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Residential Care Personal Expenses Allowance 2012
The Benefits uprating legislation and recent DWP guidance both indicate that the PEA has increased to £23.25. The DH Local Authority circular hasn’t been published on the DH website yet but it seems that a draft version has been circulated around NAFAO (National Association of Financial Assessment Officers) indicating the PEA as £23.50. A quick search shows many organisations and LAs are publicising the PEA as £23.50 so am I alone, and possibly wrong, in following the legislation?
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/819/regulation/5/made
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/m-16-12.pdf
Any thoughts?
Keith
I’ve just found the DH circular. There wasn’t a link on the circulars page…
http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/documents/digitalasset/dh_133038.pdf
It goes with £23.50.
Hi Keith
As ever the regulations were last minute but you were looking at deductions from social security benefits. The regulation for personal expenses allowance are The National assistance (Sums for Personal Requirements) Amendment (England) Regulations 2012/663.
Shaun
Bizarrely, it’s gone down.
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/663/regulation/2/made
Ignore my last post. It seems as though I’ve suddenly lost the ability to read.
Shaun and nevip, thanks for the pointers to the National Assistance amendment legislation.
nevip, it is Friday 13th…
cheers, Keith
CRAG is inconsistent too and refers to both (pages 81 and 121) which is not very helpful! I’ve seen (but cant find) a justification which says that the increase was due to be 65p per week but was actually 90p because of the above-inflation increase in pensions. Whatever the reason, it may have caught out a lot of people out who have printed their benefit rate cards! And of course - dont forget that the PEA is £24 in Wales anyway.
The justification is in the (2012)1 circular.
“This is larger than the usual formula increase (90p per week rather than 65p per week). This is because DWP is making a number of significant increases to benefits from April 2012. For example, basic state pension will increase by 5.2%.”
It goes on to say
“These changes should result in a gain for councils in income from charging.”
So, after a couple of years of SRP increases greater than other benefits, the Government decides to mess about with PEA
in the year when it rises at the same rate.
And yes, I am bitter because our rate card was based on the Social Security legislation! !