Carers respite payment

[Clayton_1508]

hi
my name is Clay, i currently care for my wife and have been for about 10 years. I am ill myself and cannot work because of this. I recently had a carers assessment by my local social services and as a result was told i would qaulify for "carers respite payment" which i was led to believe was £400 per year. i have been getting this payment for 3 years up to now but because my local council has changed the way they do a financial assessment things have changed and i'm confused. I really need advice about what income they can count towards assessing me because they currently state i have excess income of £243 per week, which i find bewildering to say the least, they are not allowing for food, energy costs, petrol.
Any info or advice would be appreciated, sorry if this is in the wrong forum i'm not sure where to go, i have tried searching but can't find anything. Thank you

[bowlingbun]

Hi Clayton, as I understand it, a local authority cannot make any financial charges without a full financial assessment. My mum had a number of these, it involved a member of the finance team (NOT a care manager/social worker) writing down all income, having seen evidence. Then they would make a calculation and give you a written copy of the assessment. Has any of this happened?

[Clayton_1508]

hi
Thanks for the reply. Your information has just enabled me to get a proper assessment and my excess income has gone from £243 to £60 (which is my care component of DLA), which i already knew could be counted. I have a new letter coming in the post and from the information they gave i can now easily qualify for the respite payment, which to be honest is a massive help in taking a break.

For information though it would seem that they were assessing me as a single person and not taking into account that i care for my wife and that the money coming in was for both of us to live on. Maybe an oversight, maybe a council under pressure to make additional savings, who knows.

Thanks again for the advice.

[bowlingbun]

You're welcome. I've been a carer for 36 years, since my son was brain damaged at birth. I've also supported our four elderly parents, and a few others with severe health problems. I'm here to try and help others avoid the pitfalls I made! Has you wife had her own needs assessment? Does she have a regular care package which allows you regular time off?

[Londonbound]

Can someone tell me a bit about this carers respite payment, I am in very similar circumstances, I have been caring for my wife for 15 years.
I cannot work due to illness, I cannot work anyway because my wife needs full time help and support.
I live in North Yorkshire, is this carers respite payment available , how do I apply for it?
I had a carers assessment recently but was told I am not entitled to anything, I have to have the right circumstances which I don't.