BENEFITS AND FINANCES AN OVERVIEW OF THE MAIN CONSIDERATIONS MAIN - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

BENEFITS AND FINANCES AN OVERVIEW OF THE MAIN CONSIDERATIONS

MAIN TYPES OF BENEFITS

• DISABILITY LIVING ALLOWANCE (DLA)
• PERSONAL INDEPENDENCE PAYMENTS

(PIP)

• DISABLED STUDENTS’ ALLOWANCE (DSA)
• EMPLOYMENT AND SUPPORT

ALLOWANCE (ESA)

DISABILITY LIVING ALLOWANCE

DLA is a tax free (non means tested) benefit for people with disabilities who need help with mobility or care costs

• NB. Since the 20 June 2016 PIP has started to replaced DLA for

those aged 16 to 64. Those aged 16 or over cannot now apply for DLA DLA has two components:

• Care Component
• Mobility Component

ELIGIABILITY

Usually to qualify for DLA a person must

• Be under 16
• Need extra looking after or have mobility difficulties
• Be in Great Britain, another European Economic Area (EEA)

country or Switzerland, when the claim is made (some exceptions apply such as for family members of the armed forces

• Have lived in Great Britain or Northern Ireland for 2 of the last 3

years (if the person is over 3 years old)

• A person under 6 months old must have lived in Great Britain or

Northern Ireland for at least 13 weeks

• A person aged between 6 months and 3 years must have lived

within Great Britain or Northern Ireland for at least 26 weeks of the last 156 weeks

THE DISABILITY OR HEALTH CONDITION

The person’s disability or health condition mean that at least one of the following applies:-

• They need much more looking after than a person of the same age who does

not have a disability or health condition; and or

• They have mobility difficulties

They must have had these difficulties for at least 3 months and expect them to last for at least 6 months. If they’re terminally ill (that is, not expected to live more than 6 months), they don’t need to have had these difficulties for 3 months.

THE COMPONENTS

• Care component
• The rate the person gets depends on the level of looking after they need, for

example:

• lower rate - help for some of the day or night
• middle rate - frequent help or constant supervision during the day, supervision

at night or someone to help while they’re on dialysis

• higher rate - help or supervision throughout both day and night, or they’re

terminally ill

• Mobility component
• The rate the person gets depends on the level of help they need getting about,

for example:

• lower rate - they can walk but need help and or supervision when outdoors

(virtually unable to walk in unfamiliar places unaided)

• higher rate - they can’t walk, can only walk a short distance without severe

discomfort, could become very ill if they try to walk or they are blind

.PERSONAL INDEPENDENCE PAYMENTS

PIP is a tax free (non means tested) benefit for people with disabilities who need help with mobility or care costs Only those aged 16-64 can apply PIP has two components or parts

• Daily living
• Mobility

ELIGABILITY

Usually to apply for PIP a person must

• Be aged 16-64
• Have a disability or health condition which means a person has difficulties with

daily living and/or mobility

• Those difficulties have lasted 3 months and are expected to last at least 9 months

(unless terminally ill)

• Have lived in England, Scotland or Wales for at least 2 of the last 3 years and be

in one of these countries at the time the application is made

• Different rules apply in Northern Ireland, for those coming from EEA

countries, for those living abroad and for those that are not British citizens

.

THE DISABILITY OR HEALTH CONDITION

Disability is defined within the Equality Act 2010

• S6(1) Equality Act 2010:

(1) A person (“P”) has a disability if – (a) P has a physical or mental impairment, and (b) The impairment has a substantial and long term adverse effect on P’s ability to carry out normal day to day activities.

• Long term is defined as having lasted, or being likely to last, for 12

months or the remainder of P’s life

THE COMPONENTS OR PARTS Daily Living Component

A person will need help more than half of the time with such activities as:-

• preparing or eating food
• washing, bathing and using the toilet
• dressing and undressing
• reading and communicating
• managing your medicines or treatments
• making decisions about money
• engaging with other people

Mobility Component

A person’s ability to carry out the following activities will be limited:-

• Planning and following journeys
• Moving around

Each component is split into 2 rates, standard and enhanced

HOW THE DECISION IS MADE

• A health professional will carry out an assessment of a person’s ability to

undertake a range of daily living activities and mobility activities

• A report is then produced for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
• A decision maker at the DWP will then make a decision regarding entitlement,

rate and duration

• If the DWP decision maker decides a person’s ability to carry out the

component is limited, they will be awarded the standard rate. If they are severely limited, they will be awarded the enhanced rate

• A person’s ability to carry out each activity is measured against a list of standard

statements describing what they can or cannot do. These are known as the

• descriptors. The health professional will advise the DWP which descriptors are

applicable

• Each descriptor carries a points score ranging from 0 to 12. The DWP decision

maker will decide on the point score to be applied to each relevant descriptor

• The points are then added for each component
• For each component 8 points is required for standard rate and 12 points for

enhanced rate

Disabled Students’ Allowance

• DSA is a tax free (non means tested) allowance for

disabled students.

• It is designed to assist with the additional costs a

student would incur, whilst studying, as a result of their disability

ELIGABILITY

• Must be a student living in England
• Have a disability that affects the ability to study (disability

is defined within the Equality Act 2010- above)

• Evidence of disability is required
• Be an undergraduate or postgraduate student (including

the Open University or distance learning)

• Also includes foundation degrees, HNC, HND, and

DipHE

• Qualify for student finance from Student Finance England
• Be studying on a course that lasts for at least a year
• Not be in receipt of NHS Disabled Students Allowance

(this is a separate scheme)

ONCE ELIGABILITY IS DETERMINED

• An assessment is generally required. This will set out the equipment

and any other additional support a disabled student should receive

• Generally, Student Finance England will contact a disabled student

and request they attend an assessment centre (the cost of the assessment will be paid out of the disabled student’s DSA entitlement

• DSA is split into 3 components;-

1. Specialist equipment allowance 2. Non-medical helper allowance 3. General allowance (this can cover course related costs including printing and additional travel costs)

• There are maximum limits each year for each component

The DSA Scheme has changed

• DSA will no longer fund standard specification computers. It

will fund higher specification computers where the need for

• ne arises from the student’s disability, as opposed to a need

due to the way in which a course is run.

• Students with Specific Learning Difficulties will continue to

receive support through DSA where their support needs are considered to be more complex.

• DSA will fund the most specialist non medical help however,

Higher Education Institutions are expected to consider if strategies can be put into place to reduce the need for support workers.

The DSA Scheme has changed cont.

• The additional costs of specialist living accommodation will

no longer be met by DSA other than in exceptional circumstances.

• Higher Education Institutions that offer DSA study needs

assessments and /or providers of DSA Assistive Technology Service will now need to be registered.

What does this mean for disabled students?

The emphasis is now upon Higher Education Institutions to make reasonable adjustments and create an inclusive environment for students without necessarily having funding from DSA. As a result, Higher Education Institutions now need to fully understand their legal obligations to disabled students and ensure compliance.

Higher Education Institutions Duty to make reasonable adjustments(s20 EQA)

• Where a student is disabled and requires an adjustment to

teaching methods or how they are treated in order to avoid them being treated less favourably the Higher Education Institution should do so.

• It is an anticipatory duty on the Higher Education

Institution.

• A failure to make reasonable adjustments is a breach of s21

EQA and can be sued upon.

EMPLOYMENT AND SUPPORT ALLOWANCE

ESA is a means tested benefit that offers those who are ill or disabled financial support if they are unable to work or personalised support aimed at getting a person back to work There are three types of ESA

• Contributory ESA- usually where a person has paid

sufficient National Insurance contributions

• Income related ESA- usually this relates to persons on a low

income

• “New Style” ESA- usually relates to those in a Universal

Credit full service area or who are in receipt of Universal Credit

ELIGABILITY

• ESA is means tested
• Must be living in Great Britain
• Illness or disability affects a person’s ability to work
• Must be under State pension age
• Not in receipt of Job Seekers Allowance
• Not in receipt of Statutory Sick Pay or Statutory Maternity

Pay

• Can apply if Employed, Self-employed or Unemployed
• Once an application is made a person will be invited to a

Work Capability Assessment

• Following assessment (and confirmed eligibility) a person

will be placed in one of two groups 1. Support group 2. Work related support group- generally a person will be required to attend regular interviews

• A severe disability premium exists

OTHER BENEFITS NOT COVERED IN THIS WORKSHOP

• Attendance allowance
• Carer’s allowance
• Incapacity benefit
• Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
• Job Seekers Allowance

Lasting Powers of Attorney and Deputyships

Assisting people who lack capacity with decision making

• Attorneys
• Deputies
• Trustees
• Appointees

Attorneys A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document which allows one person (“the Donor”) to give another person (“the Attorney”) the power to "'step into their legal shoes' and make decisions on their behalf. A person must have mental capacity to make LPAs. Two types:

• 1. Financial decisions
• 2. Personal welfare decisions

The Attorney(s) must act in the Donor’s best interests.

Assisting people who lack capacity with decision making cont.

Deputies W here a person lacks mental capacity (and so cannot appoint an attorney), a Deputy may need to be appointed. Perhaps the person has assets that require management or decisions need to be made about their personal welfare. Again, there are two types: 1. Property and financial affairs 2. Personal welfare A Deputy's powers are strictly stated in the deputyship Order made by the Court of Protection and cannot be exceeded. Decisions must be in the person’s best interests.

Assisting people who lack capacity with decision making cont.

Appointees Where a person lacks mental capacity and their only income is state benefits then their funds can be dealt with by somebody close to them as their 'Appointee' This an arrangement with the DWP and involves the incapacitated person's benefits being paid to the Appointee directly to be spent in the person's best interest. Trustees Appointed under a “trust deed”. Must act fairly and in good faith and ensure they comply with the conditions of the trust deed. Responsible for executing acquisitions and disposal transactions as trustees on behalf of the beneficiaries.

Disclaimer: Although great care and attention has gone into the preparation of this material and the contents are believed to be correct Sinclairslaw will not be held responsible for any error contained or any adverse consequences arising from the use

• f this material. In particular, no liability

can be accepted where a person acts in reliance on these notes or views expressed by the author.

Thank you for listening!

If you would like to contact our speaker, please contact him via e-mail : Kevin McManamon: k.mcmanamon@Sinclairslaw.co.uk