Benefits Q and A

My husband has hepatitis C and is on Incapacity Benefit paid by Income Support. Last month I started working part time (21 hrs a week) and my salary is about £500 a month. We have been told that because I am earning this amount of money the income support for my husband will stop and also the housing benefit. Is this true?

Your husband's Incapacity Benefit paid by Income Support will continue as long as he satisfies the medical conditions to claim. What will stop is any monies he had claimed for yourself. As you are working 21 hours a week you should now claim tax credits from the Inland Revenue (0845 300 3900) and make a claim for Housing Benefit and Council Tax due to your change in circumstances. But until your claim is sorted out I advise you to pay whatever you can afford towards your rent and Council Tax. I would advise you to contact a personal adviser at the Job Centre to make sure you are receiving everything you are entitled to and also to speak to someone at your local Advice Centre.

I am currently taking time off sick due to the side affects of treatment (in the 3rd month ). I've used up my full sick pay entitlement of 2 months and my 2 months at half pay will be coming to an end soon. After that if I'm still not well enough to work I will be on statutory sick pay - is this correct?. As a married man with two children (my wife does not work outside the home) we claim child benefits and family tax credit. We have a repayment mortgage - will there be any help with this?

I have asked my employers for re-deployment to lighter duties - are there any benefits in resigning from work on grounds of ill health and can they ask me to resign for this reason?

SICK PAY - Once your two months at half pay finishes your employer will pay you statutory sick pay. Then if you are still sick on the 23rd week of your entitlement your employer has to complete and send you (SSPI) form (changeover form) to help you transfer onto Incapacity Benefit + send this to the DWP with a medical certificate.
After 28 weeks on SSP you will go onto the higher rate short-term Incapacity Benefit if you satisfied the National Insurance contribution conditions. The amount is the same as SSP and you can claim for adult dependants. As I dont know all your circumstances I can't calculate what benefit you will receive as it's based on N.I. contributions paid. You will continue to get child tax credits. You will have to tell tax credits ( 0845 300 3900) so that your working tax credit stops as they dont' treat you in work once your SSP stops and this will stop you getting an overpayment of working tax credit.

I would also advise you to claim Income Support at the same time as you put in your claim for Incapacity Benefit. This is on an A1 form. If you are refused Incapacity Benefit you will be entitled to Income Support if you dont' have capital over £8,000. If you are refused, claiming this is helpful as you can then reclaim help with future housing costs on your 39th week of your Income Support being refused if you have been on SSP/Incapacity Benefit. Regarding other help available you can try and claim Disability Living Allowance (see benefits - DLA) and I would advise you to make a claim to your local Authority for help with your council tax.

I would advise you to get an appointment at your local advice centre or contact Community Legal Services (020 7759 0000) who will give you contacts in your area who specialise in benefits.

MORTGAGE PAYMENT - They will pay 100% of the interest on your property. But the DWP mortgage rate can be different to what you pay. I would inform your mortgage lender about your situation and they might be able to sort something out regarding paying reduced mortgage payments.

RESIGNING FROM WORK - Regarding your employment I would advise you to contact the ACAS Helpline (08457 47 47 47). They are the experts in employment matters and can advise you what good practice your employer should be doing. Also if you are in a Union I would contact them. I would not resign from your employment because you could lose out if they decide you are not able to return to your job + cant give you a lighter job. They might offer a settlement if you have to leave work.

You can ask for an assessment regarding your difficulty managing at home, from your Social Services (adult) care team. They will normally arrange to visit you at home. You might have to wait for a few weeks for a visit or assessment by phone. However, even if a local authority is unlikely to provide a service because of resource constraints you should not be denied an assessment.
The assessment should look at the range of community care services, your capacities and incapacities, your preferences, what support you have and other sources of help.You should be informed in writing of the result of your assessment and have a copy of your care plan. If you are not given a written result you should ask for one. If your needs are urgent, services can be provided before an assessment, which should then be carried out as soon as possible.A friend or family member can become a carer and apply for Carers Allowance.

You would have to apply for Disability Living Allowance (see benefits - DLA)and receive this benefit at the middle care/high care level before someone can receive carers allowance. I would advise you to go to a Citizens Advice Bureau, local advice centre in your area or call our Helpline on 0845 223 4424 to get help with completing the forms, as the benefit is not easy to get.

I have had Hepatitis C for over 10 years. I am about to start 6 months of combination treatment and will realistically be out of action for this period. I recieve incapacity benefit and am wondering if I will be able to get disability benefit, considering I am symptomatic.

I would advise you to claim Disability Living Allowance (see benefits DLA) if you are on treatment and you then experience problems with your health. The benefit is quite hard to get and the form is not very easy to complete as you have to fit your illness around the questions. The benefit is for helping you look after yourself and if you have difficulty with mobility. It is in two parts:

• Care Component for help with personal care needs and can be paid at 3 different rates.
• Mobility Component for help with walking difficulties paid at 2 rates.

You can start off your claim by phoning the Benefit Enquiry line on 0800 882 200 and asking them to send a claim pack to you.

I would also advise you to make an appointment at your local advice centre or contact Community Legal Service (020 7759 0000) which will be able to tell you who specialises in Benefits in your area, and can help to complete the section at the back of the form.

Also if you have any other health problems, do include these on the forms. I would not advise you to complete the forms without any help.

I have had to reduce my hours at work and have a family to support and am getting into debt with our rent and council tax.
We are in receipt of wages, child tax credit, working tax credit and child benefit. Our working tax credit has been adjusted due to the change in circumstances.

My advice to you is to claim rent and council tax benefit from your local authority. Most local authorities have a combined form for housing and council tax benefit. You can phone them and ask for a form to be sent to you. It should be returned to them within 4 weeks. The date of your claim is when you hand the form into them and the date from which you will receive any benefit awarded so the quicker you get it in the better.

They normally ask for lots of information. They will want the following proofs:

• Wage slips for the last 5 weeks
• Child benefit
• Bank details last 2/3 months statements
• Any capital you have
• Up to date notifications of your tax credits etc

When you take the form into your local Council make sure to get a receipt from them as proof of delivery (forms can and do get lost). If they request more information you will only have a limited amount of time to get it back to them.

I would also advise you to contact the rent and council tax departments and make an arrangement with them to start paying back the arrears (they will usually accept a small weekly amount). This is important - if payments are not kept up to date you run the risk of losing your home and of the council tax debt going to bailiffs.

Also contact your local Advice Centre which should be able to help you with all of the above.

I am thinking of starting to do some voluntary work to ease me back into the work mode. As I feel I am now well enough to do something with my time. I receive Incapacity Benefit.

If someone is in receipt of Incapacity Benefit - You are allowed to do voluntary work for anyone other than a parent (or in-law or step-parent), son/daughter (or in-law/step), brother, sister, or their partner. You must not be paid for your work other than expenses - reasonable expenses this can include travel, child minding or costs for use of a telephone. There is no limit on the number of hours you can volunteer for.

If someone is in receipt of Income Support - You are allowed to do voluntary work without your Income Support being affected. For this purpose a volunteer is someone who performs a service without expectation of payment. The only payment you get or expect to get must be to cover your actual expenses.
If the Department of Work & Pensions thinks it is not reasonable for you to provide your services free of charge they may treat you as having notional earnings.
If if you work 16 hours or more a week and you receive any monies other than expenses you are treated as in paid work and excluded from Income Support. If your benefit is stopped get benefit advice from your local advice centre or contact Community Legal Services on 0207 7590000.

I'm due to start treatment soon and I'd like to know if I can get help with any transport costs that may occur from the necessary visits to the hospital for check ups etc...

You may be able to get help with fares or other travel expenses for yourself (and for someone who has to go with you if you are incapable of getting to the hospital on your own) if you:

• Are getting income support or income-based jobseekers allowance or
• Are getting working tax credit and child tax credit

Are there any funds available for someone with hepatitis c who's had their electricity disconnected?

There are no funds available specifically for people with Hepatitis C. But if you have your gas and electricity account with British Gas you could apply to the British Gas Energy Trust, PO Box 42, Peterborough, PE3 8XH for help with debts. Also some water companies have trust funds that might be able to help with bills. The other option, if on benefits, is to access a DSWP crisis/budget loan.

My advice to you is, if you apply for the mobility rate of Disability Living Allowance you can ask that they dont' look at the care award of the Disability Living Allowance. BUT they have got a right to look at your existing care award and you might lose this.

I would advise you to visit your GP and ask if he/she will support you if an application was made.

If your walking ability varies from day to day you may have difficulty qualifying for the mobility component. You must also show you are virtually unable to walk, have been for 3 months before your claim and are likely to remain like this for at least 6 months.

It helps to keep an accurate diary. The fact that you can walk on some days might not disqualify you. The question is whether evidence about your walking abilities would allow a decision maker to consider that, taking your physical condition as a whole, it would be true to say of you that you are virtually unable to walk and have been so for the 3 months before your claim.

If an occupational therapist/physiotherapist has assessed you for equipment and adaptions to your home or you have been getting therapy from one of them, they may be willing to write a report on your outdoor walking ability for your claim. I would advise you to go to a Citizens Advice Bureau or local advice centre in your area to get help with completing the form and contact your local Council they can advise you on centres near you.