ESA Advice!

[dottydingo]

Hello all im in need of some advice regarding ESA! its for my mum who i care for full time & i really dont know much in the way of the benefits system! so from 2006 till feb 2012 my mum was receiving DLA & IB but this stopped due to them apparently not receiving the renewal form back, We recently got the DLA back but at a much lower rate than before (we we r in the process of appeal) she was then put on to ESA of £140 a fortnight last may until this week when they decided she was in fact entitled to the Work Related Activity Group rate so they have backdated this so all was fine until yesterday, she received a letter saying that from may 2013 she will only be entitled to £28 per week! & i really dont know what to do about this or why it has happened, My mum has worked all her life as a carer until 2006 when she had to stop due to her health which has got worse over time, she cant cook, clean & 90% of the time i have to help her to get dressed, i spend around 5-6 hours a day caring for her so if someone is that needy then how can they be expected to live on £28pw, sorry for the rant but i do hope someone could point me in the right direction as i say i am clueless to the benefit system. Thank You

[Anteater]

You are best to get advice from the Citizens Advice Bureau - ....

[fabwheelie]

Try see if your local council social service dept has a welfare rights officer they should be able to help explain things and could help with any appeal you may have

If your mum has been on "contribution based ESA" and was in WRAG for more than a year things get moved onto "income based ESA" after the 365 days, so if your mum has any income (such as from an occupational ill-health pension) that may now be taken into account when calculating her benefit entiltlement. (if she was in "support group" different rules apply re how much "ill health pension income you are allowed before it is counted as income/ the 365 days rule does not apply)

[custardpot]

On the letter to say how much she is to get there should be a page with how the money is worked out. Do you get Carers allowance for looking after your mum? If you do then the amount you get on carers allowance will be taken out of your mums ESA but then a bit should be put back on.

The benefit system is very complicated but I can help you a fair bit because I looked after my inlaws and my husband so have been through the hassles with benefits.

I think you can do personal messages on here but don't know how to do it. If someone could tell us then I will give you my email address then I can help you a lot more.