Council Tax reduces Disability Care Contributions

Currently a lot of people who had previously been eligible for full Council Tax Benefit are finding themselves hit by Council Tax bills. This includes many people on very low incomes unable to simply "go and get a job", such as carers and disabled people on ESA.

There is however one silver lining for disabled people who are paying social services for their care. This new policy might be cushioned slightly by a reduction in their contribution to their care costs.

Social services are supposed to deduct the amount paid in council tax from what the disabled person pays them towards their care.

Anyone who has had a financial assessment from social services and is paying toward their care should check to see whether council tax has been taken into account. (This will normally be listed under "weekly allowances".)

(Note: see below for comments re Bedroom Tax and PIP.)

Reasoning

The reason behind this can be found in the fine print of the "Fairer Charging Policies for Home Care and other non residential Social Services"

Paragraph 23 states that

Housing costs and Council Tax should be assessed net of any Housing Benefit or
support under the local Council Tax Reduction Scheme.

"Income should be assessed net of any Income Tax and National Insurance contributions payable and net of housing costs and Council Tax."

The thing to remember here is that "Income" for social services is not someone's actual income but the "eligible income", ie the income that is earmarked for care.

For instance to encourage disabled people to move into work, earnings and tax credits do not count as income. On the other hand benefits such as ESA do.
So rather ironically, someone on a salary of £50,000 pa would be said on paper to have an income of £0 per week, whereas someone on ESA has an income of over £100.

Social services cannot take as much money as they like, but must leave the disabled person with "Income support +25%".
They must also take into account essential disability related expenses, although in practise this varies wildly from council to council.
This is the "Fairer Charging Policy".

So essentially social services work out the disabled person's income and subtract

• Any housing costs left over after housing benefit, 
• Any council tax left over after council tax reduction scheme,
• Earnings, tax credits etc
• Benefits which aren't allowed to be used for care (eg mobility DLA)
• Disability expenses

They then take anything left over (if possible) while still leaving the disabled person with money equivalent to "income support +25%".

Note: Care contributions can vary greatly dependent on what disability premiums people are eligible for and how generous councils are when taking into account disability related expenditure.
Many people don't have to pay anything. My own contribution has been as high as £96 per week and as low as £56 per week.
Ironically when I could still work and earned twice as much as I do now I didn't pay a penny!

Very Important Comment regarding Bedroom Tax

Given that social services must take into account housing costs there is a query as to whether this includes the bedroom tax for those affected by it.

The following (paragraph 23) would indicate that it should:

Housing costs and Council Tax should be assessed net of any Housing Benefit or
support under the local Council Tax Reduction Scheme.

It could be argued that the bedroom tax is a housing cost left over after housing benefit has been paid. If so, then the disabled person's calculated "income" is lower and their contribution should either drop by that same amount (if possible) or drop to 0.
For instance if someone was paying £30pw, they would only pay £16.
If someone was paying £9pw, they would now pay £0.

Disclaimer: While I know for certain that some social services do take council tax into account (my own do), I do not know their policy with regards to bedroom tax. However given this guidance it could well be worth a query.

Comment regarding DLA vs. PIP

If social services only provide day care then they can only count mid rate care DLA as income even if the disabled person receives the high rate of DLA.
As PIP doesn't differentiate between night and day care, the new rules state that that social services are justified in counting all of PIP as income.
This means that someone on mid rate DLA or standard PIP who is upgraded to enhanced rate PIP might not see a penny of it. It could be swallowed up in care contributions.
In practise the government is leaving this to the discretion of individual councils. In the long term this means that we can expect to see a postcode lottery as to whether individuals have the entirety of their enhanced PIP award taken as a care contribution.

An Example of a Financial Assessment

A financial assessment might look something like this
Let's consider a hypothetical disabled person receiving a care package worth £140 in direct payments.
They are in the support group of ESA but are able to do 2 hours of permitted work per week for which they receive £20 in earnings.
They also receive DLA high rate mobility and mid rate care.
They receive LHA but have to top up their rent by £8.00 per week.
Social services have recognised disability related expenses with regards to their wheelchair, other specialist equipment and an alarm system in case of falls. However they refuse to take into account dietary requirements, heating and other increased costs.

Weekly Income (including DLA both care and mobility):

• DLA Middle Rate Care £54.45
• DLA Higher Rate Mobility £56.75
• ESA core component  £72.40
• ESA support component  £35.75
• ESA Enhanced disability premium  £15.55
• 2 hours permitted work per week (earnings)  £20

Total = A = £254.90

Weekly Allowances: (disregarded income such as earnings and benefits not earmarked for care, money set aside for disability expenditure, council tax and housing costs, amount required by law to leave to live on)

• DLA Higher Rate Mobility -£56.75
• 2 hours permitted work (earnings)  -£20
• Specialist Equipment -£6.73
• Wheelchair maintenance -£3.85
• Alarm button service  -£3.50
• Council Tax  -£5.76
• Rent Top Up -£8.00
• Weekly Allowance under 60 (= Income support +25%) -£130.31

Total = B = £-234.90

Net Disposable Income = A-B = £20
Cost of Care Package = C =£140 (14 hours of direct payments at £10 per hour)
Care Contribution = the smaller of C or A-B, = £20.

Please don't come in

EDIT: August 27th 2013.
Jamie Oliver has today launched into a tirade against "poor" families with large TVs. This sadly once again makes this post relevant.

_________________

I hate strangers coming into my flat.

I live in a fairly roomy ground floor 2 bedroom flat. It took me quite a long time to find as I needed somewhere which was wheelchair friendly and large enough for me to get around in.
At the time I was still working and so I wanted it to be close enough for me to get to the office in my wheelchair as public transport would have been a disaster!

I have now lived here for about 8 years. My landlord is a good one and the property is kept in extremely good condition and has been repainted twice since I moved in. I am extremely lucky as the rent was very low from the outset and hasn't gone up much over the years. My neighbours above me pay around £100 more per month for exactly the same flat. (I'm hoping my landlord doesn't find out!).
After 2 years (bureaucracy!) the flat was finally adapted to be almost fully wheelchair accessible (rather than simply wheelchair friendly) with, for instance, a nice level entrance instead of bumping myself at speed up a step with a kerb climber!
Although semi-furnished, while I was working I bought some reasonably nice furniture as well as some luxuries such as my tropical fish tanks, a nice big TV, a games console, a big laptop and a blu-ray player (I'm a bit of a techno-geek!).

I was lucky that I had a well paid job so I was also able to put a bit of money aside during those years so that should any of these things break down, or should I need to replace more essential things like my electric wheelchair, I should be able to do so at least once.
I am also in the very lucky position that other essential items such as cookers, washing machines, boilers etc are the landlord's responsibility, not mine.
The flat is kept clean and (sort of) tidyish thanks to the help of my carers I employ through the direct payments scheme through social services (although I would note that I have to contribute 100% of my so called "disposable income" from my benefits towards my care, which comes out of my DLA care component and ESA disability premiums).

However my illness continued to progress and my disabilities worsen. I eventually had to give up my career 2 years ago and go on benefits. My low rent really came in useful here as it meant that my property still came below the upper limit for LHA (replacement of housing benefit) even with recent changes. (Had I been living in my upstairs neighbours' flat, I would have had to move as LHA would not cover their rent).

But this is where things all start to go a bit pear shaped.
Newcomers to my flat are not at all impressed.
It is far too "nice" for someone on benefits, even disability benefits.
They are perhaps unaware that it is the landlord, not myself who pays for the decorating of my flat.
It perhaps doesn't occur to them that I NEED more floor space and that my electric wheelchair cannot negotiate most properties. Furthermore if I DID move social services would have to pay out to readapt whatever property I moved into with new ramps etc...
They certainly don't know how much my rent is, nor that for whatever reason it is very low and I am simply very lucky.
It doesn't matter, nor would it probably occur to them that not one of the expensive items here were bought with benefit money and that I would NOT be able to buy these things today or if I had been on benefits all my life.**
In fact it usually does not occur to them that I may not have been on benefits all my life but worked until just 2 years ago. Total shock and surprise normally greets the "revelation" that I used to have a "proper" job.

I very unusually had to use an agency carer today I had never had before. She said "what a nice flat" I had. After looking around she pointed out that although I was sick "I had a lot of expensive things around me". She then asked if I was on benefits and added she "assumed I don't work?..."

THAT is why I hate new people coming to my flat. I am now ashamed and feel the need to justify having the things I do, even those I worked hard to get and bought with my own wages.

This particular carer was perhaps out of line, but isn't she just saying what many people think but just don't say?

It keeps me wondering what people are saying behind my back.
Paranoid? Maybe. Realist? Probably.


**Not that I think people who have always been on benefits should not be allowed to budget and save up for something nice, but in my case I would certainly have budgeted very differently and probably bought slightly different items on the income I am on today.

When "the vulnerable" have everything to fear.

Many disabled people are currently living in fear since the welfare reform bill became law. Some benefits are due to be replaced with stringent new criteria which mean that many disabled people will no longer qualify for support. With social services cutbacks many will be left with no help whatsoever.

I am not quite in that position. I am among what the government likes to call "the most vulnerable" (a term I personally hate and would never use). Currently in receipt of the highest levels of disability benefits and having easily passed the new dreaded draconian Work Capability Assessment I am in the support group of what is called ESA and am not expected to be able to work again. Having seen the criteria for the new benefits it is clear that even being as harsh as possible, I should easily qualify for the highest rates of these too.

With the government having promised that the reforms will see more support diverted to the "most vulnerable in our society", you would therefore think I have nothing to fear.

You couldn't be more wrong.

I currently live independently.
As I live alone I receive an extra payment called SDP (severe disability payment) which helps cover the extra costs of care and disability.
However a large portion of this and my other benefits goes to social services and in return I receive direct payments, money with which I employ carers to help me with every day tasks such as getting dressed, washed, eating, shopping, etc.
My LHA (Local Housing Allowance) is upgraded to a 2 bedroom rate so that carers or family can stay when my illness is so bad that someone needs to stay overnight.
My flat was adapted 8 years ago so that it is wheelchair friendly.

When the changes start coming in next year, all this will go.

a) SDP is being abolished completely.
b) The 2 bedroom allowance is no longer guaranteed.
c) I will continue to have to pay most of my benefits towards my care. I cannot manage without it.

I calculate that I will be around £80 per week worse off (around half from SDP and half from LHA).
At first I might be ok. Apparently there will be a transitional protection as far as SDP goes, which means I will only be £40 worse off and might be able to get that together somehow. As time goes on however, that will be eroded by inflation and benefit freezes.

The second big issue is : I cannot manage without a second bedroom.
Even if I could, there are no wheelchair friendly 1 bedroom flats available for rent privately (I've been looking). As far as social housing goes there is little wheelchair accessible housing available and in any case I am not allowed a bungalow until I am 50, ie in 17 years time!

So I either have to go into non wheelchair accessible accommodation without provision for my carer or go bankrupt!

The only other solution is for me to go into a care home at the ripe old age of 35. Ironically this will cost far more than if I were to stay put and continued to be paid benefits.

Before the election David Cameron said "If you are sick, disabled, frail, vulnerable, or the poorest in society you have nothing to fear" 


Sir, please look me in the eye and say that now.

EDIT: On April 20th the following article was published explaining that cuts in Worcestershire are to change social serices policy and would henceforth push disabled people into care homes. I rest my case.

Paperwork Madness

Managing my paperwork has become more and more of a headache as my illness has advanced.

Some tips have helped. Precarious tottering mountains of paper were moved into folders. Creaking unliftable folders were later sorted and emptied into a lightweight filing type cabinet. However I still struggle to keep up with the unending weekly post and letters can be found dotted around my flat in the most unlikely of places.

After 2 years of asking for help and several threatening letters from social services wondering why I wasn't dutifully sending in my records and receipts for my direct payments, I was reassigned a social worker.

This led to a reassessment which took several 2 hour long sessions after which it was agreed that I did indeed need an hour of help a week for paperwork, to be added to my direct payments. I was informed that I would have to undergo the same reassessment 3 months later to check that everything was "ok" and I was using the hour for paperwork. (Drat. There goes my plan for weekly skydiving).

This had to be written up as a report and presented to a panel for approval. Unfortunately it was turned down by the council who insists that I MUST use an agency chosen by them. And I am only allowed an hour a week for a month and half an hour after that. So much for disabled people having choice over their lives.

Not only this, but because of this "increase in care" I must now have a financial reassessment. They will kindly send me a list of all the paperwork I will require at the meeting...

This leaves me in a bit of a dilemma. I am not physically able to prepare this paperwork myself. But with the limited hours they have allocated me, I do not have the spare time to ask my newly allocated helper from the agency to help me either. We are currently ploughing through a backlog of paperwork and sorting out my filing cabinet, before scouring the flat for all the letters currently hiding and giggling from under various pieces of furniture.

In other words they are asking me to produce the paperwork myself so that I can have someone to help me with paperwork...

On a separate note I am appalled by the cost of all this. The amount of extra care I will receive totals 28 hours per YEAR. I will be expected to contribute a third of the cost under the "fairer charging scheme" which laughably charges people on benefits but not people who work (a subject for another time perhaps). So the yearly cost to the council will be around £170.

How much more have all these assessments cost? And that's not counting the exhaustion and inconvenience caused to myself. All this for half an hour help with my paperwork.

P.S. My "paperwork helper" was just here. I asked her if we would be ready for a financial assessment in 2 weeks time. She laughed.