Please could anyone shed a little light in the following:

Client's wife qualified for DLA under special rules 25/6/08. Client claimed CA from that date but had previously been providing unpaid care. Wife admitted to hospice 17/10/08. Client informed Disability & Carers Service who stopped his CA immediately. Clients wife died 27/10/08.

Queried decision and was told that 'where a temporary break occurs within the first 22 weeks of caring or within the first 22 weeks from the date of the award of the qualifying benefit to the disabled person, the law does not allow any temporary breaks in caring and therefore the carer would lose entitlement to CA for the duration of the break (up to the 22nd week) and would need to reclaim CA.' It continues on and then states 'the break in caring could not be regarded as temporary under CA rules'.

I referred to CPAG p44 - Breaks from caring. It mentions the above but also refers to a period of 14 of the last 26 weeks, and the reason that care was not provided was that either carer or person for whom CA was being paid was in hospital or a similar institution.

Could anyone clarify the situation? The decision may be correct but I would hate my client to lose out not only on benefit payable whilst his wife was in the hospice but also the 8 week run on after death.

Cheers.

Ok - cos no one else has yet replied with a techie solution - my thoughts - would the hospice stay actually count as a break in care - bearing in mind the special protection for DLA claimants who get benefit under SR? (where dis ben awarded on grounds of terminal illness a stay in non NHS hospice will not in anyway affect payment of dis ben)

Therefore if carer still visiting (as they often do) attending to his wife/doing washing for etc - could argue was still providing care anyways?

Alternatively - was the fact that claimant was providing care before dis ben awarded not reflected in the claim form? In your posting you do mention that care was being provided - how long for? You know the question that asks "were you providing care prior to the date you want to claim from" - it is always worth providing date to reflect the situation even if you know no CA would be payable for this period...

Hope I'm not stating the obvious - you may have already considered these!

Best wishes

Jo