An Easy Guide to Benefits for People with Learning Disabilities
Disability Living Allowance
Incapacity Benefit
Severe Disablement Allowance
Working Tax Credit
Living in a residential home
Income Support
Prescription Charges
Disability Living Allowance – often called DLA
This is a benefit for disabled people aged up to 65.
It is for people who need help to look after themselves and for those who find it difficult to walk or get around. You do not need to have someone looking after you to get it.
It consists of two parts:
The care part is for help with personal care needs, and is paid at three different levels:
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- Do you need help with things like washing, dressing, eating and drinking?
- Do you need someone with you to make sure you are safe?
- Do you need someone with you day and night? – or only in the daytime?
- Can you cook a meal for yourself?
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- If you can walk – do you still need help to find your way about and keep safe?
- If you have a very severe impairment, or if you have behaviour problems
These two parts can be claimed separately or together.
How much will I get?Care partHighest level £64.50 per week Middle level £43.15 per week Lowest level £17.10 per week Mobility partHigher level £45.00 per week Lower level £17.10 per week |
The amount of help you need makes a difference to how much benefit you can get.
Other benefits linked to DLA mobility part: |
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- Hiring or buying a car through the Motability scheme
- Road tax exemption
Problems with walking:
- Parking concessions – blue badge scheme
If people get DLA and mobility allowance before they are 65 it carries on after they are 65.
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Incapacity Benefit |
- Incapacity benefit is for people who cannot work because they are ill or they have an impairment, which stops them from working.
- You can still get it if you have savings.
- Young people age 16 or over can claim it.
- The amount of benefit goes up in stages over the first year of the claim. After the first 52 weeks one year the long-term rate applies.
- You can claim if you normally live in Great Britain, or have lived here for 26 out of the last 52 weeks.
How much will I get on the long-term rate? £81.35 per week £17.10 age addition per week * |
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*age addition : this is only payable with the long term rate - see box above.
You will receive £17.10 if you claim when you are less than 35 years old.
If you claim between 35-45 years old, you will receive £8.55.
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School and Incapacity Benefit
If you are a teenager, 16+, with learning difficulties you can still receive Incapacity Benefit + the age addition whilst at school.
Severe Disablement Allowance
- Severe Disablement Allowance, often called SDA, stopped in 2001.
- Young people (up to 25 years old) who cannot work because they have a severe impairment can get Incapacity Benefit.
- If you got Severe Disability Allowance in 2001, you will still get it now. The rules for getting it stay the same.
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Working Tax Credit |
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- This is for anyone with a low-paid job.
- You can still get Disability Living Allowance.
- You may be able to get parts of this benefit.
One part is called the Disability Element
- You must work for at least 16 hours per week
- You must be able to pass one disability test. An example would be when standing you cannot keep your balance unless you continually hold on to something. There are 21 tests.
- You must have recently had another benefit, for example Incapacity Benefit
| Savings -You can still get working tax credit if you have savings. |  |
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Disability Living Allowance
- If you have always had the mobility part you can still get it even if you live in a home paid by the Local Authority - Social Care.
- You will not get the care part of Disability Living Allowance
Mobility part
High level £45.00 per week
Lower level £17.10 per week
Personal expenses allowance
- This should be used as a person wishes on personal items. Neither the home nor the Local Authority can tell you how to spend the personal allowance.
How much will I get?
£20.45 per week
Everyone’s life is different and this can change how much money people get.Back to Top
Income Support |
What is Income Support?
- The amount you get depends on how much money you have to live on each week
- It should provide enough money for you to pay for everything you must have to live, for example your food, your house, your heating.
- It does not depend on national insurance contributions
- You can get income support on its own, or it can be added on top of other benefits, or earnings from work
- Income support is also for people who cannot work. This includes people getting money because of their disability.
Income Support can get you other benefits. |  |
- Housing benefit
- Council tax benefit
- Free prescriptions and paying for the dentist
- Housing grants
- Help from the Social Fund
- Help with hospital fares
To get Income Support you must:
- Live in Great Britain
- Be 16 or over
- Under 60
- You must not be working for 16 hours or more each week. However, if you are paid less each hour because of your disability or you work less hours because of your disability, the working rule does not apply.
- If you are married, your husband or wife or civil partner must not work for more than 24 hours each week.
- You must have no more than £16,000. Anything below £6,000 does not affect your benefit. If you live in a care home permanently the upper limit is £10,000.
* If you live in a care home receiving care, the work rule does not apply
* If you are a volunteer and only receive money to pay for any expenses you
What do I get?
Disability Living Allowance is not counted when working out what you need to live on each week.
Applicable Amount
This is set by Parliament. |  |
- A personal allowance
- Extra amounts for certain people
- Certain amounts for your house
The money you get each week will be added up.
Your Applicable Amount will be added up. If the money you get each week is less than the applicable amount, this will be the amount of Income Support you can get.
Personal Allowance Aged 18-24 - £46.85 |
The extras are:
Disability premium:
Single person: £25.25
Couple: £36.00
Severe disability premium
Single Person £48.45
Man and wife/civil partner when both people can get it £96.90
One of a couple £48.45
There are very complicated rules about who can get this so ask someone about this. There are contacts at the end of the leaflet. |  |
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Prescription charges
Incapacity Benefit and Disability Living allowance do not depend on how much money you have so you will still have to pay for medicines.
You can get FREE medicines if you have certain conditions, for example epilepsy. You have to fill in Form FP92A which you get from your doctor.
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Where to Go For help
This is only a guide. Some people have special circumstances.
For further specialist advice about benefits contact:
ABLE The Warehouse,
Coningsby Street,
Hereford
HR1 2DY
Tel: 01432 277770
Fax: 01432 356626
Email: info@ablehereford.com
www.ablehereford.com
Benefits Agency Jobcentre Plus
St Nicholas House,
6 St Nicholas Street,
Hereford
HR4 0DD.
Tel: Hereford (01432) 363600
Fax: (01432) 363605
Herefordshire Council Welfare Rights
Jobcentre Plus
St Nicholas House
St Nicholas Street
Hereford
HR4 0DD
Tel: Hereford (01432) 363636
Email: welfarerights@herefordshire.gov.uk
Useful websites
Department for Work and Pensions website: www.dwp.gov.uk
www.clear-benefits.org.uk This website has been made to make it easier for people to find out about ways of earning money if getting a job is not right for them. (A Valuing People/Marshfield ( Leominster) initiative).
Disability Alliance - for children:
‘Tell it like it is!’ an easy to read booklet which aims to explain all about Disability Living allowance often known as DLA and to hopefully give you an idea of whether your child may qualify. It helps you to write a diary to support a claim and gives a list of organisations that may be able to help. It costs £6.00 full price or £4.00 concessionary price, including post and packaging ISBN: 1903335264
Disability Alliance - for adults:
‘Claiming Disability Living Allowance – a self-help guide for people 16-64’.
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