Severe disability premium and live in carer

Can someone explain how the severe disability premium in pension credit/housing benefit is affected if a live-in carer moves in?

The carer is not paid carer’s allowance and will be paid by the claimant as a commercial arrangement, possibly with financial help from the local council.

Does it make a difference (to the SDP) if the carer has another permanent home?

Does it make a difference (to the SDP)  if the service is paid by the client but the carer is employed by a charitable or voluntary body?

The man, who is single and receives attendance allowance, already has entitlement to a second bedroom for an overnight carer, so I assume the 2 bedroom entitlement under LHA will remain the same.

Thank you

it will depend on the circumstances around the employment of the live in carer

if the carer is employed by a charitable or voluntary body as a resident carer and the person pays a charge for that service then they wouldnt be a non-dep so the SDP would continue

however if the carer is employed directly by the person then it would have an affect on it - even if they used direct payments to pay them then they would be a non-dep and the SDP would end

The State Pension Credit Regulations 2002 schedule 2 part 1

VRW - 22 July 2020 01:01 PM

it will depend on the circumstances around the employment of the live in carer

if the carer is employed by a charitable or voluntary body as a resident carer and the person pays a charge for that service then they wouldnt be a non-dep so the SDP would continue

however if the carer is employed directly by the person then it would have an affect on it - even if they used direct payments to pay them then they would be a non-dep and the SDP would end

The State Pension Credit Regulations 2002 schedule 2 part 1

Thank you for your really helpful reply clarifying the situation. If the live-in carer had another home ie it was not their main home, would this make any difference?

Nicola Hersh - 22 July 2020 01:27 PM

Thank you for your really helpful reply clarifying the situation. If the live-in carer had another home ie it was not their main home, would this make any difference?

If they normally live elsewhere then my view would be that they’re not living with your client therefore cannot count as a non-dependent for SDP purposes. DWP might throw a hissy fit about it but I think you’d be on solid ground as long as you can evidence it properly. CPAG page 348 and the fourth bullet point under “Who is not a non-dependent” would appear to fit your clients situation? That cites CIS/14850/1996 (https://rightsnet.org.uk/pdfs/cis/14850_96.pdf) and in particular paragraph 10.

i hink in order for the non dep to be treated as resident elsewhere, then they would ideally to show that they were paying rent or a mortgage or liable for Ctax at an address. if thats not the case, It becomes quite flimsy if the carers full time address as a non dep of someone else ...because the likelihood ids that that person is saying the carer doesn’t live their permanently because they work away “all he time”
there would def need to be financial and social links to the perm address - where are bank statements sent? where is carer registered to vote? which address is carer registered at for doctors etc?
These are the questions which are likely to be raised for the carer not to be treated a s your customers non dep.

Thanks - really helpful.

If the Council are allowing the extra room for an overnight carer, it seems to me that this person is by definition not a non dependant, otherwise there would be no need to add the extra room because it would be occupied by the non dependant anyway

See the definition of person who requires overnight care in Reg 2

.......... whom the relevant authority is satisfied reasonably requires, and has in fact arranged, that one or more people who do not occupy as their home the dwelling to which the claim or award for housing benefit relates should– (i) be engaged in providing overnight care for P; (ii) regularly stay overnight at the dwelling for that purpose; and (iii) be provided with the use of a bedroom in that dwelling additional to those used by the persons who occupy the dwelling as their home,

Notice the words “additional to those used by the persons who occupy the dwelling as their home”

This precludes a person falling under the definition of a person providing overnight care from being a non dependant as defined by Reg 3 so I would just furnish the same evidence that was furnished to the Council for them to make the extra room determination if the DWP ask for it

Stainsby - 27 July 2020 04:09 PM

If the Council are allowing the extra room for an overnight carer, it seems to me that this person is by definition not a non dependant, otherwise there would be no need to add the extra room because it would be occupied by the non dependant anyway

See the definition of person who requires overnight care in Reg 2

.......... whom the relevant authority is satisfied reasonably requires, and has in fact arranged, that one or more people who do not occupy as their home the dwelling to which the claim or award for housing benefit relates should– (i) be engaged in providing overnight care for P; (ii) regularly stay overnight at the dwelling for that purpose; and (iii) be provided with the use of a bedroom in that dwelling additional to those used by the persons who occupy the dwelling as their home,

Notice the words “additional to those used by the persons who occupy the dwelling as their home”

This precludes a person falling under the definition of a person providing overnight care from being a non dependant as defined by Reg 3 so I would just furnish the same evidence that was furnished to the Council for them to make the extra room determination if the DWP ask for it

the room is not the issue the guy is over SRA so there is no under occupancy charge to begin with

if the live in carer is employed by the charitable trust and he pays a contributions towards their costs (whether through his direct payments/AA) then they are disregarded and he retains his SDP

if the live in carer is directly employed by him from the charitable trust then they are not disregarded and he loses his SDP

its purely based on the contract of the live in carer

Paragraphs 1(1)(a)(ii), b(ii) and c(iii) of Sch 1 PC Regs all use the terms “normally residing” which is the term used in the definition of “non dependant”

“Normally residing”  is something more than merely “residing” (as was held to be so in CIS/14850/1996 cited by CHAC advisor)

Paragraph 2 is admittedly headed ” Persons residing with the claimant whose presence is ignored and also makes a distinction between payments made by the claimant directly to a carer and payments made to a charitable or voluntary organisation for services provided by the carer so I agree with VRW to that extent

It would therefore be problematic if the claimant has directly employed the carer as opposed to having a carer provided by a voluntary body, but it might not be fatal to the claimant’s case because sub paragraph (1) of paragraph 2 provides that the limited list of those whose presence is ignored is “for the purposes of paragraphs 1(1)(a)(ii), b(ii) and c(iii)” which in the parlance of other benefits is the definition of a non dependant.

In other words if the live in carer would otherwise be a person who would enable the claimant (if under pension age )  to be allowed an extra room for an overnight carer it will be arguable that the SDP may not be affected