Discretionary payment application

[microbar]

I am disabled and moved From IB to ESA support group but have been placed into contribution based ESA.

I have now lost cold weather payments,Warm home discount,Budgiting loans ,In fact most extra help has been taken away from me.

I now have to find £12 a week rent and £20 a month council tax.

I have now due to the changes ended up in fuel poverty.

I cannot afford to pay the extra bedroom tax and council tax.

I have written down the above in the Discretionary payment application.

My question is do the council have the right to ask for my weekly income & expenditure statement.

They are well aware of my benefits as I have to produce documents to them to claim housing benefit and council tax.I have my esa and thats it.It just seems so degrading to have to list every penny I spend.And certainly If a DCA asked for this information in the past I have told them to go take a run and jump,

Thanks

[RaeUK]

If you don't have excessive savings, other income, etc, then contact your DWP BDC and enquire if you should be on Income Related ESA and not contribution based. The BDC telephone number is on the letters you would have received from the DWP regarding ESA.

[microbar]

Thanks for your reply RaeUKBut I have been told all new claiments of esa have a year in contribution based ESA anyway.

And as I am in the support group I will be stuck in this for ever as there is no time limit for esa contribution rate if you are in the support group.

I am now doomed to cold wintwers without help,

So much for the con dems mantra of no one will be worse of when migrating from IB to Esa.

[Nystagmite]

If you have no other income, savings or a partner, you'll get the enhanced disability premium on ESA. This will give you the cold weather payments, prescriptions, etc.

[microbar]

No sorry Nystagmite but you can only get the enhanced disability premium,

If you are in receipt of income basrd ESA. I am on contribution based,And will be untill I am 65 or they take it off me.

I went onto contribution based esa in november and no cold weather payments this winter,Lost the right to free specatcles.

Lost entitlement to Warm home discount,Budgiting loans ,In fact most extra help has been taken away from me.

Totally screwed by the con dems

[Nystagmite]

You can apply for income based though.

[RaeUK]

But why did you go onto contribution based? That's what doesn't make sense because that means you have more than the Government says you need to live off coming in, be that extra income, private pension, mahoosive savings etc. This would be at odds to what you are saying about your current hardship ...

[microbar]

You are automatically placed into contribution based when you migrate from incapacity to ESA

I have not worked for a while but my stamps have been paid so I am put onto contribution based.

I have no say in this whatsoever.If you are put into the WRAG group you get esa contribution based for 365 days then you go onto income based if you qualify.

However if you are in the support group then its tuff as you stay on contribution based wether you like it or not.

So I now have to heat or eat in the winter months due to not having a qualifying benefit IE an income based Benefit.

Income based esa would get me the help I need,

Totally screwed by the condems.

This Goverment just wants rid of the disabled and does not care if we freeze to death,

[Nystagmite]

As mentioned, if ESA is your only income and you're in the support group, you'll also be entitled to the enhanced disability premium, which is an income based benefit.

[microbar]

Totally wrong Nystagmite If I had an income based benefit I would be entitled to the cold weather payments etc,

These were not payed to me this winter my only benefit is contribution based esa,

[Nystagmite]

I'm not wrong. If you have no other income you can apply for income based ESA and will get the EDP.

[microbar]

Ok thanks and I appoligise if i am wrong, I will enquire about this You would think that claimants would be informed of there options when transfering from IB to esa.

regards microbar.

[microbar]

Hi Nystagmite just found this and it looks like as I do not have higher rate DLA care I have lower rate care then I will not qualify for the Enhanced disability premium.

Enhanced disability premium

Claimants inthe support group are entitled to the Enhanced Disability Premium (EDP). Thisis an additional rule for the EDP which only applies to ESA. Normally toqualify for the EDP a claimant or their partner must be entitled to AttendanceAllowance or the higher rate of the care component of Disability LivingAllowance (DLA).

[assisted blonde]

it says normally not must always, apply and see

[**Margaret**]

::

 

There's reasons why employment n support allowance is the most complex benefit in history!

 

Margaret.

Edited April 11, 2013 by **Margaret**

[**Margaret**]

:microbar:

 

Guess a Jobcentreplus decision maker finally found and read your reams of medical evidence. Shame s/he didn't explain that a claimant can be in receipt of both flavours of employment n support allowance at the same time.

 

The starting point is something called your 'applicable amount'; the sum of money the Government says you need to live on. For you, so far as I can tell;

 

Personal allowance £70ish

Support component of ESA £34ish

Enhanced disability premium £15ish

(Entitlement to enhanced disability premium can be cos of ESA support component or highest care component of DLA)

 

So an applicable amount of £120ish per week against the highest possible pre conversion award of incapacity benefit at £112ish per week. As you appear to have less income than Government says you need to live on you can apply for an income based award of employment n support allowance to make up the difference.

 

An ESA3 form should be available on request from your local benefit delivery centre but they're currently in short supply. If you've the technology we've a downloadable and printable copy on CAG at #7 of;

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?387812-ESA-365-Limit

 

In answer to your original question;

 

Councils or Jobcentreplus can ask for any info they need to determine a benefit claim. You've a right of refusal but 'it may affect your claim ......'

 

Sincerely, Margaret.

 

(Solved the scoresheet conundrum. Some benefit delivery centres are cutting corners with the paperwork. Rightsnet are having the same problem.)

Edited April 11, 2013 by **Margaret**

[microbar]

Thank you for your very informative reply Starryeyes52 most gratefull

I hope you dont mind but i have sent you a pm with details thank you.

regards Microbar.

[**Margaret**]

:microbar:

 

Don't mind your private message but the help you want can't really be offered over an internet forum. And for very good reasons the Site Team would discourage it anyway.

 

A few generic pointers to supplement the info I've already offered:

 

Personal allowance of employment n support for a couple £111

Enhanced disability premium for a couple £21

There's no couple rate of the work related activity or support component.

 

Income based employment n support can be affected by the income, if any, of a husband/wife/partner.

 

State support for children doesn't affect rates of employment n support allowance.

 

In an ideal world you need some face to face advice from welfare rights to check your current entitlement against the rate you're in receipt of. Or, if you can't find any, send a written request to your benefit delivery centre for details of 'how your benefit is made up'.

 

Or, just submit an ESA3 anyway.

 

Margaret.

[microbar]

Sorry about the PM won’t happen again looking at your info it looks as though I am on the applicable amount, So even though this is the only income we have, We would not be eligible to income related ESA benefit,

 

And therefore due to migrating from IB to ESA we now loss out on any income related support IE cold weather payments etc. We do not have a cab in our area due to cut backs,

 

I would not trust any info from the DWP again. They informed me when I rang them in regards to my appeal that if I appealed I would loss my WRAG rate which was entirely wrong,

 

Any way thanks for all your help here and sorry again if I have offended

 

Best Regards microbar.

Edited April 11, 2013 by microbar

[**Margaret**]

:microbar:

 

No offence whatsoever. It's just not possible to do complicated benefit calculations over an internet forum. There's too many variables. If you can't get any face to face advice I'd strongly recommend that you submit an ESA3 anyway. At least you should know for sure. Unlike the call handlers the benefit processors are better trained and have full access to your case notes.

 

In the meantime you may be eligible for help with health costs on the grounds of low income;

 

http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/HealthCosts/2733.aspx

 

01912 790565 gets a real person instead of a computer.

The income limits are higher for partial help with dental treatment and glasses.

 

Best wishes, Margaret.

[petes]

Having just had a look at the ESA3 myself (in the Support Group - Contribution based), the form actually asks about your health condition etc. It gives the impression that the DWP have the right to re-assess your entitlement to ESA if you are simply applying for a 'top up' of Income based ESA.

 

Is this true?

 

I'm wondering if Pension Credit would be more applicable as a 'top up' instead of ESA -- it will avoid another ESA50 & ATOS re-assessment if you are over the age of Pension Credit eligibility.

 

For those that are, I am aware that you cannot cancel a contribution based claim (ESA of JSA) to claim a means tested benefit on it's own. There are deprivation rules that come into play if you do.