Latest news with #Carer'sAllowance
Daily Record
20 hours ago
- General
- Daily Record
Exact date unpaid carers can report extra £293 payment missing if money does not arrive today
Thousands of Scots carers will receive the devolved payment by June 19. Around 90,000 unpaid carers will receive an additional payment of £293.50 this week through the Carer's Allowance Supplement. The devolved benefit is only available in Scotland and started landing in bank accounts on Wednesday with automatic payments continuing throughout Thursday. However, anyone who has received a letter from Social Security Scotland and was in claim for Carer Support Payment or Carer's Allowance on April 14, but does not see the payment in their account by June 30, can report it missing on 0800 182 2222. It's important to be aware that the payment is issued by Social Security Scotland to claimants living in Scotland only and nobody needs to claim it - eligibility is automatic. December 2025 payment The next Carer's Allowance Supplement payment will be issued in December 2025. People will qualify for this payment if they were in receipt of Carer Support Payment or Carer's Allowance on October 13, 2025. Similar to the summer payment, letters will be issued by Social Security Scotland before the money is due to land in bank accounts. If you, or someone you know, is providing at least 35 hours of unpaid care for a friend, family member or neighbour, and not claiming Carer Support Payment, you could be missing out on nearly £5,000 this year. Am I eligible for Carer Support Payment? Carer Support Payment is money you can get if you provide care for someone and meet certain eligibility criteria. You must: be 16 or over usually live in Scotland provide care for 35 hours or more a week, this includes if you provide care all day every day not earn more than £196 a week after tax, National Insurance and expenses The person you care for must already get one of these benefits: Adult Disability Payment – daily living component Child Disability Payment – middle or highest rate care component Pension Age Disability Payment Attendance Allowance Personal Independence Payment – daily living component Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance - middle or highest rate care component Disability Living Allowance – middle or highest rate care component Constant Attendance Allowance at or above normal maximum rate with Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit Constant Attendance Allowance at or above the basic (full day) rate with a War Disablement Pension Armed Forces Independence Payment The type of care you provide To get Carer Support Payment, you must provide care for someone as an unpaid carer for 35 hours or more a week. It cannot be care you provide: as a professional care worker through a volunteering scheme or charity Even if you do not think of yourself as an unpaid carer, you might be eligible for Carer Support Payment. Examples of caring for someone include supporting them: with their mental health during an illness with a disability if they have an addiction Supporting someone with their mental health If you provide care for someone with a mental health condition, you might: comfort them during a panic attack stay close by so they do not feel alone support them through a crisis make sure they're safe keep them company Supporting someone with an illness or disability If you provide care for someone with an illness or disability, you might support them with: getting around getting dressed taking medicines using the shower or toilet cooking meals food shopping translating The person you provide care for You might provide care for: someone in your family a friend a neighbour You do not have to live with them or be related to them. You can only apply for Carer Support Payment for one person. If you provide care for more people, you are not entitled to extra payments. You can check if you are eligible for Carer Support Payment and find full details on the devolved benefit on the website here.
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mirror
DWP disability cuts branded 'catastrophic' as Liz Kendall unveils major changes
Charities urged MPs to reject changes to the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Universal Credit, which the Government's own assessment said risked pushing people into poverty The Government has been accused of turning its back on sick and disabled people after pressing ahead with "catastrophic" benefit cuts. Charities urged MPs to reject changes to the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Universal Credit (UC), which the Government's own assessment said risked pushing an extra 250,000 people, including 50,000 children, into poverty. Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall argued she was taking "the road of compassion, opportunity and dignity" as she sought to soften the impact by introducing a 13-week transition period so existing claimants avoid a cliff edge. But campaigners said the last-minute changes to the plans would do little to mitigate the devastating impact. Around 3.2 million families could be hit by the overall reforms by 2030, with an average loss of £1,720 per year, according to the Government's analysis in March. The document said estimates did not include the impact of the £1 billion employment support package "which we expect to mitigate the poverty impact". Around 800,000 people are expected to be impacted by PIP changes, including 370,000 current claimants and 430,000 future recipients, with an average loss of £4,500 per year. READ MORE: 'Spend a day in our life, PM' says mum whose disabled daughter may lose PIP benefits The tightening of eligibility will mean those who can't wash half of their body or cook a meal unaided no longer qualify for the daily living element - unless they have another condition. The UC health element, which is claimed by more than two million people, will be frozen at £97 a week for existing claimants until 2029/30, and reduced to £50 a week for new claimants from 2026/27. Ms Kendall has previously said people under 22 will no longer be able to access the health top up of UC - and instead will be offered a 'youth guarantee' of training or work, with threats of benefit cuts if they reject the offer. The 13-week grace period will apply to existing claimants who lose the PIP daily living component, including those who lose eligibility to Carers Allowance and the carer's element of Universal Credit. More than 200,000 people with the most severe, lifelong conditions to be protected from future reassessment for UC. Food bank network Trussell said: "The reality of this Bill is still record cuts in support for disabled people, and the biggest cuts to social security since 2015." Mencap, the learning disability charity, accused the Government of having "confirmed the choice to turn its back on thousands of disabled people". Carers UK said at least 150,000 people will lose their Carer's Allowance, while nearly 100,000 carers who receive both PIP and Carer's Allowance will lose their disability benefit. Keir Starmer is braced for the biggest revolt of his premiership of the legislation, with dozens of Labour MPs poised to rebel when it faces its first Commons test in the coming weeks. Labour MP Steve Witherden, who represents Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr, told the Mirror: "I find the proposals deeply concerning, particularly at a time when poverty levels across the UK are already alarmingly high. "Millions of children live in households where parents are struggling to afford basic necessities such as food, heating, or even sterilising baby bottles. "This Bill risks exacerbating these difficulties, with cuts that could push disabled households into even deeper hardship - especially in Wales, which currently has the highest poverty rates among disabled people in the UK. I will be voting against this Bill.' Ms Kendall said the system was broken - and would fail to deliver for those who need it most without reform. "Our social security system is at a crossroads," she said. "Unless we reform it, more people will be denied opportunities, and it may not be there for those who need it. "This legislation represents a new social contract and marks the moment we take the road of compassion, opportunity and dignity. "This will give people peace of mind, while also fixing our broken social security system so it supports those who can work to do so while protecting those who cannot - putting welfare spending on a more sustainable path to unlock growth as part of our Plan for Change." Ministers say the plans - designed to slash £5billion from the welfare bill by 2030 - are designed to drive down spiralling costs and help more people back into work. One in 10 people of working age now claiming a sickness or disability benefit and some one million young people are not in education, employment or training - around one in eight. The number of people claiming PIP is expected to double from 2 million to 4 million over this decade, sending the bill for working-age sickness and disability benefit to £70billion a year by the end of this Parliament. A record 3.74 million people in England and Wales were claiming PIP in April. Helen Barnard, Director of policy at Trussell, said: 'This bill will push nearly half a million more people into severe hardship and towards the doors of food banks." She added: 'The last minute details on protections offer something for a small proportion of people, but even they will still see a real-terms cut." Mencap's Jackie O'Sullivan said: 'Today the Government confirmed the choice to turn its back on thousands of disabled people and by pushing ahead with these welfare reforms, they are causing a huge amount of anxiety. 'Mencap's recent survey of people with a learning disability found an alarming 70% would need to cut down on food if they lose PIP, while over half (60%) said they would need to cut back on heating and nearly half (45%) were worried they would be unable to leave their home." Charlotte Gill, Head of Campaigns and Public Affairs at the MS Society, said: "The government claims this Bill is about protecting people, but in reality it will take thousands of pounds a year from disabled people, including many living with MS – pushing more into poverty and worsening people's health. 'PIP is a lifeline not a luxury. If these cuts go ahead, many will be forced to reduce spending on essentials like food and heating. And some have told us they would have to leave work." James Taylor, Director of Strategy at disability equality charity Scope said: 'This bill will be catastrophic for disabled benefits will plunge hundreds of thousands into poverty." Louise Murphy, senior economist at the Resolution Foundation, said the longer period of protection for those affected by Pip cuts would ease the blow but said extra funding for employment support wasn't coming into effect until 2029. She added: "While ministers have softened the stick of welfare cuts, they have not strengthened the carrot of greater employment support."
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
'Spend a day in our life, PM' says mum whose disabled daughter may lose PIP
Holly Wright is a mum of four - three of whom have various levels of disability who could lose hundreds of pounds of support a month under the new rules Holly Wright, 39, is a mum of four - three of whom have various levels of disability who could lose hundreds of pounds of support a month under the new rules. Her eldest son Kye, 18, has a learning disability and is eligible for PIP, which is unlikely to be affected. But Holly's middle daughter, Freya, is nearly 15 and due to transition from family support onto PIP in a year. Holly fears Freya, who needs speech and language therapy and occupational therapy, won't qualify for PIP once it's reformed. Freya has autism, sensory processing disorder, and hypermobility. She said despite a legal assessment confirming Freya's needs, she's struggled to get her local council, Southampton, to pay out for therapies they're required to support. "You can't get them to fund anything without hammering them in a tribunal," Holly told the Mirror. "Freya doesn't need as much support [as her brother], but she does need constant reminding about things." Freya attends a special needs secondary school, and as well as occupational and speech therapy, currently does horse riding as a therapy - something quite common among children with disabilities. "It helps with her co-ordination, and she has quite serious hypermobility, so it helps her build core muscle strength," Holly said. But she fears she wouldn't be able to afford the therapy if Freya's money were to change significantly. Holly estimates that the cash difference if Freya is refused PIP once she outgrows Disability Living Allowance could be as much as £400 a month. And Holly would almost certainly lose her status as Holly's carer, and the Carer's Allowance top-up of £83.30 a week that comes with it. "They'd expect me to go back to work," she said. "These children aren't capable of being left at home on their own." Asked what message she'd like to send to the Prime Minister, Holly said: "Come and spend a day in our life, so you can see how broken everything is."
RTÉ News
2 days ago
- Health
- RTÉ News
Complaints to Ombudsman rose 30% in five years to 2024
The number of complaints to the Ombudsman rose by over 30% between 2019 and 2024, according to its latest annual report. Last year, almost 1,500 complaints out of a total of 4,478 were about local authorities. Almost 1,400 related to Government departments and offices. The Department of Social Protection was the subject of over 600 complaints. There were 887 complaints about public bodies in the health sector with 705 involving the HSE and 149 about the child and family agency Tusla. The Ombudsman Ger Deering used the annual report as an opportunity to call on the Government to provide funding to support younger people in nursing homes and, where appropriate, move them to more suitable accommodation. Following an investigation by the Ombudsman in 2021, the HSE set up an 'under-65 programme' and successfully transitioned over 100 people to more suitable accommodation. The scheme - according to the report - also "improved the lives" of those who could not transition out of nursing homes. 'Completely unacceptable' scheme cannot be delivered - Ombudsman However, the HSE has said that there is insufficient funding to continue to assist many of the young people to move to more appropriate accommodation or to continue the programme. Mr Deering described as "completely unacceptable", that the programme, which brought hope and independence to people with disabilities "cannot be delivered because of a lack of funding". When it comes to supporting disabled people to access transport, he welcomed a commitment from the Department of Transport to develop a new scheme. The Ombudsman has noted that over the last 13 years, he and his two predecessors highlighted the lack of appropriate supports for people with disabilities since the Mobility Allowance and the Motorised Transport Grant were closed to new applicants. He expressed cautious optimism that "a long-standing injustice" was about to be righted, adding that, progress would be closely monitored. Department of Social Protection complaint A number of complaints have been highlighted in the report including one where the Department of Social Protection mistakenly recalled payment from a deceased carer's account. 'Anne' contacted the Ombudsman after the department recalled a payment of over €2,700 it incorrectly believed it had paid to the bank account of her son and carer, Martin, who had recently died. Anne and her family contacted the department several times over a 12-month period to highlight the error and get a refund, but the Department refused. It emerged that while Anne had notified the Department of her son's death, the department had attempted to continue to pay Carer's Allowance and a Carer's Support Grant into Martin's account. As his account had been closed, the bank automatically returned any payments to the department. However, the department did not know that the payment had been returned and also recalled the payment which meant that the money left Martin's bank account in error. This error arose as the Department had not updated the returned payments to its account, and therefore believed that Martin had received the payment. The department apologised to Anne for the error and refunded the money it had incorrectly retrieved. It also agreed to pay a Carer's Support Grant of €1,850 to Anne's family as a goodwill gesture but also as Martin would have met the conditions of that Grant before his death. In another instance, 'Fiona' had a poor experience in the Coombe Hospital in Dublin when her child was born and was extremely upset and felt traumatised by the experience. While she had initially raised concerns with the hospital ended up making a formal complaint to the hospital two years later. However, the hospital refused to deal with the matter as it was outside the time limit for making complaints. The Heath Act, 2004, includes a 12-month time limit for making complaints. However, it also provides for the extension of the time limit where special circumstances make it appropriate to do so. The Ombudsman queried whether the hospital had considered using its discretion in this case. In response, the hospital offered to meet Fiona who wanted a written response. According to the report, the hospital issued a comprehensive and empathetic letter which Fiona felt resolved the issues for her. The Ombudsman raised a similar issue to Fiona's in his annual report for 2023. Ot has led him to call on all public bodies - particularly those in the health sector - to be mindful that some people may not be in a position to make a complaint within a specific timeframe for a variety of reasons, including feeling upset or traumatised. In such cases he said the body should consider using its discretion to deal with the complaint. 'Andrew' contacted the Ombudsman when his mother's belongings, including her dentures and shoes, went missing during her time in St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin. The hospital told him that it had no record of the items being with his mother when she was admitted. However, the Ombudsman discovered evidence that both the woman's dentures and shoes were with her when she was in the hospital. An initial report from the hospital's speech and language therapist showed that Andrew's mother had no issues eating, while a subsequent report highlighted that she was having difficulty eating and was missing some teeth. The Ombudsman also uncovered a therapist's report that said she had difficulty "putting on her shoes". The hospital apologised to Andrew and his mother and reimbursed them for the value of the items lost.
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mirror
DWP explains work options for PIP claimants who lose benefits in major changes
The Department for Work and Pension has published its response to the Labour Party's Pathways to Work Green Paper - which sets out plans to reform disability and incapacity benefits The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has outlined the work support available to disabled individuals in light of impending major cuts to Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Universal Credit and Carer's Allowance. Labour's Pathways to Work Green Paper is targeting a reform of disability and incapacity benefits, with an aim to encourage more people back into employment, thus reducing economic inactivity and bolstering Britain's employment rate. These alterations are anticipated to lead to approximately 370,000 PIP claimants losing their daily living element, while around 430,000 new applicants won't be eligible for it from the outset. READ MORE: Simple airport duty free trick to bag cheaper beauty and alcohol before arriving Furthermore, 150,000 individuals will lose their entitlement to Carer's Allowance if the person they care for is no longer eligible for the daily living component of PIP. Universal Credit claimants who receive the incapacity top-up for having limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA) will see this payment frozen for five years, while new recipients will receive half the amount, which will also be frozen. Some households will be impacted by changes to all three of these benefits, reports Birmingham Live. Sir Stephen Timms, DWP Minister for Social Security and Disability, has detailed the support that's on offer to disabled individuals who are encouraged to transition into work. He was responding to a query from Graham Leadbitter (SNP MP for Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey) regarding the effectiveness of the Disability Confident Employer Scheme and Access to Work. The Disability Confident Employer Scheme encourages employers to foster inclusive workplaces and support disabled individuals "to get work and get on in work." If an employer fails to adhere to the scheme, a complaints process is in place. The DWP has the authority to suspend a business from participating if it does not meet the criteria. Sir Stephen has been exploring ways to strengthen the rules and will present proposals "in due course." He also mentioned that assistance is available through Access to Work, which can provide personalised discretionary grants to support disabled individuals who wish to work. In 2023/2024, the scheme assisted 67,720 people either to secure a job or maintain employment. These grants can cover travel assistance, support workers, specialist aids and equipment, as well as mental health support for up to nine months. Sir Stephen further stated: "All employers have a duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments in the workplace where a disabled person would otherwise be put at a substantial disadvantage compared with their colleagues. "The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Equality Act and providing guidance on reasonable adjustments."
