Caring after Head Injury - State Benefits

Carers' Allowance

• A taxable benefit which is paid to qualifying carers
• It is currently £53.90 per week, although this may be reduced depending on which other benefits (if any) you are already claiming
• To qualify you must:
• Earn no more than £100.00 per week;
• Be aged 16 years or over (but not in full time education);
• Care for the person for more than 35 hours per week;
• Care for someone who receives either Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance for personal care, Constant Attendance Allowance at the maximum rate with an Industrial Injuries disablement benefit or at the basic rate with a War Disablement Pension
• If you are on a low income, top up benefits such as income support or pension credit can also be claimed, plus housing benefit and Council tax benefit

Direct Payments

• Direct payments are paid in place of services directly provided by social services. They are to allow services to be purchased from an organisation or to provide someone with a head injury with assistance.
• To get direct payments, you should ask social services to carry out a community care assessment. If this concludes that care is required, then direct payments can be requested. The level of payment made depends on the outcome of the assessment.
• Direct payments allow flexibility, choice and control but also mean responsibility for managing the money and the responsibility of recruiting the right people and choosing the right services. Direct payments are therefore not for everyone.
• Direct payments are not available if you are the spouse, civil partner, close relative or living in the same house as the person being cared for. However, if there are exceptional circumstances, this rule may be disapplied, for example, if there are specific reasons such as language or religion why only you can care for the person you are caring for. 

Pension Credit

• This tops up the state pension to a guaranteed minimum level.
• The current level that the pension is topped up to is £130.00 per week for a single person and £198.45 for a couple.
• You may be entitled to pension credit if you or your partner have caring responsibilities or have increased housing costs such as a mortgage.

Council Tax Benefit

• If you live in the same house as the person being cared for, a 25% or 50% reduction on their Council Tax bill may be applied. The level of reduction depends on whether there are other people living in the household who work on a full time basis.
• To qualify;
  • The person being cared for cannot be your spouse, partner or child;
  • You must provide at least 35 hours of care per week;
  • The person being cared for must receive either Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance for personal care, Constant Attendance Allowance at the maximum rate with an Industrial Injuries disablement benefit or at the basic rate with a War Disablement Pension.

Council Services

• If you require services from the Council such as meals on wheels in your own right, you can apply to your local Council for a needs assessment and a financial assessment.
• The financial assessment will take into account all benefits and income you receive including land.
• Depending on the outcome of the financial assessment, a reduction may be applied to the amount you have to pay for Council services.

The information set out here is correct as of November 2009. For the most up to date details for state benefits you wish to visit http://www.dwp.gov.uk/