Hi can someone help me. I have a gentleman over 60, who is registered blind and lives in his own home with his wife and his elderly mother. He and his wife do not receive any kinds of means tested benefits as they say they are not eligable, but he gets DLA he thinks at the lower or middle rate care. His mother however receives Pension Credit guaranteed and Attendance Allowance. His wife says she did apply Carer Allowance but was refused? but she has no paper work to show me what exactly happened. She is not working and cares for both of them but owns a property with her husband. I thought she would still be eligable for Carer Allowance?
Also they would like to reduce thier council tax bill will they be entitled to the second adult rebate or other discount?

thanks for any pointers!!!

Aisha

If he only gets lower rate care and his wife applied in respect of him then she would be refused (does he get lower rate mobility and if not why not?) If she has not previously applied in respect of her mother in law then she could very well be eligible for CA as AA is always a qualifying benefit.

They can't get second adult rebate on these facts as it is rarely available to couples. However if they have never applied for MTBs they should think about it. It's very possible for people to be way over the limit when under 60, but once they hit the magic age for state pension credit, amounts go up in leaps and bounds and they wouldn't get any non-dependant deduction for mum while he has DLA. Their applicable amount (pension credit and council tax benefit), if she is getting carer's, is just over £200 a week, excluding his DLA but including her carer's. This is a lot more than for a couple below pension credit age for which the equivalent figure is only £116.45, and they might qualify for both council tax benefit and some pension credit. There's no £16,000 capital ceiling either, just tariff income at the lower rate of £1 per £500 ad infinitum.

I would apply for middle rate care if husband doesn't get it - virtually no risk to a two lower rates award if he is registered blind.

Depending on this, look at two possible CA claims, eg. wife i.r.o husband and husband i.r.o mother.

Look also at CT discounts - summarised in Disability Rights Handbook, p.54. Will depend if mother is severely mentally impaired, and if she gets higher rate AA. If both these conditions apply, mother is disregarded as SMI, both of the couple can be disregarded as her carers (regardless of CA claims), resulting in a 50% discount. If mother gets HRAA but is not SMI, couple are disregarded as carers, mother isn't, resulting in 25% discount. If mother is SMI but not on HRAA, she is disregarded but this doesn't result in a discount. And remember these discounts can be backdated for as long as the conditions have been met.

Richard Atkinson