I was just about to close this case when one of the clients came up with this little curveball...

2 clients: 65 year old lady on HRM & HRC DLA and her carer. They live next door to each other so I am helping them both. Disabled lady recently widowed, I have just got her partial Housing Benefit claim into payment. Also just sorted out the carer's CA & IS claim and full HB/CTB gone into payment - she has no other income and no partner.

The carer just informed me that the person being cared for has now arranged via her social worker for Direct Payments to be made. The carer is now going to be paid £507.00 per month gross.

Obviously considering this income, the carer is earning too much for CA and Income Support, but I still have 3 questions:

1) Can the carer still claim the Carer's Premium within her HB/CTB claim?

2) Can the carer claim Working Tax Credit considering the fact that she is employed, earning just over £6,000 per year and working more than 30 hours per week.

3) Can the person being cared for now claim the SDP within her HB/CTB?

Can't find answers to these specific questions anywhere and you can imagine how helpful the tax credits office and housing benefits were!

Thanks for any help anyone can offer

If the carer is working 30 hrs a week she is earning way below national minimum wage. £507 a month equates to £117 a week, which is only £3.90 an hour for 30 hours; so I doubt HMRC will wear that she is really working so many hours.

Ariadne's right - that obviously needs checking.

1) No - apart from the 8 week extension if this applies
2) Depends whether she is working 30 hours a week or whether she can claim if she works 16 hours a week and is a person who can get WTC if she works only 16 hours a week.
3) Yes as long as they meet all the conditions of entitlement - a good publication to refer to would be the disability rights handbook.

Nicky

What is Nottinghamshire's charging policy like? If the disabled lady gets SDP in PC she could lose most or all of it in extra charges, which would be deducted from the direct payments. Nottinghamshire could be making a charge anyway, already, which might explain the discrepancy between the DP amount and minimum wage, the disabled lady being liable for the balance.

If charges are a significant factor they might have been better off refusing Direct Payments, or else accepting only as much as will keep the carer's wages below £100pw.

Richard Atkinson

Thanks everyone for the responses so far.

Disabled lady doesn't get any PC and doesn't get SDP in HB/CTB as carer currently claiming CA. If carer comes off CA then disablsed lady can get SDP within HB/CTB, still no PC entitlement so could this impact her care charges?

I've calculated entitlement based on a few scenarios and, unusually, it seems like the carer is best staying as she is so refusing the DP may well be the route they take.

I think my next action will be to get itemised charges from the social worker and the number of hours' care she's been assessed to have. Not sure how easy this will be to obtain but it will help.

Just a thought-
The disabled lady sounds as if she is getting quite a high rate of direct payments that would indicate that she might also be entitled to Pension Credit. You say she isn't getting it but has she applied for it?
Also the direct payments go to the disabled lady to pay out as she sees fit. She might be able to split it between other carers?