Remember that if you are not getting Carer’s Allowance the advice on this page is only any use to you if one of the following applies to you:

• You are ‘regularly and substantially engaged in caring for another person’, who has claimed Attendance Allowance, or Disability Living Allowance, or Personal Independence Payment, but hasn’t yet had a decision on their claim. This applies for up to 26 weeks.
• You are ‘regularly and substantially engaged in caring for another person’ who gets Attendance Allowance, or the middle or higher rate of the care component of Disability Living Allowance, or either rate of the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment. You might notice that these are the same as one of the tests for Carer’s Allowance, so why not just claim Carer’s Allowance anyway? The important point here is that the other rules for Carer’s Allowance don’t apply here, so if you think you can argue that you are ‘regularly and substantially engaged in caring’ it won’t necessarily matter if you are caring for less than 35 hours per week.
• You are looking after a member of your family (your partner or one of your children) who is ‘temporarily ill’. This is only going to help you for a fairly short time but might get you through an immediate emergency.

If you are having to care for your partner, it is likely (but not certain) that your partner is already getting income based Employment and Support Allowance for you both as a couple. It’s hard to see how they could be so disabled that you are ‘regularly and substantially engaged in caring’ but still be regarded as fit for work, although sometimes the Jobcentre Plus doesn’t agree…

If your partner is getting income based Employment and Support Allowance

• You need to make sure that the Jobcentre Plus know that you have been awarded Carer’s Allowance.
• In theory your partner could end their claim for Employment and Support Allowance and you could claim Income Support, it is hard to see why you would want to, as the weekly amount of benefit you would be getting would be less on Income Support than on Employment and Support Allowance (this could be £29.05 or £36.20, depending on circumstances)
• You should already be getting full Housing Benefit as a couple
• You should tell the local authority (council) that you are now getting Carer’s Allowance, as it may affect the amount of Council Tax Support you receive (depending on where you live).

If your partner is not getting income based Employment and Support Allowance

• I recommend that first you try to find out why, if you don’t already know. If there’s no good reason and they have not already been refused, it makes sense for them to claim Employment and Support Allowance rather than for you to claim Income Support, for the reasons I have just given.
• If there is some good reason why your partner cannot get Employment and Support Allowance, you have the right to claim Income Support on behalf of you both, because you are a carer. The amount you get will be reduced if you have other income (although some income is ignored)or if you have too much savings or other capital: Crucially, the Carer’s Allowance itself is counted as income. You can claim Income Support by phoning the Jobcentre Plus on 0800 055 6688.
• If you do get awarded Income Support, this should also entitle you to full Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support as well. Bear in mind, though, being entitled to full Housing Benefit is not the same as getting all your rent paid.

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