blue Badge, which allows parking with some limitations but usually without charge at meters or where waiting is restricted. This can be used in any car in which you are travelling. Some local authorities make a small charge for issuing the badge.
See Age UK’s Factsheet 73, Driving and parking, for more information about Blue Badges, Motability and Road Tax exemptions.
5
Changes of circumstances
The decision letter will include information about your responsibility to inform the DWP of any changes in your circumstances that might affect your claim. If you are currently receiving a lower level of one or both components of DLA, but your condition has deteriorated so you might now qualify for a higher level, you can ask for your case to be reconsidered. You will need to satisfy the conditions for the higher level of the benefit for 3 months before it can be paid. See section 5.1 if you are over 65 and receiving DLA to find out the rules about applying for a different rate of the benefit.
If you ask for your case to be looked at again, there is a possibility that your DLA might be stopped or reduced, rather than increased. You may also be told that you have to apply for PIP instead (see section 7).You may want to seek help from a local advice agency to discuss your position and to ensure that you include all the relevant information before you ask for your DLA to be reconsidered.
5.1
If your condition changes
If you are receiving DLA, and your condition changes so that you think you may qualify for a different award, you can contact the DWP’s Disability and Carers Service and ask for your case to be looked at again. Write to them at the address on your award letter or telephone the disability benefits helpline. You will probably be asked to complete a form giving details of how your needs have changed. You may be required to put in a claim for Personal Independence Payment instead of DLA – see section 7.
Important: It is a good idea to get independent advice before you contact the DWP to ask for your claim to be looked at again. An adviser will be able to tell you whether you will be reassessed for DLA or whether you will have to claim PIP instead. You may also be able to get advice about whether you might qualify for a higher rate of DLA or PIP and how to explain your needs fully. Unless you are terminally ill (see 5.2) you need to satisfy the conditions for three months to get a higher rate of DLA. If your needs have increased and you tell the DWP within a month of completing the three-month qualifying period for the higher rate, the increase is backdated to the date you
completed the three-month period.
If you are 65 or over and receiving DLA, and your condition changes, you cannot usually start to receive the lowest care component but you can start to receive the middle or highest care component. So if, for example, you are receiving middle rate care and you now need help during the day and the night you can apply for highest rate care. When you are over 65 you have to satisfy the conditions for six months before your allowance can be increased. Once you are 65, you cannot normally be awarded the lowest rate of the care component or either rate of the mobility component of DLA for the first time. Nor can you move from lower rate mobility to higher rate mobility after the age of 65. The only exception to these rules is where:
you already have an award of DLA, and
you can show that you met the qualifying conditions for the new award
before you were 65, and
none of the relevant qualifying conditions have been introduced since your
65th birthday.
5.2
Terminal illness
If you become terminally ill while receiving DLA you should inform the DWP and ask for your claim to be looked at again under the special rules for
people who are terminally ill. If you have a terminal illness you will qualify for the highest rate care component. You may also qualify for the highest rate mobility component.
You will be considered to be terminally ill if you have a progressive illness that is likely to limit your life expectancy to six months or less. It is impossible to say exactly how long someone will live and some people who receive DLA under these rules live much longer than six months.
An application can be made by another person, on behalf of someone who is terminally ill, with or without their knowledge. This makes it possible for
people to receive DLA under the special rules without knowing their prognosis.
5.3
Going abroad
5.3.1 Temporary absence abroad
If you go abroad temporarily and you intend to return within 52 weeks your DLA entitlement will normally continue for 13 weeks. If you are going abroad specifically to receive medical treatment, DLA can continue for 26 weeks. Different rules apply to members of the armed forces and their families, aircraft workers and mariners.
5.3.2 Exporting DLA to the EEA and Switzerland
Sometimes DLA, PIP, Carers Allowance and Attendance Allowance can be paid if you leave the UK to live in another European Economic Area (EEA) state or Switzerland. If you have already moved to another EEA state or
Switzerland and your DLA was stopped when you left, you may be able to get it reinstated. You may also be able to make a claim for the care component of DLA from another EEA state or Switzerland if you have a genuine and
sufficient link to the UK social security system.
For further information and/or to request a claim form write to: Exportability Co-ordinator, Room B201, Pension, Disability and Carers Service, Warbreck House, Warbreck Hill Road, Blackpool, FY2 OYE or email
[email protected]. If you have internet access there is more information on the Government website at www.gov.uk/exportability-team. For independent advice, see section 10 for the telephone numbers for Age UK Advice who can give you contact details for a local Age UK, or contact one of the independent organisations listed in section 9.
5.4
Hospital and care homes
Your entitlement to DLA can be affected if you are in, or move into, a hospital or care home. If you are receiving DLA and you go into, or come out of, a hospital or care home you should always notify the DWP.
5.4.1 DLA in a hospital
If you are receiving DLA, it stops 28 days after you enter an NHS hospital (as an NHS patient) or ‘similar institution’ (this is not defined but could be a care home where you are fully funded by the NHS). If you were a patient on 8 April 2013 and had a Motability agreement, the amount payable from your DLA mobility component will still be paid while the agreement continues or until 8 April 2016 if this is earlier than the date that your Motability agreement is due to end. If you leave hospital after 8 April 2013 but become a patient again more than 28 days later, this protection will no longer apply.
If you are already in an NHS hospital, you cannot start receiving DLA. But if you are currently receiving one component (care or mobility) and you also satisfy the disability conditions for the other component you may be able to start receiving this when you go home.
There is a linking rule that applies if you go back into hospital after being at home for fewer than 29 days. The two (or more) hospital stays are linked, the numbers of days in each stay are added together and DLA stops after a total of 28 days. But you are still paid DLA for the days spent at home in between the hospital stays.
If you are terminally ill and the DWP is aware of this, you can still receive DLA if you go into a non-NHS hospice.
There are different rules for children who go into hospital and who receive DLA.
5.4.2 DLA in a care home
The mobility component of DLA is not affected by admission to a care home, unless your place is funded (usually in full) by NHS continuing healthcare funding, in which case you are treated as if you are a hospital patient (see section 5.4.1).
Whether or not you can receive DLA care component in a care home
depends on how the care home fees are being met. If you are paying the full charges in a care home, with or without the help of benefits like Pension Credit or Income Support, you can claim and receive DLA care component (provided you fulfil the other conditions for it). You can also get DLA care component if you are self-funding apart from contributions from the NHS towards nursing care payments (this is not the same as NHS continuing healthcare funding).
If the NHS pays your care home fees through NHS continuing healthcare funding, you will be treated as if you are in hospital and your DLA care component will be affected as described in section 5.4.1.
If you get local authority financial support towards your care home fees, you cannot start to receive the care component of DLA. If you are already getting the care component of DLA, it stops 28 days after admission or sooner if you were in hospital before moving to the care home. But you will still retain an ‘underlying entitlement’ to the allowance, so that if you move out of the home you could start to receive it again.
If the local authority provides temporary funding that will later be reimbursed by you (for example, under a deferred payment agreement), DLA care
component can be paid for that period.
The linking rule described in section 5.4.1 also applies to people who go into care homes for temporary periods, perhaps for regular respite care. If your respite care is funded in full or in part by a local authority or by NHS
continuing healthcare funding, your DLA will stop after 28 days of respite care, whether the 28 days occur in one block or in one or more linked
periods. If you need regular periods of respite care in a care home, it may be possible to plan these periods so that DLA is not affected. Seek advice if this applies to you.
In Scotland, if an individual claims free personal care then AA or DLA (Care) will stop after 28 days in a care home. However, DLA (Care) or AA are not affected if the individual only gets help with free nursing care costs.
Action: For more information on living in a care home please see our other factsheets on care and care homes. Details of how to order them are in section 10.
5.4.3 If the DWP needs more information
After reporting a change in circumstances the decision maker may contact you, your doctor, or someone you mentioned on the form, to ask for more information or to arrange for a doctor to visit you.
If an appointment is made for a doctor to visit, you may want a friend or relative to be present at that time. This will be particularly important if you have difficulty making yourself understood. The doctor will not be your own doctor but one appointed by the DWP. He or she will probably examine you and ask further questions. It may be useful to make a note beforehand of the things you want to tell the doctor about the help you need and any difficulties you experience. Some people may be reluctant to admit that they have
problems or cannot do something, but it is important to give a picture of your normal range of activities – not just the things you can do on a ‘good day’.
6
Decisions and payment
You will be sent a decision on your claim in writing. DLA may be awarded indefinitely or for a fixed period depending on your circumstances. If you are awarded the allowance for a fixed period you will be sent a renewal claim form – normally about four months before the end of the period. You may also be sent a questionnaire at any time to check whether your needs have
changed. See section 7 for information about the reassessment of DLA claims following the introduction of Personal Independence Payment.
6.1
If you disagree with a decision
If you disagree with a decision you must first ask the DWP for a
reconsideration of the decision and if you still disagree, you will have to lodge an appeal with HM Courts and Tribunals Service. It is important to challenge a decision or get advice as quickly as possible because there are time limits that generally mean you must take action within one month. See Age UK’s Factsheet 74, Challenging welfare benefit decisions, for more information.
6.2
Payment
DLA is normally paid by direct credit into your bank, building society or post office account. It can be paid to an appointee (someone else on your behalf) if you are not able to act for yourself. If you are unable to open or manage an account, you can ask for a Simple Payments card which will allow you to withdraw your benefits from Paypoint outlets displaying the Simple Payments sign. If you are unable to use any of these methods of payment you should contact the Disability Benefits helpline.
DLA is normally paid four-weekly in arrears, but if you are terminally ill and claiming under the special rules you can get weekly payments in advance. If you leave hospital or a care home, but expect to return within 28 days, DLA can be paid at a daily rate for days at home.
If you are receiving another social security benefit, your DLA might be combined with that benefit so that you receive single payment.
7
Reassessing existing DLA claimants for PIP
If you were 16 or over and under 65 on 8 April 2013Between October 2013 and May 2018, the government intends to phase DLA out for adults of working age. If you were aged between 16 and 64 on the day PIP came in (April 2013), at some point between October 2013 and the end of 2017 you will be told that your DLA claim is going to end and invited to make a claim for PIP.
PIP Timetable
28 October 2013
Since 28 October 2013, if you are getting DLA you may have been invited to claim PIP if you are in one of the following groups and living in Wales, East Midlands, West Midlands or East Anglia.
1 You are a child turning 16 on or after 7 October 2013 (however, children who are terminally ill will be reassessed at a later date).
2 You are reporting a change of circumstances which may affect your rate of payment. Some changes will not trigger an invitation to claim PIP at this stage, for example if you go into a care home, hospital or prison or if you have a change of address.
3 You have a fixed-term DLA award which expires after 17 March 2014 (this is because the reassessment process starts approximately 20 weeks before an existing DLA award ends).
4 You choose to claim PIP and you live in one of these areas. You should seek independent advice as to whether you will be better off on PIP as you cannot change your mind once you have triggered the PIP re-assessment process.
13 January 2014
Since 13 January 2014 if you were getting DLA you may have been invited to claim PIP if you are in one of the above (28 October) groups and live in post code areas DG (Dumfries and Galloway), EH (Edinburgh), TD (Scottish Borders) and ML (Motherwell).
3 February 2014
Since 3 February 2014 if you are getting DLA you may have been invited to claim PIP if you are in one of the above (28 October) groups and live in post code areas CA (Carlisle), DL (Darlington), HG (Harrogate), LA (Lancaster) and YO (York).
October 2015
From October 2015, all remaining people receiving DLA will be invited to make a claim for PIP. If you are currently getting DLA, this is the earliest you will be contacted about PIP unless you are in one of the three groups listed above.
The DWP will randomly select people who are in receipt of an indefinite award or a fixed-term award of DLA. When you are selected, the DWP will notify you about what you will need to do to claim PIP.
If you are already getting DLA and had reached the age of 65 by 8 April 2013, the reassessment will not apply to you. You can remain on DLA for as long as you continue to satisfy the eligibility conditions.
If you are already getting DLA and turned 65 after 8 April 2013, the
reassessment will still apply to you, and at some stage you will be invited to claim PIP. You may also be able to claim Attendance Allowance (AA) and should seek advice if you are in this group.
October 2017
The DWP plan to have invited all current DLA claimants aged 16 to 64 to claim PIP, and have reassessed them for PIP by May 2018. If you have been awarded DLA indefinitely, you will still be reassessed.
Gov.uk (the British Government’s website) has an online PIP checker so you can find out how PIP affects you and when you can claim PIP if you are already on DLA. You can try it out at www.gov.uk/pip-checker
When the time comes for your DLA to be reassessed, you will be told that your award of DLA is due to end and how to make a claim for PIP. You should submit your PIP claim within four weeks, although the DWP can give you longer if you have a good reason for needing an extension. Unless the deadline is extended, your DLA payments will stop if you do not make a PIP claim within four weeks. If you then go on to make a PIP claim within a further four weeks, your DLA will go back into payment while your PIP claim is
assessed. If you do not make a PIP claim your DLA will be terminated and there will be no further opportunity to get it reinstated.
If you make a claim for PIP, your DLA will stop from the day before the date of decision on the PIP claim, whether or not PIP is awarded.
See Age UK’s Factsheet 87, Personal Independence Payment, for more information about PIP.
If you were 65 or over on 8 April 2013
If you had your 65th birthday before 8 April 2013, the government does not
have any plans to reassess you for PIP at the moment. The government will decide whether to reassess you once all working-age DLA claims have come to an end. This decision is unlikely to be made before the end of 2017. This means that if you have an indefinite award of DLA, or a fixed term award that runs beyond 2017, your DLA will continue until at least the end of 2017
without you having to claim PIP. If you have a fixed term DLA award that comes to an end before the end of 2017, you will be invited to reapply for DLA when your DLA award runs out. If you have a change of circumstances that means you may qualify for a different award of DLA you can ask for your claim to be looked at again, as described in section 5.1.
8
DLA and other benefits
8.1
DLA as income
Income from DLA is ignored in the calculation for means-tested benefits including Pension Credit, Universal Credit, Income Support, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Housing Benefit, Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit.
8.2
Overlapping benefits
Constant Attendance Allowance paid with industrial injuries disablement benefit or a war pension overlaps with DLA care component. DLA mobility component overlaps with the war pensioners’ mobility supplement. If you qualify for two overlapping benefits, you will be paid whichever is higher. You cannot get either Personal Independence Payment or Armed Forces Independence Payment at the same time as DLA.
8.3
Effect on means-tested benefits
Entitlement to DLA can sometimes help you to get a higher amount of means-tested benefits such as Pension Credit, Universal Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseekers Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Housing Benefit, Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit and Council Tax Support (known as Council Tax Reduction schemes in Wales). Any deductions that are being made from these benefits because other adults share your household may be removed if you get the care component of DLA.
If someone in your household receives DLA you are exempt from the benefit cap which is being phased in from April 2013 and which limits the amount of benefits that a working age household can get.
If you are already receiving one of the means-tested benefits listed above when you are awarded DLA, it is important to make sure that the relevant benefit office is told of the award and reviews your claim. This also applies if your DLA claim is reviewed and your award is increased or reduced.
If you are not receiving one of these means-tested benefits or have had a claim refused in the past, a new award of DLA may mean that you become entitled for the first time. You will need to make a new claim for the benefit and you may be able to receive payments backdated to the time your DLA started. It is often a good idea to make a claim for the relevant means-tested benefit at the same time as claiming DLA to ensure you do not lose out. Ask that a decision is not made until you have had the DLA decision. If you are not sure of your position, get help from a local advice agency – they may be able to check your entitlement and help you with any claims.
Age UK has a number of factsheets about means-tested benefits: Factsheet
48, Pension Credit; Factsheet 17, Housing Benefit (for people over Pension
Credit qualifying age); Factsheet 88, Universal Credit; and Factsheet 56,
Benefits for people under State Pension age. In Wales also see Factsheet
21w, Council Tax in Wales: information about the tax and help you might get
8.4
Council Tax
If you have a severe mental impairment and you are awarded the middle or highest care component of DLA, you may become entitled to a Council Tax discount. A severe mental impairment could be a learning disability, mental illness or a condition like dementia. Ask your local authority for details of the Council Tax reductions available in your area.
8.5
Benefits for carers
If you are awarded the middle or highest rate of the care component of DLA and you have a carer, they may be entitled to claim Carer’s Allowance, or national insurance credits as a carer. Some carers may also qualify for
Council Tax discounts or reductions; ask your local authority for details of the reductions available in your area.
In some situations your benefits could be reduced if someone is paid Carer’s Allowance to look after you. This could happen if you receive the severe disability premium or additional amount for severe disability as part of
Pension Credit, Income Support, income–related Employment and Support Allowance, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support. Your benefits will not be affected if your carer is only awarded an underlying entitlement to Carer’s Allowance.
Note: See Age UK’s Factsheet 55, Carer’s Allowance, for more information, and seek advice if you think your benefits may be affected if your carer claims Carer’s Allowance.
9
Useful organisations
Action for Blind PeopleCharity providing free and confidential support for blind and partially sighted people in all aspects of their lives.
53 Sandgate Street, London, SE15 1LE Tel: 0303 123 9999
Action on Hearing Loss
Charity offering information and support for deaf and hard-of-hearing people. 19-23 Featherstone Street, London, EC1Y 8SL
Tel: 0808 808 0123 (free call)
Textphone: 0808 808 9000 (free call) Email: [email protected] Website: www.actiononhearingloss.org.uk
For Scotland, see the Scotland section of the website Alzheimer Scotland
22 Drumsheugh Gardens, Edinburgh, EH3 7RN Tel: 0131 243 1453
Helpline 0808 808 3000 Email: [email protected] Website: www.alzscot.org/ Alzheimer’s Society
Campaigns for and provides support to people affected by all types of
dementia and their relatives and carers. There are local branches across the UK.
Devon House, 58 St Katherine’s Way, London, E1W 1LB Tel: 0207 423 3500
Helpline: 0300 222 11 22 (lo-call rate) Email: [email protected] Website: www.alzheimers.org.uk Arthritis Care
Charity working with and for people with arthritis. Floor 4, Linen Court, 10 East Road, London, N1 6AD Tel: 020 77380 6500
Helpline: 0808 800 4050 (free call) Email: [email protected] Website: www.arthritiscare.org.uk
British Lung Foundation
Charity with useful information if you have chest problems and breathing difficulties.
73-75 Goswell Road, London, EC1V 7ER Tel: 0300 003 0555
Website: www.blf.org.uk/Home Carers UK
Charity working on behalf of carers. Offers wide range of information on carers’ rights and sources of help and contact details for local carers’ support groups.
20 Great Dover Street, London, SE1 4LX Tel: 0808 808 7777 (free call)
Email: [email protected] Website: www.carersuk.org
Carers Wales can be contacted at: Tel: 029 20 811370
E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.carerswales.org
See Scotland section of the website for services in Scotland Citizens Advice
National network of free and independent advice centres. Depending on available resources may offer benefits check and help filling forms.
Tel: 020 7833 2181 (for local contact details only – not telephone advice) Tel: 08444 70 20 20 (Wales)
Website: www.adviceguide.org.uk Citizens Advice Scotland
Tel: 0808 800 9060
Dementia UK
Charity working to improve the quality of life of dementia patients and their carers. Dementia UK supports Admiral Nurses, specialist mental health nurses who provide both practical and emotional support.
2nd Floor, Resource for London, 356 Holloway Road, London, N7 6PA Tel: 020 7874 7200
Tel: Admiral Nurses 0845 257 9406 Email: [email protected]
Website: www.dementiauk.org DIAL UK
Independent network of local disability information and advice services run by and for disabled people in conjunction with Scope.
Tel and textphone: 01302 310 123 Website: www.scope.org.uk/dial Disability Law Service
Charity providing free, confidential legal advice to disabled adults, their families and carers.
C/O Real
First floor, Jack Dash House, 2 Lawn House Close, London, E14 9YQ Tel: 020 7791 9800
Email: [email protected] Website: www.dls.org.uk Disability Benefits helpline
Government-run service with access to disability benefit records. Disability Benefits Centre, Warbreck House, Warbreck Hill, Blackpool, Lancashire, FY2 0Y
Telephone: 08457 123 456 Textphone: 08457 22 44 33
Email: [email protected] Website: www.gov.uk/disability-benefits-helpline
Disability Rights UK
Charity promoting meaningful independent living for disabled people; promoting disabled people’s leadership and control; breaking the link between disability and poverty; and campaigning for disability equality and human rights.
Ground Floor, CAN Mezzanine, 49-51 East Road, London N1 6AH Tel: 020 7250 8181
Email: [email protected] Website: www.disabilityrightsuk.org Gov.uk
The official government website with services and information for citizens. Website: www.gov.uk
Macmillan
Charity providing up-to-date cancer information, practical advice and support for cancer patients, their families and carers.
Tel: 0808 808 0000 (free call) Website: www.macmillan.org.uk MENCAP
Charity for people with learning disabilities and their families. 123 Golden Lane, London, EC1Y 0RT
Mencap Direct: 0808 808 1111 Website: www.mencap.org.uk MIND
Charity providing information and advice for people with mental health problems.
15-19 Broadway, Stratford, London, E15 4BQ Helpline:0300 123 3393
Tel: 020 8519 2122
Motability
Charity with overall responsibility for the Motability Scheme. Tel: 0845 456 4566
Textphone: 0845 675 0009 Website: www.motability.co.uk Parkinson’s UK
Charity providing support, advice and information for people with Parkinson’s Disease, their carers, family and friends.
215 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 1EJ Helpline: 0808 800 0303 (free call)
Email: [email protected] Website: www.parkinsons.org.uk
Personal Independence Payment new claims The number to call to make a new claim for PIP. Tel: 0800 917 2222
Website: www.gov.uk/pip
Personal Independence Payment helpline DWP helpline for PIP claims and information. Tel: 0845 850 3322
Textphone: 0845 601 6677 Website: www.gov.uk/pip
Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB)
Charity offering information and advice for people with sight problems. 105 Judd Street, London, WC1H 9NE
Helpline: 0303 123 9999 Email: [email protected] Website: www.rnib.org.uk
Service Personnel and Veterans Agency
Agency of the Ministry of Defence providing pay, pension and support services to military personnel and the veterans community.
Norcross, Thornton Cleveleys, Lancashire, FY5 3WP Freephone: 0808 1914 218
Email: [email protected] Website: www.veterans-uk.info
Stroke Association
Provides community support in some areas and provides patient leaflets for people affected by stroke.
Stroke Information Service, Stroke Association, Life After Stroke Centre, Church Lane, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire B61 8RA.
Helpline: 0303 303 3100 Tel: 020 7566 0300
Textphone: 020 7251 9096 Email: [email protected] Website: www.stroke.org.uk
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