Joint Claim Carer Elements - No LCW/LCWRA

When I went to CPAG a couple of years ago, I’m sure I remember being told that both claimants in a joint claim could not claim the Carer Element for each other. They could only claim 2 Carer Elements if one was claiming for someone other than the partner. For example Carer 1 claims for Carer 2, and Carer 2 claims for their daughter.

However, looking at reg29 of the UC Regulations, it clearly does not specify the rule. This leads me to the conclusion that I either misheard or misunderstood.

The fact is, you would only have this scenario if neither claimant had LCWRA, but both were eligible for CA for each other. If you have a couple where 1 is the carer and the other has LCW, you would clearly have 1 Carer Element and 1 LCW Element. However, this scenario differs.

Could someone confirm to me if 2 Carer Elements can be awarded in this scenario before I pull my hair out?

You’re right -  there is nothing in the regs to stop members of a couple getting a carer element each if caring for each other.

See also ADM F6011 ( https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/473354/admf6.pdf )/

That’s brilliant. Thanks for this.

Notice how the DMG uses the word “should”. I assume they will aim to be more strict in looking at whether the couple can in fact claim for each other than they have done over the years.