Carers Allowance

Hi mel-lyn,
This is from www.gov.uk/disability-premiums/eligibility

You cannot get the severe disability premium if someone is getting Carer’s Allowance or the carers element of Universal Credit for looking after you.

If you’re in a couple
You’ll get the higher amount of severe disability premium if both you and your partner are eligible.

You can get the lower amount if:

someone gets Carers Allowance or the carers element of Universal Credit for looking after only one of you
only one of you meets the eligibility criteria and the other is registered blind
If someone gets Carer's Allowance or the carer element of Universal Credit for one member of a couple - but not the other - then SDP is paid at a single rate.

I am somewhat confused about your husband's SDP. From what is said on the .gov.uk website above. Since you claim CA for husband HE should NOT get SDP added to his ESA. SDP is only awarded when you have a qualifying benefit such as daily living PIP and have no carer and live alone. Per above couples can claim if there us no carer and both of you have eg daily living PIP. ( This is because people with daily living PIP or equivalent are specifically exempted.) However since there is an SDP element on the joint ESA claim I'm wondering if this is paid for you because you don't have a carer. Your husband can't get it because you get CA for looking after him.
I don't think you will be eligible for x 2 SDP ie higher rate, which is basically x 2 single rate. You won't fall within the scheme. It is possible that your husband could claim CA for looking after you, but then if my theory is correct then he will get CA and not SDP.
Whilst legally there is nothing to prevent disabled couples claiming CA fir each other if they both get the appropriate level of PIP etc I always think this is problematic. If you are sufficiently disabled to qualify for daily living PIP this indicates that you need help. How can you therefore reconcile needing help and providing at least 35 hrs per week of help to your other half! DWP will almost certainly pick up on this and may well investigate with the possibility that either ir both of your PIP claims are then revised and stopped. Yes it is possible to have mutual CA/PIP claims in a couple but it is tricky, needs proper consideration and can lead to serious complications.
Going back to my original theory, this needs looking into. Whose SDP actually is it? I would totally recommend seeking advice from a local welfare benefits advice centre such as CAB or similar. If SDP payments are being made incorrectly this could lead to an overpayment.
There are some financial and benefits concerns here and getting a proper benefits check would be a good idea.
I hope this helps.
LL26

Hi mel-lyn

I would agree with LL26, your post is slightly confusing without knowing the full facts.

Your husband could get an EDP paid with his IR ESA, if you claim CA for looking after your husband then he cannot or should not get a SDP.

The SDP became payable from the first day that all three of the following applied.

1. You had an award of ESA and we’re receiving or were entitled to receive Income Related ESA.

2. You had an award of PIP Daily Living

3. You met the criteria for payment of the SD Premium, namely that you lived alone or were considered to be living alone and no one receives Carers Allowance against your PIP award or as a couple you can qualify if both you and your partner get a qualifying benefit (PIP daily living).

I would advise you to seek help from your local Welfare Rights Organisation who can take all your circumstances into consideration. You can find your local Welfare Rights Organisation to help you with advice by clicking on the link below and putting in your post code, it will then come up with a MAP with a list of agencies. advicelocal.uk .

Gary