Carers allowance

Hi Devon idil,

The conditions for claiming Carer's Allowance are as follows....

The person you care for must already get one of these benefits:

Personal Independence Payment - daily living component
Disability Living Allowance - the middle or highest care rate
Attendance Allowance
Constant 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
Armed Forces Independence Payment
Child Disability Payment - the middle or highest care rate
Adult Disability Payment - daily living component at the standard or enhanced rate

You need to spend at least 35 hours a week caring for someone. This can include:
-helping with washing and cooking
-taking the person you care for to a doctor’s appointment
-helping with household tasks, like managing bills and shopping

Carer's Allowance is what is called an overlapping Benefit which means that it will be deducted £ for £ from UC.
However you do not need to be in receipt of Carer's Allowance to claim the Carer's Element of Universal Credit which is £198.31 per month.
You can claim the Carer's Element on your UC account. You will be asked
the name of the person(s) you care for
their date of birth
their National Insurance number
any disability benefits they receive or have applied for
the number of hours a week you spend caring for them
if you are getting or are entitled to Carer's Allowance
the contact details of anyone else caring for the same severely-disabled adult or child and if they are getting Carer's Allowance
if you receive any income other than Carer's Allowance for looking after someone.

It is possible for both partners in a Universal Credit joint claim to receive a Carer's Element as per UC regs. www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/376/regulation/29

David

Hi Devon idil,
David has set out all the entitlement conditions.
However, you need to be careful when couples claim Carer’s Allowance for each other. This is not illegal or even impossible, but it will raise questions at DWP. If you say you have disabilities and claim PIP, but then also say I care for my partner so I would like to claim CA for looking after him it is entirely possible that DWP will think hmmmm if you can look after your partner, why do you need PIP!!!
I know of couples where both claim PIP and also CA for looking after each other. But I also know of couples where both benefits were claimed and PIP has been removed because DWP don't accept a person can logically get PIP and CA. To be fair it is quite a compelling view.
If you are on PIP and want to claim CA I would just urge extreme caution!
I hope this helps.
LL26