Frequently Asked Questions
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What is DLA and Attendance Allowance for?
DLA is designed to help those people with severe disabilities to be better able to look after themselves. The two components (care and mobility) for disability living allowance are intended to cover all aspects of the ways which in which people may be affected by disability.
Attendance Allowance is paid to people over the age of 65 who need help with personal care or who need a lot of looking after. There is no mobility component for Attendance Allowance and some have argued that this discriminates against older people.
Both these benefits are administered by the Department for Work and Pensions.
What are reasonable adjustments?
If you have a disability or a long-term health condition and you apply for a job or become a member of staff, the employer has a duty to make reasonable adjustments to employment practice and premises if these place you at a disadvantage.
There are no hard and fast rules about what counts as a reasonable adjustment, mainly because what might be a great help to you might not be for someone else. Many adjustments cost little or nothing and are often a matter of flexibility and developing a creative approach to working practice, such as: enabling you to work flexible hours, taking food breaks to manage diabetes, or allowing you to take time off to attend doctors’ appointments.
Other adjustments might involve:
- making changes to premises
- getting or modifying equipment such as a CCTV, voice-activated computer software or a telephone adapted with an amplifier
- translating instructions and reference manuals into accessible formats, such as large print and audio cassette
- providing a reader or sign language interpreter
- giving feedback in a particular way
- or allowing you to work in a private room if most work is done in an open-plan office
How do I complain about an assessment, or if I am charged for services?
If you are not happy with an assessment decision, or a failure to make a decision there are a number of ways you can complain. For more information about these see Factsheet F6 – community and residential care – complaining about assessments or charges.
What are direct payments?
Direct payments allow a person who has been assessed as needing particular services to receive cash to arrange and pay for those services. For more information see Factsheet F5 – community care direct payments.
What are the independent living funds?
The independent living funds provide financial help with your care package to help you remain in the community rather than enter residential care. For more information see Factsheet F54 – independent living fund.
Do I have any rights as a carer?
You have a right to a local authority assessment, which may affect the services you or the person you care for receive. The rules are slightly different for each country in the UK. For more information see our Disability Rights Handbook.
What are tax credits?
Tax credits give financial help to you if you have dependent children or are in work but on a low income. You must be over age 16 . The help for children is called child tax credit (CTC) and the help for those in work is called working tax credit (WTC). You can find out more about tax credits in our Factsheet F9 – a guide to tax credits.
How do I claim tax credits?
You claim both child tax credit (CTC) and working tax credit (WTC) on the same form, TC600. You can get form TC600 from Jobcentre Plus offices and HM Revenue and Customs Enquiry Centres.
Alternatively you can telephone 0845 300 3900 (text phone 0845 300 3909) if you live in Great Britain or 0845 603 2000 (textphone 0845 607 6078) if you live in Northern Ireland for a copy of the forms.
Where can I get advice on Tax Credits?
The best way to get advice on tax credits is to go to a local advice centre in your area, such as a local citizen’s advice bureau.
The homeless uk website has an excellent “services” search facility which enables you to search, by area, for agencies providing benefits and debt advice (be sure and type benefits in the “text” box).
What is the access to work scheme?
If you want to work but have a disability that makes working a problem you may be able to get help from the Access to Work scheme. This provides practical advice to help you overcome these problems. It can also give you grants towards extra employment costs. For more information about the scheme – see Factsheet F27 – access to work.
What is permitted work?
Permitted work is work that you are allowed to do if you are getting incapacity benefit, severe disablement allowance, national insurance credits or income support because of incapacity for work. For more information about this see our factsheet F35 Work for people who are sick or disabled.
The Department For Business, Enterprise And Regulatory Reform has produced guidance on the relationship between permitted work and the minimum wage.
For more information about this and a link to the guidance see factsheet F35 Work for people who are sick or disabled.
What is supported permitted work?
Supported permitted work is work done as part of the permitted work scheme where a person is supervised by someone who is employed by a public or local authority or voluntary organisation which provides or finds work for people with disabilities.
The main advantage of doing work that is classified as supported permitted work is that the work is not subject to a 52 week time limit, unlike other forms of permitted work.
I am claiming both income support and incapacity benefit, does this mean I can do permitted work and earn £88.50 after deductions?
There are different earnings rules if you are claiming income support as well as incapacity benefit. You will normally be allowed to keep £5 of your earnings if you are single or £10 if you have a partner. If you qualify for the disability premium, the carer premium or are a lone parent you will be allowed to keep £20 of your earnings.
The rest of your earnings will be deducted from your income support.
Can I get help with the cost of fares to work?
If you want to work but have a disability that makes working a problem you may be able to get help from the Access to Work scheme. This provides practical advice to help you overcome these problems. It can also give you grants towards extra employment costs. For more information about the scheme see Factsheet F27 – access to work.
Can I get help with the cost of fares to the hospital?
You can get help with fares or other travel expenses for yourself and anyone who needs to travel with you if you are incapable of getting to hospital on your own. You can also get help if you need to accompany a child. The cost covered is normally that by the cheapest method of transport available. If you cannot use public transport because of your disability you can claim the cost of taxi fares or the cost of car fuel (you should get the agreement of the hospital first).