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CPAG in Scotland's Disabled Children and their Families Ebulletin - April 2010
Dear Colleague,
Welcome to the latest edition of CPAG in Scotland's Disabled Children and their Families e-bulletin keeping you up-to-date with relevant news and developments.
Contents:
CPAG in Scotland news and events
- Training
- Welfare Rights Conference 2010
News
- New rules affecting change from child benefit to ESA
- DLA higher rate mobility and children under 3: outcome
- Changes to state pensions for parents and carers
- Energy assistance package to be available to more families with
children
- Help from the Family Fund for disabled children
CPAG in Scotland news and events
Training
Looked-after children – benefits for carers and families
13 May 2010, Glasgow (10am - 4pm)
This course covers the benefit and tax credit implications of a child being looked after by the local authority away from home, or away from their birth parents eg, being looked after in a residential unit or by foster carers or kinship carers. This includes disabled children and how residential schooling affects disability living allowance and carers allowance, and also covers wider issues. This course covers:
- Overview of relevant local authority powers and responsibilities
- What happens to benefits and tax credits when a child is looked after or living away from birth parents
- How to help families avoid overpayments and underpayments
- How local authority payments to carers affect benefits and tax credits
This course will be helpful to advisers and others such as social workers, who are supporting families in these situations. A basic knowledge of the benefit system is assumed.
Course fee: £93 for CABx, £108 for voluntary, colleges and housing associations and £153 for statutory.
To book a place click here.
CPAG in Scotland Annual Conference: Welfare Rights 2010
Friday 18 June 2010, 10am to 4pm, Glasgow - £110 per delegate
With the dust settling from the UK general election and Scottish elections less than a year away this conference provides an opportunity to take stock of the implications for advisers and find out about the latest developments in benefits and tax credits. Come and join advisers, leading politicians and welfare reform campaigners to debate how the Scottish Government has supported welfare rights services and their role in tackling poverty and how the new UK Government will approach the welfare system.
The annual conference for welfare rights workers, other advisers and policy workers in Scotland. For information about conference workshops and speakers click here. To book a place please print off our conference programme and complete the booking form.
News
New rules affecting change from child benefit to ESA
We have had a number of enquiries where young disabled people have had difficulties moving on to employment and support allowance (ESA) while child benefit is still in payment to their parents. In practice, people were told that child benefit had to be given up before the ESA claim could be processed, leaving families without money while waiting for the first payment of ESA. This was due to an administrative problem for the DWP, as there was no power to allow them to recover the child benefit paid while the ESA claim was pending. A new rule should avoid this problem by allowing the amount of child benefit paid to be deducted from the arrears of ESA. The young person’s claim for ESA should be processed while child benefit is still in payment. The rule for child tax credit is different, and any amount paid for the same period that the young person is entitled to ESA will be an overpayment which may be recovered from the parent by the Revenue. Before switching from child benefit/child tax credit to ESA, it is always vital to carry out a detailed benefit check for the household, taking into account all consequences of the change, as not all families will be better off.
DLA higher rate mobility and children under three: outcome
It was reported in the July 2009 e-bulletin that the rule preventing children under three years of age from claiming DLA higher rate mobility was to be reviewed by the Court of Session. The case was heard in February this year and the judgement is now available. The Judge dismissed the appeal. Although the lower age limit could rationally be fixed at less than three years and perhaps as young as two, this is a matter for Parliament. The limit of three years is not an irrational decision and is not incompatible with human rights and European equality legislation.
Families with extra expenses because of the mobility needs of a child under three, although they still have no access to DLA mobility, could apply for a discretionary grant from the family Fund – see below, or if they get a qualifying benefit such as income support, could apply for a discretionary grant from the social fund.
Changes to state pensions for parents and carers
New rules from 6 April 2010 are aimed at helping parents and carers to build up entitlement to state retirement pension while they are not working. The following groups are eligible for a credit to their national insurance record:
- people getting child benefit for a child or children under the age of 12
- carers spending 20 hours a week or more looking after someone who gets Attendance Allowance or Disability Living Allowance (the middle or highest rate care component) or where the need for care is certified by a health or social care professional
- approved foster carers
The new parents and carers credit replaces Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP). People who have built up years of HRP before 6 April 2010 will automatically be converted with up to 22 years of credits towards the basic State Pension. People who are getting child benefit for a child under 12, or income support as a carer, do not need to apply for the new credit, but others will need to apply before the end of the tax year. Details on how to apply will be available on www.direct.gov.uk shortly.
Energy Assistance Package to be available to more families with children
The Scottish Government has extended the qualifying conditions for additional help with heating from 10 May. The Energy Assistance Package can include help with insulation, draught-proofing and central heating. The extended rules allow families with a child under 16 who are receiving child tax credit at more than the family element to potentially qualify for new or replaced central heating. Previously, this was only available to families with a child under 5 or a disabled child under 16 with an annual income of £17,474 or less. Although there is no longer a specific reference to disabled children, they do not lose out as all children under 16 are now part of the criteria, and more families will qualify due to income.
Receiving child tax credit at more than the family element means in the following examples the family may qualify for help with central heating:
- Not working, one child who is disabled and an income of £29,000
- Working 16 hours, no childcare costs, one child who is disabled and an income of £29,000 a year
- Working 30 hours, paying childcare costs of £100 a week for one child who is disabled, and an income of £40,000 a year
In these examples, a child who is disabled means getting disability living allowance (DLA) but it is not necessary to be receiving DLA to qualify. The income figure used is the income on which the tax credit award is based, as shown on the most recent award notice. There is no fixed upper income cut-off point as the child tax credit award also depends on circumstances, such as the number of children, disabilities and childcare costs.
The additional help is available to families in private rented or owner occupied accommodation which has inefficient or no central heating.
Energy advice and further information is available to everyone from the Energy Saving Trust.
Help from the Family Fund for disabled children
The Family Fund helps families with disabled children under 18 with discretionary grants for things like holidays and play equipment. The eligibility criteria have changed from 1 April to allow more families in low paid work to qualify. The income limit in Scotland has gone up to £27,000. The Fund now takes into account not just earnings from work, but also benefits, tax credits, and other income. DLA and child benefit are not taken into account.
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We would welcome feedback on the e-bulletin, please contact us at acarr@cpagscotland.org.uk with your comments. Thank you.
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