Mon Jul 13, 2009 3:29 pm
First let me start by saying I have been reading these forums for a while now but not got around to posting. My wife has multiple health issues that I won’t go into in great detail but some of the problems she has are epilepsy, diabetes (type 2), 2 heart complaints, asthma and a few others. She also had a serious car accident about 15 years ago before we were together while she lived in the USA where she is from and now only goes outside in a wheelchair with my to push her as she cannot propel herself. She moved over to the UK to be with me in 2002 and we were married in 2004.
We struggled by with just my wages as she was unable to claim anything for a couple of years due to her visa restrictions. In 2006 she was at a point where she could have claimed but I was offered a decent job in Gibraltar so we just took that and moved out there.
I was made redundant last year so after a few months we returned back to the UK as I wasn’t able to get another job. We came back in March this year and started claiming benefits. It took 16 weeks for ESA to finally get approved for her and as a partner I also have to be on ESA and not JSA. Her DLA started last week after a 15 week wait for approval, she is on Middle rate Care and Higher Rate Mobility.
It has been a very hard time since we came back, we are living in a bedsit (1 room in a shared house) and it is totally unsuitable for my wife. Due to the delays in DLA and ESA we have had quite a nice lump sum of back payments which we will use to rent a flat asap to get out of this horrible bedsit.
I do have some confusion regarding Carer’s Allowance.
If I apply for this am I taken off the partners section of ESA? If so we would only be about £13 a week better off.
Does carers allowance effect housing benefit?
I am planning on doing an access course come September to enable me to go to university next year and improve my prospects for a career that can support us for the next however many years.
I also want to thank the people I have seen on this forum as reading some of the posts I realise I am not going through as many problems as some others are.
I look forward to be able to contribute to this forum once i have got my head around all I need to know.
Steve
We struggled by with just my wages as she was unable to claim anything for a couple of years due to her visa restrictions. In 2006 she was at a point where she could have claimed but I was offered a decent job in Gibraltar so we just took that and moved out there.
I was made redundant last year so after a few months we returned back to the UK as I wasn’t able to get another job. We came back in March this year and started claiming benefits. It took 16 weeks for ESA to finally get approved for her and as a partner I also have to be on ESA and not JSA. Her DLA started last week after a 15 week wait for approval, she is on Middle rate Care and Higher Rate Mobility.
It has been a very hard time since we came back, we are living in a bedsit (1 room in a shared house) and it is totally unsuitable for my wife. Due to the delays in DLA and ESA we have had quite a nice lump sum of back payments which we will use to rent a flat asap to get out of this horrible bedsit.
I do have some confusion regarding Carer’s Allowance.
If I apply for this am I taken off the partners section of ESA? If so we would only be about £13 a week better off.
Does carers allowance effect housing benefit?
I am planning on doing an access course come September to enable me to go to university next year and improve my prospects for a career that can support us for the next however many years.
I also want to thank the people I have seen on this forum as reading some of the posts I realise I am not going through as many problems as some others are.
I look forward to be able to contribute to this forum once i have got my head around all I need to know.
Steve
