short time no chat all...
have couple,he 70,she 53,who separated in 1990 but never divorced.she returned to kent in 1990,he in 1997.no contact with each other between 1990 and 2000 after he had stroke and his daughter asked if she would help with his personal care,ie:bathing etc.since then they have kept in touch but have maintained separate households and have not been couple as such.
in the words of pink floyd,"is there anybody out there"...who has any ideas how if they were to begin to share a household for above reasons we could challenge any decision made that they were living together as man/wife?
as ever,all replies greatly appreciated...

they shouldn't give a LTAHAW decision because they _are_ married. the decision is on separate households.

jj

The key issue is separate households. As a married couple if they live in the same household they are treated as a couple, and I don't think there is any way round that. The DWP would not have to show anything about the type of relationship they have.

Do they have separate houses? If so, and assuming they each spend time in their own homes they should be ok. If they are sharing a house then they could have problems. Being in the same household is not the same as being part of a couple e.g. a brother and sister can live in the same household. There is a relevant commissioners decision CIS/2900/98 that described similar circumstances, and said that providing the type of care that someone on DLA high rate care component needed "does not support the assertion of separate households in the objective sense".

A married couple could have separate households in the same house e.g. if they had split up and couldn't find separate accommodation, but typically they would each manage their own money, cook and do their laundry etc. separately. This might not be the case if she is there as a carer.

my thoughts exactly jj+cordelia...thanx y'all and enjoy rest of week if poss...

Hi Sayo, had a similar situation in which a married couple had been estranged for 7 years. She had severe mental health issues, he moved in to care for her after daughter asked him. However, he didn't have any accommodation separate or otherwise as he had been living a nomadic existence in a another part of London.

Anyway to keep it brief, by the time they had been referred to the agency i worked for, the DWP had already decided they were a household for DWP reasons, anyway client appealed decision on grounds that they were 2 separate households within the same house, they did share food for example and he cooked for them both etc.

We argued that this was reasonable on various grounds eg to ensure she maintained an adequate food and fluid intake, and that it was reasonable for a carer to cook and clean for someone they are caring for etc etc. Anyway to cut a long story at the hearing the Chair appeared to be struck by the fact she was on high care and low mob DLA and he was on Carers Allowance and basically she won her appeal.

If you want a copy a the appeal submission i submitted, let me know and i'll dig it out for you, my access to email is patchy, so if you don't get an instant reply, it's because of technical limitations.
see ya andy

PS - we had caselaw to back up our arguments too, which if i remember rightly i got from Stainsby and Jimpin Poole social services as well as some good arguments from both of them on the rightsnet last spring time 2004.

andy

Please could you send me a copy as well. I have a client in a similar situation, whose husband has had his PC stopped since she moved back in to care for him. Strangely while I have advised the wife the husband is being advised by another agency, which does underline their separate status!
My email is cordeliadeady@aol.com

well mr p.what can i say other than ta very much...if your emails dodgy i could give you a bell to give you my address where you could send it to...
once again,thanx+ have damn good weekend old bean!

Hi Sayo and Cordelia, it's not that my email is dodgy, it's access (eg i'm in the local library now as i type), i'm in Dorchester Age concern next Tuesday (it's 17 miles from where i live, and as i can't drive i live life in the bus lane. So i'll email the submission then.
see ya andy

yeah,that'd b cooooool maaaaaan...my e-mail address:

pete maidstone.cab@dial.pipex.com

cheers geeze and you have good weekend

Andy P's memory serves him well, he did get his arguments from the rightsnet discussion forum in April 04, Here is the link

http://www.rightsnet.org.uk/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=103&topic_id=276&mesg_id=276&listing_type=search

Hi Pete,Cordelia and Stainsby,
pete and cordelia i'll be shortly emailing you the submission promised, can i have copies of yours too eventually, i suspect this scenario is more common than we realise.

As for you Stainsby, thanks once again are there no limits to your versaltility and knowledgebase.

see ya andy