Carers premium, under 27-10-2002 run-on

Client is no longer providing care for several years, but still qualified for carers addition in their PC award, (seemingly) via being aged 65+ on 27/10/2002.

Change of circs leads to too much income for PC, but still eligible for partial HB/CTR. Is it correct that a carers addition does not apply in HB/CTR in these circs?

For a carers premium the local CTR scheme refers us to Sch 3(17) of the HB regs, which says “The condition is that the claimant [is] entitled to a carer’s allowance under section 70 of the Act.”
In my copies, neither the HB reg, nor SSCBA s70, seem to refer to the 2002 exception. Does reg 4 of ‘The Regulatory Reform (Carer’s Allowance) Order 2002’ apply to HB/CTR?
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2002/1457/contents/made

If your client had an entitlement to Carer’s Allowance before 28 October 2002 and had reached the age of 65 before that date then they remain entitled to Carer’s Allowance even if they cease to care for the disabled person.  Carer’s Premium therefore should be included in the applicable amount for a Housing Benefit/Council Tax Reduction claim or supersession.

Thanks. That’s what I initially thought, but the pension service disagree. Client has gone from full HB via PC passport, to partial HB with no carers premium. I don’t know how the LA are generally meant to know that they should apply a carers premium, if the DWP say she shouldn’t (and the claimant is not in receipt of CA).

I would probably complete a fresh claim for Housing Benefit/Council Tax Reduction and answer the questions regarding Carer’s Allowance.  The local authority should be able to check with the Disability and Carers Service regarding entitlement to Carer’s Allowance.  You could ring the Disability and Carers Service to get an entitlement notice to submit with the claim.

It’s been pointed out to me that for CTR (national default scheme) and HB, a carers premium only applies if and for so long as the person in respect of whose care the allowance has been claimed remains in receipt of the qualifying disability benefit:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/2885/schedule/2/made (para 5(2))
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2006/213/schedule/3/made (para 7(2))

.. which might be a problem in this case.

Is your local authority using the default scheme?  Even if it is I do not think it would be fatal to your case.  The transitional protection means that the entitlement (or underlying entitlement) to Carer’s Allowance is still in place.  The regulation has not been repealed.  If you were to make a claim for Housing Benefit /Council Tax Support and answer the questions regarding Carer’s Allowance accurately and truthfully (of course) then this should result in a Carer Premium being awarded, I believe, correctly.

I agree with your pessimistic assessment Jon.  At first glance it looks as if the only requirement is to be entitled to a carers allowance - see para 9(1) of Schedule 2 to the CTR prescribed requirements. A person who was already 65+ and getting ICA in 2002 would still satisfy that requirement now even if they are no longer actively caring.

But the provisions that you have highlighted in your updated post modify what is meant by being entitled to a carers allowance under the overlapping benefit rules: if the person receiving care has died or otherwise ceased to be entitled to DLA or equivalent, the claimant is no longer regarded as being entitled to CA and will only get another 8 weeks of Carers Premium.

I assume this applies to your claimant on the facts - there will be a retirement pension in payment at a rate exceeding CA, so entitlement to CA is only “underlying” by virtue of overlap.  This will be the case for most or indeed probably all pre-2002 65+ ICA claimants.  In the unlikely even that the claimant has entitlement to CA under the 2002 transitional provision and actually gets it because for some reason they don’t get state pension, then as far as I can see they would not lose the HB/CTR premium.