Attendance Allowance / PIP / DLA / SDP : Paid To Family Carer ? There Are " Problems " NOT Advertised !

[Chris From The Gulag]

What a surprise ... no response as I type.

Still , I won't be letting this one rest anytime soon.

If I'm right , there will be a lot of head scratching going on.

Anyone else see the dangers in this one ?

At least , one of us is asking THE questions ... nobody else out there has been ... for close on a decade.

[Chris From The Gulag]

No response ... August ... end of the month to chase a reply.

Diarise forward in line with the Direct Payments thread ... they interlock ... payment of monies by the caree to the carer.

The use of AA to pay the family carer continues to crop up on the forum ... despite the somewhat grey area.

Severe Disability Premium ... only paid to the applicant IF no one is caring for them and claiming CA.

Gets weirder and weirder ?

[Chris From The Gulag]

Dementia funding in the news ... time to get this one back to the front ahead of my chaser to the DWP.

[James83]

i can remember when my dad was still alive , my mum asked the guy who came to the house "" exactly what is the AA for "" , his reply was ANYTHING that helps providing care for your husband , making things easier for you or him .

she said so i can use that towards bills , electric gas , food , she was told yes that is exactly what it can help towards , as well as anything the council will not provide ..
after he passed away our local council at the time asked for dads AA payments to cover the costs of the equipment they provided us over the years as the social services department is not a charity . they increased our council tax and rent to make up the costs . and when the council guy showed up to remove the stair lift he should he would class it as "" removal of faulty item "" so we would avoid paying the new removal fees for large items , which for the stair lift would have been £ 250.

when mum started getting AA for her and i started getting carers allowance , we had a call to attend a housing officer at the local high school to talk about benefits and housing bills increasing now it was just 2 of us in the house.
the woman was wanting to hold the meeting in the main reception of the school and i told her if she insisted in doing so mum and i would simply get up and leave . we were taken through to a tiny meeting room .
and she went over benefits and what they do and do not cover , and she told mum AA is NOT to pay for clothes , food , bills , debt , electric , gas .. she then looked at me and said and what do you spend cares allowance on , told her that was my business and not something i had to disclose .
she then informed me , you better not be buying , clothes , help paying for rent , council tax , bills , ..
i asked what exactly is carers allowance for , and she refused to give a straight answer ....

some time after that we had someone from DWP contact us , and mum asked what was AA for , and the guy stated "" once we pay it you , it is yours to spend on what you wish or do as you wish as we dont ask for proof of purchase , or receipts , and apologised at how the local council housing officer spoke to us .

[Chris From The Gulag]

Had to smile , James.

You forgot the cherry on the top.

Following day , a couple of gorillas from the HM Revenue & Customs arrived ... wanted to know all about your undeclared income ... received from your caree out of AA paid by the DWP !

[James83]

funny enough we were never once asked about any savings do we have , any other income do we get / have . though that would never had been an issue because the answer for me was ZERO and the only other money mum was getting was state pension lol.

the main issue appeared to have been caused by the female housing officer who had also stated to mum a woman of her age does not need a home , and could move into a care home and your son move out of the home ,,, he can defend for him self.

thats what shocked a lot of people , but as said else where in an other post a brother fully supports the idea that his mother is forced out of the home into a care home and i should be forced onto the streets and the home given to immigrants ( as he proudly bragged during a family funeral )

[bowlingbun]

James, I was dismayed to read your recent post.

I would have complained that the dreadful woman had an "urgent need for further training" and that "she should have no direct contact with any member of the public until such training had been satisfactorily completed"!!!

In plain language, she needed the sack.

[Chris From The Gulag]

The more i give this one some thought , the more confusing this issue becomes.

I assume both AA and PIP are NOT means tested ?

Income paid to the caree.

If caree " Passes " these monies , or a portion thereof , to the family carer , said carer receives the income " Tax free " at that point.

What if the same carer also receives additional income ... say a private pension and / or income related benefits ?

Would not both the DWP and HM Revenue & Customs have an " Interest ? "

DWP ... overpayment of income related benefits / HM Revenue & Customs ... no tax paid on undeclared income ?

Husband and wife ... caree / carer ... possibly no problem as the HM Revenue & Customs " Recognises " the relationship.

Caree / carer ... parent / sibling , either combination ... is also a partnership but NOT recognised by the same agency.

Time for a full clarification from Carers UK ... is it not ?

NOBODY reading this thread wants a knock on the door from either Government agency !

[bowlingbun]

Chris, I think a response from Carers UK over this is well overdue, as it potentially affects so many carers and carees.

Does anyone from CUK now read the forum at all?!?!

[Chris From The Gulag]

Thanks to an unnamed " Green " , the " Reds " have been advised of my / our concerns.

Suffice to say , unconfirmed reports of a mass request for urgent sick leave at Great Dover Street ?

How these related issues have remained so long out there beggars belief !

Without flying my own kite , what would have happened if I hadn't returned to the forum ?

At least I've been looking out for my former shipmates.

Taking commonly held " Assumptions " across the board and challenging their very basis ... 21 Hour Rule springs to mind.

The danger to family carers is obvious to anyone reading this thread ... and it's ugly twin sister , the main DIRECT PAYMENTS thread.

Which does answer the last part of your posting ... that means only one thing to me ... utter contempt for members of this forum ... in CarerLand , WE are the professionals ... not you know who !

Can the same be said for ... ssssssh ... you know who ?