Dla and pension credit on 117 funding

Hi, just wondered if anyone can help/advise.. my mother has been in hospital for 3 months and is being discharged for respite or possibly permanently to a care home on 117 funding.. I understand that being under 117 means she won’t lose her pension but does anyone know how this affect dla as she is getting the care component at the moment. And as a side if anyone knows how that affects pension credit or council tax benefit I’d be extremely grateful .. thanks all

Hi mrstum

My own mother was on section 117 funding so I can give you some info about how some of her payments were affected but you would still be wise to get expert advice about this as recommended by Gary.

Our mother was in hospital and discharged to a care home but this was initially on a "trial basis" for 6 weeks if I remember correctly. At the time she also had a rented home for which she received housing and council tax benefit, she was also receiving pension credit. She was not however on DLA. We did ask her social worker whether she could claim Attendance Allowance (she was too old to claim DLA) but the social worker said she couldn't receive it at the same time as being on section 117 because section 117 itself would cover her care costs so she couldn't get AA at the same time. Does your mother have a social worker too, if so I would be inclined to contact him or her? I suspect if your mother does go into a care home permanently then she would lose DLA care. In my case I was my mother's appointee with the DWP and I informed both the DWP and the Council (she was a council tenant) that she had been discharged from hospital to a care home on a trial basis. I had also advised them when she was admitted into hospital in the first place. Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit and also Pension Credit continued to be paid while she was in hospital. and the care home for the trial period. I vaguely recall the Council telling me that Housing and Council Tax Benefits can be paid for up to a year when someone is in hospital. After the 6 week trial period was up and both our mother and the care home were happy for her to stay there I then contacted the council to give 4 weeks notice to quit her council tenancy as required by their rules. The social worker had told me there was some kind of "over-lapping" type rule that allowed her HB and Council Tax Benefit to continue to be paid during this notice period, this may also apply in your mothers case if she goes into a care home permanently . The person in the HB/CTB department I first spoke didn't know about this rule and had to ask her supervisor about it, I suspect if I hadn't mentioned it to her in the first place our mother wouldn't have got the extra 4 weeks HB and CT! During the time our mother was in the care home (about 5 years) she continued to receive Pension Credit at the same rate she would have done if she was still living in her own home, HB and CT stopped after the 4-week notice to quit period.

I hope this helps but I do think you mother will have a social worker or some other official "over-seeing" the section 117. Under the rules this arrangement had to be formally reviewed several times a year and my mother, brother, myself, a doctor, nurse and someone from the care home attended meetings for this. I've just remembered that the nurse eventually replaced the social worker as the "co-ordinator" of these meetings.

I hope this helps and all goes well re your mother's care.

Kind regards

Mr B