DWP offering three month lifeline for 150,000 carer's set to lose benefits – will you be impacted?

The Sun8 hours ago

OVER 150,000 households receiving carer's allowance will start losing their payments from November 2026.
Carer's allowance is a benefit for those who provide at least 35 hours of unpaid care each week, usually for a disabled or sick relative.
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It is currently paid at £83.30 per week, and carers can earn a second income from a job.
However, if they earn more than £196 a week, they lose the allowance entirely.
One of the main ways to qualify for carer's allowance is by caring for someone who receives the daily living component of personal independence payments (PIP).
In March, the government announced plans to tighten the rules for claiming PIP in an effort to save £5billion a year on welfare spending and encourage more people to return to work.
On Wednesday, the government introduced the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill to Parliament.
This proposed law outlines plans to make PIP eligibility rules stricter.
Currently, people qualify for PIP by earning enough points across various tasks, such as cooking, cleaning, or managing money.
Under the new rules, applicants will need to score at least four points on one specific daily living activity to qualify.
This change means that having minor difficulties across several areas may no longer be enough to qualify for PIP.
This change could see about 800,000 people lose out, with an average loss of £4,500 per year, according to government's own impact assessment.
As a knock-on effect, around 150,000 carers will no longer qualify for carer's allowance due to the stricter eligibility rules.
However, the Bill also introduces measures to protect existing claimants who might lose their payments.
If someone loses their PIP under the new rules, they will continue to receive payments for 13 weeks as a safety net.
This 13-week grace period also applies to those receiving carer's allowance.
The 13-week transition period is longer than the four weeks originally planned by the government.
What is carer's allowance?
CARER'S allowance is a UK benefit designed to help people who have caring responsibilities for more than 35 hours each week.
Those eligible get £83.30 a week paid directly into bank accounts.
To qualify, the person you care for must already get one of these benefits:
Personal independence payment (PIP) - daily living component
Disability living allowance - the middle or highest care rate
Attendance allowance
Constant attendance allowance at or above the normal maximum rate with an Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
Constant attendance allowance at the basic (full day) rate with a war disablement pension
Armed forces independence payment
You don't have to be related to the person or live with them to apply.
But if you share caring responsibilities with someone else, only one of you can make a claim.
The type of care you provide can vary, but includes things such as helping with washing or cooking, taking the person to medical appointments or helping out with household tasks such as shopping or organising bills.
To get the benefit, you must also meet a certain set of criteria:
You must be 16 or over
You have to spend at least 35 hours a week caring for someone
You need to have been in England, Scotland or Wales for at least two of the last three years (this does not apply if you're a refugee or have humanitarian protection status)
You must normally live in England, Scotland or Wales or live abroad as a member of the armed forces (you might still be eligible if you're moving to or already living in an EEA country or Switzerland)
You cannot be in full-time education
You must not be studying for 21 hours a week or more
You cannot be subject to immigration control
You will also have to meet certain earnings criteria in order to get the benefit.
Your earnings must also be £196 or less a week after tax, National Insurance and expenses.
You can apply for the carer's allowance online by visiting www.gov.uk/carers-allowance/how-to-claim.
Despite the longer grace period, campaigners, including the disability equality charity Scope, have warned that this extended period is only a temporary fix.
They argue that once the payments stop, disabled people will still face the same extra costs of living.
Food bank network Trussell said: "The last-minute details on protections offer something for a small proportion of people, but even they will still see a real-terms cut.
The Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill has also set out how the government proposes to slash incapacity benefits offered to those on Universal Credit.
It also includes a proposal to hike the Universal Credit standard allowance above inflation over the next four years.
What is PIP and who is eligible?
HOUSEHOLDS suffering from a long-term illness, disability or mental health condition can get extra help through personal independence payments (PIP).
The maximum you can receive from the Government benefit is £187.45 a week.
PIP is for those over 16 and under the state pension age, currently 66.
Crucially, you must also have a health condition or disability where you either have had difficulties with daily living or getting around - or both - for three months, and you expect these difficulties to continue for at least nine months (unless you're terminally ill with less than 12 months to live).
You can also claim PIP if you're in or out of work and if you're already getting limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA) payments if you claim Universal Credit.
PIP is made up of two parts and whether you get one or both of these depends on how severely your condition affects you.
You may get the mobility part of PIP if you need help going out or moving around. The weekly rate for this is either £29.70 or £77.05.
On the daily living part of PIP, the weekly rate is either £73.90 or £110.40 - and you could get both elements, so up to £187.45 in total.
You can claim PIP at the same time as other benefits, except the armed forces independence payment.

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Farage plans to charge non-doms £250,000 fee which will be given to poor

South Wales Guardian

13 minutes ago

South Wales Guardian

Farage plans to charge non-doms £250,000 fee which will be given to poor

On Monday, the party leader and MP for Clacton will reveal the policy which he said would 'encourage the return of wealth and talent to the United Kingdom', according to the Telegraph. The Labour Government abolished the non-dom tax status in April, which is where UK residents whose permanent home or domicile for tax purposes is outside the UK. Last year, former Conservative chancellor Jeremy Hunt revealed plans to scrap the tax status before successor Rachel Reeves sped up the process. Reform UK's policy would mean 'every high-net-worth newcoming (or returning leaver)' would pay a £250,000 one-off fee 'in return for a stable, indefinite remittance-style regime on offshore income and a 20-year inheritance-tax shield', Mr Farage wrote in an article for the Telegraph. All of this fee would be given to Britain's lowest-paid full-time workers through an automatic tax-free dividend via HMRC, the party leader added. In response, Labour said the policy was a 'golden ticket for foreign billionaires to avoid the tax they owe in this country'. Mr Farage wrote: 'Our policy is simple – Britain must be a place where success is celebrated, not punished with excessive taxes, crippling energy costs, or punitive inheritance levies. 'We will actively encourage the return of wealth and talent to the United Kingdom, on the clear condition that those who come here deliver immediate, visible benefits to our workers.' The plan would mean around 2.5 million 'hard-working Britons' would receive an 'annual cash bonus', the Reform UK leader claimed. He added: 'Our policy is not a 'golden visa' or a backdoor to citizenship. 'It is a one-time flat tax paid by newcomers in exchange for the certainty of a favourable tax status. 'Individuals will still be liable for all standard UK taxes on UK-sourced income, property and spending. 'But they won't be taxed on offshore income and gains for the duration of their agreed status.' A Labour spokesperson said: 'Nigel Farage can brand this whatever he wants – the reality is his first proper policy is a golden ticket for foreign billionaires to avoid the tax they owe in this country. 'As ever with Reform, the devil is in the detail. 'This giveaway would reduce revenues raised from the rich that would have to be made up elsewhere – through tax hikes on working families or through Farage's promise to charge them to use the NHS.'