What am I entitled to?

Attendance Allowance

If you have care needs for yourself or a loved one, there are various means of financial support to help you manage your extra costs.

Anyone who is 65 or over, and requires help with their personal care due to a physical or mental disability, can apply for tax free Attendance Allowance.

There are two different rates.  How much you receive will depend on your disability:

• The basic rate of Attendance Allowance is £56.65 a week for those who need frequent help or supervision during the day, or at night.
• The higher right of Attendance Allowance is £83.10 a week, for those who need help and supervision throughout day and night, or they are living with a terminal illness.

Those who are under 65, may be eligible for Personal Independence Payments (PIP). Ranging from £22 to £141.10 a week, depending on level of need.

To find out more follow this link: Attendance Allowance

Carers Allowance

If you are 16 or older and spend at least 35 hours a week caring for someone with disabilities, whether you are related or not, you may be eligible to receive £62.70 per week through Carers Allowance.

This taxable benefit is only available for those who:

• Not in full time education (over 20 hours per week)
• Earn less than £116 per week, after taxes, and some expenses which will be calculated during assessment.

To find out more follow this link: Carers Allowance

Social Services Funding

If the person who requires care has less than £23,250 in savings they may be eligible for Social Services Funding.

Your first step will be to contact your local Adult Social Services department to arrange a Community Care Assessment.

If, after the assessment, you are eligible to receive council-supported care services, based upon your care needs, your local authority will decide a budget.

The maximum hourly rate given by local authorities varies from one authority to another. In most cases, it is quite unlikely that the amount given will cover the full cost of a quality home care service such as Wellbeing Homecare.

However, in a scheme to promote independence choice, you are now able to take control of your budget and top-up the hourly cost of receiving care from an establishment of your choice. This is called Direct Payments.

To find out more follow this link: Direct Payments

Personal Health Budgets

Funded by the NHS, Personal Health Budgets can be for a care and support plan, which is agreed by the person receiving the care and their local NHS team.

Personal Health Budgets are entirely funded by the NHS and these cannot be topped up.

Once a plan is agreed, you have the option to manage the budget on your own or assign it to the NHS team or a third party of your choice.

Should you decide to manage your own budget, you will receive Direct Payments, as explained above, which you can spend on healthcare services of your own choice. Or, alternatively, the elected person or NHS team will support you to figure out the services you need, arrange these services and pay for them on your behalf.

To find out more follow this link: Personal Health Budgets

NHS Continuing Healthcare

This is a package of care that is arranged and funded solely by the NHS for people who are not in hospital but are assessed as having a “primary health need”.

It can cover healthcare costs, such as services from the community nurse or specialist therapist and personal care such as bathing.

To be eligible, you must be over 18 and have substantial, and on-going, care needs. To find out if you are eligible you must first undergo an initial screen.  After this, a more in depth assessment is carried out by a team of one or two health and social care professionals.

If your needs have changed since you were last assessed, you can request a review through your doctor or social service worker.

To find out more follow this link: NHS Continuing Healthcare