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Carers element wierdness!
Not sure if anyone has come across this before but it felt a bit wierd even for UC.
A client has been receiving CA for over a year and started a claim for UC in April 2022. He didn’t claim UC as was temporariy living with his Mum and living off savings but this living arrangement became permanent. We advised him to claim UC as a carer which he did. He rang today as was worried as his UC was only £32.88 a week and this wasn’t enough to live on. Wierdly no carers element had been paid, just the standard allowance less CA. We advised him to write on his journal/call the helpline to find out why he was not being paid the CE and he rang back stating that it was because he had told UC before he was caring 16 hours a week (maybe claimant commitment or part of the UC claim?) and he needed to verify that it was 3 hours or more.
Just think that this is a little odd. Can UC just ignore the fact that someone gets CA and not pay the CE when there is no other income or savings?
Thanks
[ Edited: 25 May 2022 at 04:15 pm by Ros ]Well you’ve got to be providing care for 35 hours a week for the carer’s element to be payable so there’s your problem. Having an entitlement to CA in and of itself doesn’t affect the qualifying conditions (even though they’re the basis for entitlement).
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.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/376/regulation/30
If anything, he might have a problem if the UC team tell the CA people that he’s told them that he only provides care for 16 hours and not the required 35 hours a week for CA.
He’s probably going to need to try and backtrack on how many hours a week he actually does provide care and get UC to accept this.
Sorry I do understandd the 35 hour rule it was more the fact that UC had literally used what he said to his work coach/claimant commiment that meant the CE was not paid. He does care more than 35 hours and has verified this with UC now.
Sorry I do understandd the 35 hour rule it was more the fact that UC had literally used what he said to his work coach/claimant commiment that meant the CE was not paid. He does care more than 35 hours and has verified this with UC now.
But if he told them he cared for 16 hours a week initially, then that’s not enough to qualify for the carer’s element. Why wouldn’t UC accept what he’s told them - he’s the person giving them the evidence they ask for?