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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Universal credit administration  →  Thread

Carer’s Element during 8 week CA run on

SG LB C
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Income Maximisation Team LB Camden

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Cl was on CA, (no other benefit) parent died and cl claimed UC.

UC did not award the CE even though the person was getting CA 8 wk run on, and this was taken £ for £ from the UC.

Is the CE not being awarded for the run on as the person (whilst actually getting CA)  is not deemed to be actively undertaking regular and substantial caring responsibilities for a severely disabled person (because that person has died)?


Regs state:

For the purposes of Part 1 of the Act and these Regulations, a person has or would do so but for the fact that their earnings have exceeded the limit prescribed for the purposes of that allowance.

Award to include the carer element

29.—(1) An award of universal credit is to include an amount (“the carer element”) specified in the table in regulation 36 where a claimant has regular and substantial caring responsibilities for a severely disabled person, but subject to paragraphs (2) to (4).
(2) In the case of joint claimants, an award is to include the carer element for both joint claimants if they both qualify for it, but only if they are not caring for the same severely disabled person.
(3) Where two or more persons have regular and substantial caring responsibilities for the same severely disabled person, an award of universal credit may only include the carer element in respect of one them and that is the one they jointly elect or, in default of election, the one the Secretary of State determines.
(4) Where an amount would, apart from this paragraph, be included in an award in relation to a claimant by virtue of paragraphs (1) to (3), and the claimant has limited capability for work or for work and work-related activity, only one out of the carer element, the LCW element and the LCWRA element may be included in respect of the claimant and that element is—

(a)

if the claimant has limited capability for work and work-related activity (and, in the case of joint claimants, the LCWRA element has not been included in respect of the other claimant), the LCWRA element; or
.

(b)

in any other case, the carer element.
.
Meaning of “regular and substantial caring responsibilities for a severely disabled person”

30.—(1) For the purposes of Part 1 of the Act and these Regulations, a person has regular and substantial caring responsibilities for a severely disabled person if they satisfy the conditions for entitlement to a carer’s allowance or would do so but for the fact that their earnings have exceeded the limit prescribed for the purposes of that allowance.
(2) Paragraph (1) applies whether or not the person has made a claim for a carer’s allowance.
(3) But a person does not have regular and substantial caring responsibilities for a severely disabled person if the person derives earned income from those caring responsibilities.

Cordelia
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UC are wrong.  I had a similar situation which was resolved with the help of the excellent CPAG Judicial Review project.  Have a look at this https://cpag.org.uk/welfare-rights/judicial-review/judicial-review-pre-action-letters/carers-following-death

However although my client did get a carer element paid for his first assessment period on UC, by the end of the second assessment period the run on had stopped and he was not entitled to a carer element for that period.

SG LB C
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Income Maximisation Team LB Camden

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Cordelia - 01 October 2019 12:42 PM

UC are wrong.  I had a similar situation which was resolved with the help of the excellent CPAG Judicial Review project.  Have a look at this https://cpag.org.uk/welfare-rights/judicial-review/judicial-review-pre-action-letters/carers-following-death

However although my client did get a carer element paid for his first assessment period on UC, by the end of the second assessment period the run on had stopped and he was not entitled to a carer element for that period.

Thank you very much, Cordelia. I’ll have a good look at that.

Jess Strode
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There is a redacted copy of the DWP’s response to one of the JR letter’s sent also on the webpage Cordelia has cited, to facilitate an MR request of the same. Although it would be good to keep sending the JR letter until DWP’s guidance is improved. Please let me know if you use the template (for our stats): .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

SG LB C
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Jess Strode - 02 October 2019 02:35 PM

There is a redacted copy of the DWP’s response to one of the JR letter’s sent also on the webpage Cordelia has cited, to facilitate an MR request of the same. Although it would be good to keep sending the JR letter until DWP’s guidance is improved. Please let me know if you use the template (for our stats): .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Thank you very much, Jess. Will do.

SG LB C
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Jess Strode - 02 October 2019 02:35 PM

There is a redacted copy of the DWP’s response to one of the JR letter’s sent also on the webpage Cordelia has cited, to facilitate an MR request of the same. Although it would be good to keep sending the JR letter until DWP’s guidance is improved. Please let me know if you use the template (for our stats): .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Hi Jess. Just to update.

My complaint was successful, and the CE has been backdated and paid for the 2 assessment periods.
I didn’t use the template in it’s entirety but I did use certain parts of it, and thank you very much.

The decision letter from UC just said “Following the recent decision by our Decision Making Team, I can confirm we have paid your arrears of ....”

My client had no idea what that was for so had to contact me. No detail at all, and of course the previous statements are now revised so it looks like no error was ever made!

The part of the letter I used was:

“Universal Credit — Legislative Framework
1. The relevant legislative provisions are found in the Universal Credit Regulations 2013. These are as follows:
29.— Award to include the carer element
(1) An award of universal credit is to include an amount (“the carer element”) specified in the table in regulation 36 where a claimant has regular and substantial caring responsibilities for a severely disabled person, but subject to paragraphs (2) to (4) and section 70(7) of the Contributions and Benefits Act (entitlement by different persons to the carer element and to carer’s allowance in respect of the same severely disabled person
30.— Meaning of “regular and substantial caring responsibilities for a severely disabled person”
(1) For the purposes of Part 1 of the Act and these Regulations, a person has regular and substantial caring responsibilities for a severely disabled person if they satisfy the conditions for entitlement to a carer’s allowance or would do so but for the fact that their earnings have exceeded the limit prescribed for the purposes of that allowance.

37. Run-on after a death
In calculating the maximum amount of an award where any of the following persons has died—
(a) in the case of a joint award, one member of the couple;
(b) a child or qualifying young person for whom a claimant was responsible;
(c) in the case of a claimant who had regular and substantial caring responsibilities for a severely disabled person, that person; or
(d) a person who was a non-dependant within the meaning of paragraph 9(2) of Schedule 4,
the award is to continue to be calculated as if the person had not died for the assessment period in which the death occurs and the following two assessment periods.
2. Also relevant is section 70 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, which sets out the conditions of entitlement for Carer’s Allowance:
70.— Invalid care allowance.
(1) A person shall be entitled to a carer’s allowance for any day on which he is engaged in caring for a severely disabled person if—
(a) he is regularly and substantially engaged in caring for that person;
(b) he is not gainfully employed; and
(c) the severely disabled person is either such relative of his as may be prescribed or a person of any such other description as may be prescribed.
(1A) A person who was entitled to an allowance under this section immediately before the death of the severely disabled person referred to in subsection (1) shall continue to be entitled to it, even though he is no longer engaged in caring for a severely disabled person (and the requirements of subsection (1)(a) and (c) are not satisfied), until—
2 (a) the end of the week in which he ceases to satisfy any other requirement as to entitlement to the allowance; or
(b) the expiry of the period of eight weeks beginning with the Sunday following the death (or beginning with the date of death if the death occurred on Sunday), whichever occurs first.


3. XXXXXXXX continues to satisfy the conditions for entitlement to CA as set out in s.70 1 (1A) SSCBA (1992).Accordingly, xxx satisfies the definition of having regular and substantial caring responsibilities in reg 30 of the UC Regs (2013) set out above and so is entitled the carer element as provided for in reg29 of the UC Regs (2013) above.