[Brydo]

WMC highlighted that in Scotland we carers get additional monies from the Scottish Government. As i read it, it dawned on me that there could be benefits out there that we don`t claim.

Without giving any personnel details, which benefits are available for the disabled and those with low income?

Any info would be appreciated.

WMC if this should be on the “off Topic” section feel free to move it.

The only person who got all his work done by Friday was Robinson Crusoe.
Anything i post over three lines long please assume it is an article lol.

Topic

[DougieB]

BigDave wrote:

DougieB wrote:

Do you have a link to claim the free AA card?

Dougie, Sorry for the delay in replying, I don’t venture in here that often. To get the complimentary ‘AA Disabled Drivers Assistance Card’ just ring Veterans UK on 0800 1914 218 and ask for one. They will do a couple of security checks and check that you receive WPMS. A few days later, the card (redacted copy below) should drop through your letterbox in a brown envelope: Dave

I applied for this but just received a letter from Veterans UK telling me that as I have a Motability agreement in place, I’m not entitled to it as breakdown assistance is included. 🙁

Current car: MG HS Exclusive in nice shiny black. 🙂

[BigDave]

DougieB wrote:

BigDave wrote:

DougieB wrote:

Do you have a link to claim the free AA card?

Dougie, Sorry for the delay in replying, I don’t venture in here that often. To get the complimentary ‘AA Disabled Drivers Assistance Card’ just ring Veterans UK on 0800 1914 218 and ask for one. They will do a couple of security checks and check that you receive WPMS. A few days later, the card (redacted copy below) should drop through your letterbox in a brown envelope: Dave

I applied for this but just received a letter from Veterans UK telling me that as I have a Motability agreement in place, I’m not entitled to it as breakdown assistance is included. ?

Hi Dougie,

That is a fairly recent policy change then, as I have had constant Motability agreements over many years and only earlier this year applied for and received the complimentary AA card.

I am not sure why the policy has changed, as it doesn’t cost Veterans UK anything (other than postage) to send out the card and it costs the very same postage to write and tell you that you cannot have one!

The AA (and formerly the RAC when they offered a similar membership) used to just send a batch lot of cards to Veterans UK (or SPVA as was) for them to send out to WPMS recipients who asked for one (noting that these cards were never openly advertised).

Unless the AA have imposed the restriction for some obscure reason, but as they are signatories to the Armed Forces Covenant, I can hardly see that happening – they like good PR hence signing the Covenant.

I will try to follow it up at the Veterans Advisory & Pensions Committee meeting I am attending next month and see what Veterans UK’s rationale on the policy change is.

Dave.

[DougieB]

BigDave wrote:

DougieB wrote:

BigDave wrote:

Unless the AA have imposed the restriction for some obscure reason, but as they are signatories to the Armed Forces Covenant, I can hardly see that happening – they like good PR hence signing the Covenant. I will try to follow it up at the Veterans Advisory & Pensions Committee meeting I am attending next month and see what Veterans UK’s rationale on the policy change is. Dave.

Thanks. I look forward to finding out that’s happened.

 

Current car: MG HS Exclusive in nice shiny black. 🙂

[Winston]

Got the colour of envelope we all dread in my mail box today! You know that lovely brown colour with the Belfast address on the back

as soon as you see it the anxiety and dread just rises and rises

anyways, I opened it and it was just to inform me of the new ESA rates from 1st April onwards

phew… ?

I’m guessing I’m not the only person on the forum to receive one of these letters!

So if you do , then fingers crossed it’s the type of one I got ??

happy Friday folks ??

[ChrisK]

Hi Winston

Yes I get the odd brown one (I mean in the letterbox not my pants ? ), more so coming upto April and the new tax year but whenever I see one of these envelopes sticking out the letterbox makes my heart skip a beat even though I’ve been given the 10 years PIP allowance with over 8 years before renewal to go.

[Winston]

Hi Chris,

yeah I’m in the same boat as you, but it doesn’t stop those horrible thoughts and feelings when you see one does it lol

thankfully today it wasn’t bad news , Infact a few extra quid per month for the next year oh yeah and our £10 crimbo bonus lol

[Winston]

Does any of the Scottish members on here receive SDS , Self Directed Support?

When life hands you melons...,
Make melonade!

[martino]

Winston ,When life hands you melons…,
Make melonade! I was just watching that

[martino]

I was reading all benefits are going up by £1000  per year i think Universal Credit ect

but i cant see if it apples to Employment Support Allowance

anybody know

[martino]

Also does it include carers allowance

[joss]

martino wrote:

I was reading all benefits are going up by £1000 per year i think Universal Credit ect but i cant see if it apples to Employment Support Allowance anybody know

It is only UC that will be going up in the short term. £1000. equates to around £20.00 a week.

Disabled legacy benefits claimants to be hit by coronavirus changes

Claimants of employment and support allowance (ESA) and tax credits will suffer financially because they have not been included in increases given to universal credit (UC) claimants and may lose transitional protection, the Disability Benefits Consortium (DBC) warned yesterday.

 

The DBC, whose members include over 100 charities, has told the government in an open letter that the £20 increase in universal credit will not apply to claimants of legacy benefits such as ESA and tax credits. They are asking that ESA claimants receive a similar uplift and also that the extra money for claimants in the work-related activity group and its UC equivalent is restored.

In addition, the DBC has pointed out that disabled workers who lose their jobs in the coming months because of an economic downturn will have no transitional protection when they are obliged to claim UC.

The DBC state:

“Any Working Tax Credit (WTC) claimant who loses their job over the coming few months will not be able to continue claiming WTC and will have to claim UC instead. This means they will lose Transitional Protection (TP). As you know, this is a temporary top-up payment that would have been added to their UC to offset any losses, when the DWP eventually transferred them from WTC – but it is not payable when you move to UC because of a change of circumstances, such as job loss.

“Disabled people in work and parents of disabled children stand to lose far more than most people if they lose TP – sometimes amounting to thousands of pounds a year. This will make it even more difficult for them to recover from the economic shock of the next few months.”

The DBC has put forward a number of other suggestions for changes to the benefits system to help claimants through the coming months, including:

Converting UC advance into non-repayable grants

Suspending work-related conditionality and sanctions

Extending the time limits for returning forms because of the difficulty of obtaining medical evidence

Pay benefits in full where a claimant is awaiting a mandatory reconsideration or appeal

Joss
Current car: BMW X2 sDrive 20i M Sport 5dr Step Auto In metallic Portimão Blue. 04:10:2025
Previous car:Peugeot 308 GT Premium 1.2 Pure tech Petrol.

[joss]

Coronavirus and claiming benefits

This is a new web page https://www.understandinguniversalcredit.gov.uk/coronavirus/

This page provides information about coronavirus and claiming benefits. It will continue to be updated. Please check this page regularly for updates on the arrangements the Department for Work and Pensions is making to support those who are affected by coronavirus.

 

Joss
Current car: BMW X2 sDrive 20i M Sport 5dr Step Auto In metallic Portimão Blue. 04:10:2025
Previous car:Peugeot 308 GT Premium 1.2 Pure tech Petrol.

[Graeme]

Very interesting topic – thank you @Brydo.

Btw, the only two benefits that i receive are:

blue badge(cost £10)

Local authority 5 year disabled bus pass (cost £10)

[Graeme]

Nearly forgot – Radar key also(cost £10)

[martinod]

£25 cold weather payment if the weather gets below 0 degrees for 7 days if your on certain benefits

[joss]

I am still waiting for my Christmas bonus!!

Joss
Current car: BMW X2 sDrive 20i M Sport 5dr Step Auto In metallic Portimão Blue. 04:10:2025
Previous car:Peugeot 308 GT Premium 1.2 Pure tech Petrol.

[martinod]

my friend got his on friday past £10 think its been £10 for years

[struth]

there is a test case for disabled to get that 20 quid a week that uc got, to be backdated; this month on discrimination grounds. will be interesting to see if disabled win

Current Car: Hyundai Kona Premium EV...2 way 40kg hoist
Last Car: Toyota C-HR Excel Hybrid...4 way 80kg hoist

[victoriaaustine]

I was very lucky and just missed by a few months all the ESA stuff but did go for an assessment for it but then they woke up and realised I was only 6 month from becoming a pensioner so they dropped it.

The only changes for me were they stopped my Income Support that I assume ESA replaces and gave me my pension. All PIP payments stay the same as does pension credit if you need that.

With claiming benefits it’s a whole long learning curve and after being disabled for 11 years only realised last year that I can get a 20% discount on my water bill but unfortunately its not back dated.

That rebate by the way was more linked to the pension credit than my disability as claiming PIP has no effect on entitlement unless your disability causes you to use more water than you might use if you were not disabled.

 

[joss]

Benefits uprated by 10.1%, ESA to UC move delayed, more cost of living payments

Published: 17 November 2022 from Benefits & Work web site
To say it was all good news would definitely be going too far, but the Autumn statement definitely wasn’t as bad as it could have been for claimants.

More details will need to emerge, but here are some of the main highlights.

Benefits Uprating
Benefits will go up by 10.1% next April, in line with the September 2022 Consumer price Index.  Given the hints that benefits might only rise by 5% in line with wages, this is good news.

But inflation is already running at 11.1% and uprating does not apply until next April, so this is already a real terms cut.

In addition, people on low incomes spend a much larger part of their money on food and energy, which are particular drivers of inflation at present.  So the real rate of inflation for many claimants has been calculated as between 14% and 20%, meaning a very serious cut in income.

In Scotland, where some benefits are devolved, and in Northern Ireland where all benefits are devolved, it will be up to the devolved governments to decide on the level of uprating, though it seems likely they will follow Westminster’s lead.

ESA to UC migration
The government is pushing back the forced migration of claimants from income-related employment and support allowance (ESA) to universal credit (UC) to 2028.  It was due to be completed in 2024, with an impossible target of 2.5 million claimants being moved in that year.

So the fact that it is being delayed is good news.  The downside is that many thousand more claimants will now be subject to ‘natural migration’ because of a change of circumstances and will lose out on the transitional protection that managed migration claimants receive.

Claimants receiving child tax credit are not included in this postponement.

Cost of living payments
There will be more cost of living payments next year.

Households on means-tested benefits will get an additional £900 Cost of Living payment in 2023-24.
Pensioner households will receive an additional £300 Cost of Living payment.
Individuals on disability benefits will receive an additional £150 Disability Cost of Living payment in 2023-24.
These payments will be made on a UK-wide basis.

These additional sums are clearly good news, but they will not be enough to make-up for the increased costs many claimants will be facing.

Benefit cap
The benefit cap will be raised by 10.1% from April 2023.

The cap will be raised from £20,000 to £22,020 for families nationally and from £23,000 to £25,323 in Greater London.

For single adults it will be raised from £13,400 to £14,753 nationally and from £15,410 to £16,967 in Greater London.

You can read the full Autumn statement on the government website

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Joss
Current car: BMW X2 sDrive 20i M Sport 5dr Step Auto In metallic Portimão Blue. 04:10:2025
Previous car:Peugeot 308 GT Premium 1.2 Pure tech Petrol.

[struth]

ive applied for pension credit… got everything x’ed as im gona be in the crap if i don’t get it… already had a letter telling me my rent hasnt been paid, one day after my birthday..doh

Current Car: Hyundai Kona Premium EV...2 way 40kg hoist
Last Car: Toyota C-HR Excel Hybrid...4 way 80kg hoist

[kezo]

I hope all goes well for you struth ?

[joss]

Good luck @struth No point me applying for pension credit because Of my works pension takes me way over the limit. State pension is all sorted and confirmed.

Joss
Current car: BMW X2 sDrive 20i M Sport 5dr Step Auto In metallic Portimão Blue. 04:10:2025
Previous car:Peugeot 308 GT Premium 1.2 Pure tech Petrol.

[struth]

struth wrote:

ive applied for pension credit… got everything x’ed as im gona be in the crap if i don’t get it… already had a letter telling me my rent hasnt been paid, one day after my birthday..doh

 

looks like i am going to get pension credit due to having a extra payment on my esa originally, so it entiles you to a higher ammount law says you need.. yay!! . as long as i get something it will mean i get rent/rates help dental treatment etc..

huge relief as i was getting close to sending car back

Current Car: Hyundai Kona Premium EV...2 way 40kg hoist
Last Car: Toyota C-HR Excel Hybrid...4 way 80kg hoist

[joss]

I am really pleased for you @struth one thing less to worry about.

Joss
Current car: BMW X2 sDrive 20i M Sport 5dr Step Auto In metallic Portimão Blue. 04:10:2025
Previous car:Peugeot 308 GT Premium 1.2 Pure tech Petrol.

[Author]

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