If you read the popular press you might believe that disabled people receive generous benefits enabling them to live a life of idleness and luxury.
The truth, of course, is very different. Statistics from the Government’s Office for Disability Issues demonstrates the clear link between disability and poverty. They say that:
A substantially higher proportion of individuals who live in families with disabled members live in poverty, compared to individuals who live in families where no one is disabled.
19% of individuals in families with at least one disabled member live in relative income poverty, on a before housing costs basis, compared to 15% of individuals in families with no disabled member.
21% of children in families with at least one disabled member are in poverty, a significantly higher proportion than the 16% of children in families with no disabled member.”
There is financial help for disabled people who cannot work, but the assessment of those deemed unable to work is becoming much tighter. There is also help with some of the extra living costs resulting from a disability, but only in some areas (for example disabled people under pension age are not eligible for winter fuel allowance). In addition disabled people can apply for benefits open to anyone on a low income.
Out of Work Benefits
Anyone out of work whose doctor says that they are unfit for work can apply for Employment Support Allowance (ESA). If you have been signed off work sick for 6 months you are likely to be invited to apply for ESA.
The application features a Work Capacity Assessment to decide if the applicant is fit for work. If they assessed as being unfit for work with no realistic prospect of regaining fitness in the immediate future they will be placed in the Support Group which means that they do not have to look for work, and receive a higher rate of benefit.
Alternatively they may be assessed as able to work, but in need of extra help to prepare for and find work. In this case they will be placed in the Work Related Activity Group where they will be required to meet regularly with a personal advisor. With their personal adviser they will agree a plan of activities designed to help make them more employable (this may involve training, help managing a medical condition, confidence building, and guidance on how to apply for jobs). Failure to follow this plan can lead to benefit being withdrawn. A disabled person in the Work Related Activity Group receives a lower rate of ESA (but still more than they would get on Job Seekers Allowance). This continues for a year when, if they haven’t found a job, they will be automatically transferred to Job Seekers Allowance.
Some disabled people are assessed under the Work Capacity Assessment as not needing significant additional help because of their disability and are put straight onto Job Seekers Allowance (JSA).
JSA is available to anyone who is out of work. But it is subject to strict conditions that require the claimant to prove that they are actively seeking work throughout the week. Failure to comply with these rules will result in the benefit being stopped.
Before ESA was introduced in 2008 disabled people who could not work were paid Incapacity Benefit (IB). This was felt to have a more lenient ‘fitness for work test’ and also had strict rules discouraging recipients from activities which showed that they were fit work. Since 2011 claimants of IB are being transferred to ESA and required to take the Work Capacity Test. Some disabled people who previously had been told that they are unfit for work and must not work are struggling to comply with ESA requirements which suddenly expect them to actively seek work.
If your application for ESA is rejected we strongly recommend you get advice and consider appealing. On average 40% of appeals succeed, including where people who are placed in the Work Related Activity Group are transferred to the Support Group. However to give you the best chance of success it is sensible to get advice.
Face to face advice in South Gloucestershire is provided by 5 organisations which make up the Welfare Advice Partnership. Contact details for all these organisations can be found here http://www.southglos.gov.uk/advice-and-benefits/welfare-rights-and-financial-advice/welfare-advice-partnership/
Basic advice about ESA is on the Gov.uk website https://www.gov.uk/employment-support-allowance/overview
Information from a disabled person’s point of view is available from Disability Rights UK http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/how-we-can-help/benefits-information-disabled-people-and-advice-workers mainly in the form of factsheets.
Many organisations which focus on particular impairments provide benefits advice. A selection of such organisations is listed in the education section of this website (hyperlink).
People with fluctuating conditions and less visible disabilities can have particular difficulties with the Work Capacity Assessment. Conditions such as:
Multiple Sclerosis – the Multiple Sclerosis Society http://www.mssociety.org.uk/
Parkinson’s Disease – Parkinson’s UK http://www.parkinsons.org.uk/
Mental Health conditions – MIND http://www.mind.org.uk/
Benefits to meet the extra cost of disability
Being disabled isn’t cheap. It can result in increased expenditure because you are at home and have to heat the house throughout the winter, people with continence problems often have extra laundry costs, some people need clothing adapting to fit them.
There is little help with many of these costs, but the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is available to help some disabled people with the extra costs of personal care (dressing, washing, eating etc) and transport. Information about PIP is available on the Gov.uk website https://www.gov.uk/pip
If you are applying for PIP you can get help from the advice organisations above.
PIP was introduced in 2013 to replace Disabled Living Allowance (DLA). DLA had more levels of payment and slightly wider eligibility criteria. Current claimants receiving DLA will be transferred to PIP, but the start of this process has been delayed because of the long delays in assessing new claims.
SG DEN will let you know when this transfer process begins in this area.
Help if you are on a low income
The many disabled people who are on a low income may be able to help with some of their housing costs.
Housing Benefit (HB) is available to anyone who is renting their home who is on a low income. It doesn’t matter whether your landlord is a Housing Association or a private Landlord. Applications are made to South Gloucestershire Council. Information, including a claim form can be found here http://www.southglos.gov.uk/advice-and-benefits/benefits/housing-benefit/
Disabled people have been particularly affected by the removal of the spare bedroom subsidy introduced by the Government in 2013, popularly called the bedroom tax.
Although the tax doesn’t apply if you need an extra room for a carer who regularly has to stay with you overnight in most other circumstances you will lose benefit if you are deemed to have a surplus room (this includes an expectation that 2 children under 10 will share a room, and if they are the same sex they are expected to share until they are 16).
A disabled person who needs an extra room for medical equipment such as dialysis or breathing equipment is still liable for the tax as is anyone whose children have moved out, even if thousands of pounds have been spent on adapting their house to make it accessible.
However a disabled person may be eligible for Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) to make up the shortfall. Information is available here http://www.southglos.gov.uk/advice-and-benefits/benefits/discretionary-housing-payment-dhp/
Help in making an application can be obtained from one of the advice agencies above. Because DHPs are subject to the rules drawn up by local Councils it is best to use one of the organisations in the South Gloucestershire Welfare Advice Partnership as they know how the rules are being applied locally http://www.southglos.gov.uk/advice-and-benefits/welfare-rights-and-financial-advice/welfare-advice-partnership/
Council Tax Reduction (CRT) replaced Council Tax Benefit in 2013 for people of working age. It is available to people on a low income to help reduce their Council Tax bill. How CRT applies to residents is now decided by Local Councils, it is no longer a national scheme. Information about how CRT works in South Gloucestershire is available on the Council’s website http://www.southglos.gov.uk/council-tax/counciltax-discounts/what-is-local-council-tax-reduction/
Disabled people in receipt of ESA are automatically entitled to the highest rate of reduction.
Getting Advice
The information above is only a brief introduction to the benefits system and how it can help disabled people. We urge people to get advice to ensure that they are getting all the help that they can, and to support them in making applications so they get what they are entitled to. We know that disabled people like to focus on what they can do, rather than what they can’t – but the benefit system generally looks at what a person cannot do.
It is important that you have help to take an objective view of the impact your disability has on your day to day life. We’ve seen people miss out on benefits saying that they can cook, when in reality to do so leaves them very tired, and often moving hot pans around the kitchen puts them at serious risk of injury.
So our key message is – get advice and help to make applications, and in particularly if you are appealing if your application has been rejected. Use some of the national organisations we have mentioned as they may know best how your medical condition can affect day to day life, but also make use of local advice services.
The five organisations in the South Gloucestershire Welfare Advice Partnership are:
South Gloucestershire Citizen’s Advice Bureau
08444 111 444
http://www.southgloscab.org.uk/main.htm
North Bristol Advice Centre
01179 515 751
http://www.northbristoladvice.org.uk/
Talking Money (Formerly Bristol Debt Advice Centre)
01179 543 990
http://www.talkingmoney.org.uk/
Avon and Bristol Law Centre
01179 248 662
http://www.ablc.org.uk/
Age UK South Glos
01454 411 707
http://www.ageuk.org.uk/southgloucestershire/
Assistance Available To Older People
