Government benefits

If you have been diagnosed with cancer, you can ask to see a hospital or community social worker. They can assess your situation and give you advice on benefits. They can also help you deal with debts and will know about special funds you may be able to apply for. Your hospital may also have a welfare rights advisor. Or you can contact the Citizen's Advice Bureau (CAB). The CAB have experienced advisors who can help with filling out benefit forms. You can find your local CAB in the Yellow Pages or a local directory such as Thompson's.

Benefits Enquiry Line (BEL) - phone 0800 882200
Textphone for people with hearing difficulties: 0800 243355 (in Northern Ireland, 0800 220 674)
Web site: www.dwp.gov.uk

The Department for Work and Pensions has local offices, called Jobcentre Plus offices. It is what was formerly called 'Social Security' or the DSS, and then later called the Benefit's Agency. You can find the number of your nearest office in your local phone book. These name changes are very confusing - we will refer to the DWP throughout, but in your phone book you may need to look under Benefit's Agency, Department for Work and Pensions or Jobcentre Plus.

Each office also has its own textphone number and typetalk for those with hearing problems. Typetalk is available in some libraries and Citizen Advice Bureaux. All DWP offices provide their staff with deaf awareness training.

If you need someone to translate for you because you don't speak English or Welsh, let the DWP office know in advance and they will provide one for you. If you prefer, you can bring your own interpreter.

If you normally get Attendance Allowance or Disability Living Allowance, these benefit payments will carry on if you are in hospital for less than 28 days. After you've reached 28 days in hospital, they will stop. They will restart again when you go home.

Remember that when these benefits stop, it will affect other benefits you may receive because of them. If you get Income Support severe disability premium, or the person that looks after you receives Carers Allowance, these will be affected when your DLA or AA stop.

For the purposes of working out what benefits you are entitled to, hospital stays are linked together if they are less than 4 weeks apart. Say, for example, you have used up your 28 day allowance in hospital (so your benefits have stopped), benefits will restart when you go home. But if you are in hospital again within 4 weeks, you won't get the 28 days grace again - your benefits will stop straight away.

Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit and the housing costs included in Income Support or Pension Credit all stop after you have spent 52 weeks in hospital.

After the introduction of civil partnerships for same sex couples, the benefits rules now treat same sex couples in the same way as opposite sex couples. So you must claim jointly for welfare benefits, Housing and Council Tax Benefit and Tax Credits. You may find that you are worse off because your partner's income is being taken into account. If you are receiving benefit and haven't told the benefits authorities that you are in a same sex couple, they may take back any money they think you have been overpaid.

Disability Living Allowance is a benefit for people who need help with personal care, help with getting around, or both because they are ill or disabled. You have to be under 65 when you claim. To qualify, you may need help getting washed, going to the toilet, getting dressed or have difficulties walking. You will have to have needed this help for at least 3 months and expect to need it for at least 6 months more. DLA is not based on your National Insurance contributions. Nor is it affected by any savings, earnings, benefits or any other income that you have.

There are 2 parts to DLA: the care component and the mobility component. You can claim for either of these components, or both. If you qualify for middle or higher rate DLA, you may be entitled to a higher rate of Income Support, Employment Support Allowance, Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit because of your needs.

The care component

You can get this component if you need help with personal care. If you need help, you are entitled to claim - even if you think there is no one who can give you that help. There are 3 rates of the care component of DLA, low, middle and high. Each rate has different conditions that you must meet in order to receive that level of the benefit.

Low rate is paid at £19.55 per week. To qualify, you must need attention with bodily functions for a significant portion of the day, or if you are over 16, you are unable to prepare a cooked main meal.

Middle rate is paid at £49.30 per week. To qualify, you must need frequent help or supervision throughout the day or night.

High rate is paid at £73.60 per week. To qualify, you must need help or supervision both during the day and night.

If you get middle or high rate DLA and have a carer, your carer may qualify for carer's allowance.

The mobility component

You can get this component if you have difficulty in walking or are unable to walk. There are 2 rates of the mobility component.

Low rate is paid at £19.55 per week. To qualify, you can be able to walk, but need someone with you to guide or supervise you for most of the time when you are outdoors on unfamiliar routes.

High rate is paid at £51.40 per week. To qualify, you must be unable or virtually unable to walk due to a physical disability.

If you are awarded the higher rate of the mobility component, you will be automatically entitled to apply for a Blue Badge and receive exemption from Road Tax if you use a car, either as a driver or a passenger.

Note: there are special rules for people with a terminal illness - you can get the care component of DLA straight away, without having to wait 3 months. You need a DS1500 medical report, filled in by your GP or hospital doctor to send in with your claim. You will still need to apply for the mobility component.

You can get a claim pack from your nearest DWP Office. Look for the Benefits Agency (or DWP) display advert in the business section of the phone book or by telephoning the Benefit Enquiry Line on 0800 882 200 (textphone 0800 243 355). Ask for a DLA claim pack and leaflet SD3. You can also apply on line at www.dwp.gov.uk.

The Disability and Carer's Service Helpline 0845 712 3456 gives information and help on existing DLA claims. It is part of the DWP, dealing only with disability and carers' benefits.  The line is open from 7.30am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday.

Attendance Allowance is a benefit for disabled people of 65 or over, who need help with personal care because of their illness or disability. This benefit replaces Disability Living Allowance for those over 65. (But if you were awarded Disability Living Allowance before you were 65, this benefit can continue.) To qualify, you must have needed help for at least 6 months, unless you are terminally ill in which case, you can get AA straight away.

This benefit is not based on National Insurance Contributions and is not means tested in any way. 

This benefit has the same or similar rules as those for the care component of the Disability Living Allowance. There is no mobility component. There are 2 rates of AA for help with personal care

• A lower rate of £49.30 per week if you need help during either the day or night
• A higher rate of £73.60 per week if you need help during both the day and night

You can obtain a claim pack from your nearest DWP Office. Look for the Benefits Agency (or DWP) display advert in the business section of the phone book or by telephone the Benefit Enquiry Line on 0800 882 200 (textphone 0800 243 355). Ask for an Attendance Allowance claim pack and leaflet SD3. You can apply on line at www.dwp.gov.uk.

The Disability and Carer's Service Helpline 08457 123456 provides information and help on existing AA claims. It is open from 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday.

There are two tax credits: Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit. These are administered by the HM Revenue and Customs (used to be the Inland Revenue).

Working Tax Credit (WTC) covers everyone over 16 years old working at least 16 or more hours per week if you care for children, or at least 30 hours per week if you are over 25 and don't. Working tax credit also covers people over 50 returning to work and adults with disabilities - you have to be working at least 16 hours per week. 

The tax credit is a benefit paid to you on top of your net pay. Extra allowances are available to help with the cost of childcare provided by a registered childminder and after school clubs at local authority registered properties. If you are sick short term, you can still be classed as working. So you can receive working tax credit while you are on statutory sick pay (SSP), or on the low rate of incapacity benefit. All these benefits last for a maximum of 28 weeks, so if you are off sick for longer, you can no longer get working tax credit.

Child Tax Credit (CTC) is available whether you are on benefits or not. The Child Tax Credit covers 9 out of 10 families in the UK, but if your household income is too high, you may not qualify. Child Benefit will continue and is not affected by the Child Tax Credit. CTC is paid to you as a benefit, rather than being a tax allowance. CTC is paid to the parent who has most responsibility for child care. Usually, this is the mother.

You will need your P60 from the end of the last tax year, or your accounts or tax returns from that year if you are self employed. A P60 is a statement of taxable earnings. Your employer usually sends it to you automatically at the end of the tax year. The last tax year is the one that ends in the previous March. So if you were claiming in February 2011, you would need to supply your P60 for the tax year April 2009 to March 2010. The tax office needs these papers to work out your earnings for your initial claim.

The system should be flexible enough for changes in financial circumstances to be dealt with as they happen. But it is important that you tell the HM Revenue and Customs (the Inland Revenue) about any changes. You can do this by phone. If your income

• Went up at all in the previous tax year (the year that your tax credit for this year is based on) and you haven't already told them
• Goes up during this year by more than £10,000

you must tell them. You may have to pay some of your tax credit back and the longer you leave it, the more that will be.

If your income is less than it was the previous year, you should report that too. You may get more. You have to do this as soon as possible after your income has gone down because they will only backdate your claim by one month.

It is best to tell HM Revenue and Customs straight away if you have

• Any loss of income
• Disability benefit awarded to a family member
• Decreased or increased your working hours
• Become unemployed, are off sick or on strike for more than 10 days

Remember - If you already claim housing and council tax benefit, claiming tax credit is likely to reduce the amount you receive in these benefits.

You can claim either of these tax credits with the same form - claim form TC600. You can check whether you qualify and get the claim form by phoning 0845 300 3900 for England, Scotland or Wales (textphone 0845 300 3909). For Northern Ireland, phone 0845 603 2000 (textphone: 0845 607 6078). Lines are open from 8am to 8pm every day, including weekends.

Carer's Allowance is a benefit for carers aged 16 and over who look after a relative or friend for at least 35 hours a week. The current rate is £55.55 per week, but you may have some of this deducted if you already get other benefits.

To get this benefit, you need to be a carer of someone who is receiving the care component of the Disability Living Allowance at the middle or higher rate, or someone who is receiving Attendance Allowance. To qualify, you must earn less than £100 a week (as of April 2010) after deductions for tax, national insurance, half your occupational or personal pension contributions and up to half your earnings that go towards paying for a carer while you are at work. Unfortunately, you do not qualify if you are studying for more than 21 hours a week. Your claim can be backdated to the beginning of the award of Attendance Allowance or Disability Living Allowance provided you claim within 3 months of the AA or DLA claim being granted.

If you have stopped working for the time being, each week you qualify for CA, you will automatically be credited with Class 1 National Insurance contributions. The credits are free and help to make sure you qualify for other benefits in the future such as your state pension. This is called the Carer's Credit.

Note: you can get your National Insurance stamp paid even if the person you care for doesn't get DLA or AA as long as you get a 'Care Certificate' signed by a health or social care professional, such as a doctor, specialist nurse or social worker. You can also do this if you don't qualify for Carer's Allowance because you are studying.

If the person you are caring for dies, you can continue to claim carer's allowance for 8 weeks after the date of their death.

Carer's Allowance overlaps with some other benefits, such as Incapacity Benefit and the state retirement pension. So if you get the same or more from these you may not qualify. But it is still worth claiming because you may then qualify for Pension Credit, Council Tax Benefit or the carer's premium on other benefits.

Finally, remember that getting Carer's Allowance can affect the benefits of the person you are caring for. Check this out before you make a claim. Applying for Carer's Allowance can be complex and it's worth getting help from a Benefit's Advisor or the Citizen's Advice Bureau.

You can claim Carer's Allowance from your local DWP office, the Benefit's Enquiry Line: 0800 882 200, textphone 0800 243 355 or on line from www.direct.gov.uk/doitonline. Ask for form DS700.

People aged between 16 and pension age who are unable to work because of ill health, caring for a sick relative or close friend can claim Income Support (IS). Single parents and widows with children also qualify for IS.

You can work for up to 16 hours a week on average and still claim. A partner can work for up to 24 hours a week on average. Your income is used to decide whether you qualify for IS. This is called means testing. You must have capital, savings and investments adding up to less than £16,000. Capital is what you own, such as a house or flat, but does not include your home. Other financial matters, such as payment of child maintenance will also be taken into account.

The final amount you get is based on a number of other factors such as your age, health, housing costs, working hours, the number of people in your household and whether you are a single parent or a carer. Income Support is made up of a personal allowance for living expenses plus additional premiums for being a carer or having a disability. It can also include help with mortgage interest payments. Claiming IS can mean you are eligible for other benefits such as Disability Living Allowance, free school meals, free prescriptions, Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit.

To claim IS, visit or phone your local Jobcentre Plus office or call the New Claims Contact Centre on 0800 055 6688, textphone 0800 023 4888.

Pension Credit is really income support for people over pension age.

Remember that any savings you have will count towards your income. There is an online pension credit calculator that you can use to work out how much you might be entitled to.

Pension credit comes in two parts

• Guarantee Credit
• Savings Credit

Guarantee Credit is assessed on your income. You can claim if you are over pension age. If you have more than £6,000 in savings, you will receive less than the full amount. There is no limit to the number of hours you can work but most of what you earn will be counted when your entitlement is worked out. You are eligible if your income is less than £137.35 for a single person or £209.70 for a couple (as of April 2011). Guarantee credit tops it up to this amount.

If you get Guarantee Credit, you will also be able to claim mortgage interest payments, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit. Information you give as part of your pension credit claim will automatically be passed on to the council so that you can make these claims. The rules on savings have changed. So even if you have claimed before and been turned down because of your savings, you may now be able to claim. If you are a carer, or get Attendance Allowance or Disability Living Allowance, you can get a higher rate of Guarantee Credit.

Savings Credit is for people over 65 who have an income or savings above basic state pension level. You may get up to £20.52 per week for a single person or £27.09 for a couple if your weekly income is

• Up to £188 per week for a single person
• Up to £277 per week for a couple

The maximum income limit includes all earnings and pensions you receive. If in any doubt about whether you qualify, do put in a claim. You may get more if you are disabled or a carer.

Unlike Guarantee Credit, you cannot automatically claim Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit because there are upper limits on savings. If you qualify for Savings Pension Credit (but not Guarantee Credit) you will only qualify for Housing or Council Tax Benefits if your savings are less than £16,000 a year.

To claim pension credit, you can ring the Pensions Service on 0800 99 1234 or textphone 0800 169 0133.  Lines are open 8am to 8pm. Someone will complete the form with you over the phone and then send it to you for checking and signature.

Statutory Sick Pay is a payment for employed people who become sick and who are unable to work. It is not means tested. To qualify you must be employed and earn enough to pay National Insurance contributions. You have to be unable to work for any 4 or more days in a row, so if you are off sick for 3 days or less, you will not qualify. You will only be paid SSP for days that you are contracted to work (for example, you will not be paid for weekends if you work Monday to Friday).

Tell your employer as soon as you become sick. You need a medical certificate from your doctor if you are off sick for more than a week. The benefit will be paid the same way as wages for up to 28 weeks of sick leave, but you may get sick pay for longer than that depending on your own employer's sickness scheme.

If you are still ill after 28 weeks, your employer should give you an SSP1 form to claim Incapacity Benefit or Employment Support Allowance. You can still claim Working Tax Credit while you are off sick and on SSP.

Claim from your employer. You may also be entitled to Income Support depending on your financial circumstances, and should get advice on which would be better for you - ask your DWP Office (now called Jobcentre Plus).

Incapacity Benefit is a benefit for people who are incapable of work because of they have become disabled or sick. This benefit has been replaced by Employment Support Allowance and no new claims have been accepted since 31st January 2011. But we have left this information on claims here in case you are already receiving incapacity benefit and need to check the details. 

Note: Existing claimants on IB will be transferred to Employment Support Allowance (ESA) between February 2011 and March 2014. If you reach pensionable age before the 6th April 2014, this will not affect you.

If you are incapable of work and

• Are employed, but cannot get Statutory Sick Pay from your employer because you have been sick for more than 28 weeks
• Are self employed
• Are unemployed or not working

you may have claimed IB, if you had paid enough National Insurance contributions. There are 3 rates of IB. The rate you receive depends on how long you have been off sick

• Low rate short term IB is paid for up to 28 weeks sickness
• Higher rate short term IB is paid for between 29 and 52 weeks sickness
• Long term IB is paid if you have been sick for more than 52 weeks

If you are getting the care component of Disability Living Allowance or are terminally ill, you can get the long term rate of IB after 28 weeks. If you are getting low rate, short term Incapacity Benefit, you can still get Working Tax Credit during this period if your income is low enough.

You are allowed to do some work and still qualify for Incapacity Benefit. If you work for less than 16 hours per week on average and your take home pay is no more than £92 per week you will still qualify but you should tell the DWP before you start work. The permission to work lasts for up to a year. After that, you have to tell them again that you are working. If you earn less than £20 a week, you have to tell the DWP to start with, but don't have to keep telling them.

If you have an occupational pension of more than £85 per week, this may affect the amount of Incapacity Benefit you get. Unfortunately, some IB is also taxable. Your local DWP Office can tell you more.

This has now replaced Incapacity Benefit for all new claims made from 31st January 2011.

ESA can be paid as either a contribution based or means tested benefit, or both. That means your claim can be based on your record of National Insurance contributions or your income, or both.

There are two phases to the allowance. First there is the assessment phase. For the first 13 weeks of your claim, you'll receive the basic rate of

• £67.50 if you're over 25
• £53.45 if you are under 25

After that, people are sorted into two groups, either the Work Related Activity Group or the Support Group. The Work Related Activity Group is for people who are judged to be able to work with the right support. You go to monthly meetings with an adviser, who will organise the support you need to get back into work. The Support Group is for people who would not be able to work at all, due to their illness or disability. So after 13 weeks, you will get

• Up to £94.25 per week if you are in the Work Related Activity Group
• Up to £99.85 if you are in the Support Group

Note: there are special rules for people with a terminal illness who are not expected to live longer than 6 months. They are exempt from the assessment phase and are automatically ‘fast tracked’ on to the higher benefit rate. In this case, you would normally get the lower rate until your ‘special rules status’ is confirmed and then the higher rate will be backdated until the beginning of your claim.

If you're self employed and not able to claim SSP you can claim ESA as long as you have paid enough National Insurance contributions (class 2). If you haven't, you may be able to claim ESA based on your income, savings, care and mobility needs.

You need to have a medical certificate to make your claim. Then you phone the New Claims Centre on 0800 055 6688. They will ask you questions about your circumstances and tell you what happens next.

Housing Benefit, Local Housing Allowance and Council Tax Benefit are paid by your Local Authority (the Council). You can get Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit if your income is low either because you are on other benefits, or you do not earn very much. You can be in full or part time work and still qualify if your income is low enough. You must claim for where you actually live, but this may include house, flat, houseboat or caravan, hotel or guesthouse if you are homeless and can find no alternative accommodation. You may get help whether you rent from the council, a housing association or a private landlord.

For private tenants, local authorities are now calling this benefit 'local housing allowance'. This takes into account market rates for rents in your area. If you are a private tenant already getting Housing Benefit, this won't affect you unless you make a new claim (for example, because you have moved).

Local Housing Allowance pays you the average rent for the number of people in your household in your area. So if a single person's average rent is £100 a week, that's what you will get. If you pay less, you get less. If you pay more, you can ask for a discretionary extra payment. These may be paid if moving would cause hardship, for example, because of your health or because you are a carer. But you may have to pay the excess yourself.

The amount of HB or CTB you will be paid depends on

• You and your partner's income
• The size of your family
• Your savings
• The amount of rent you have to pay
• If anyone other than your family shares the accommodation with you
• The general level of rent in your area

You may get a discount on council tax if you are disabled or have other special home needs.

You cannot claim HB or CTB if you have savings of more than £16,000, unless you receive Pension Guarantee Credit. People receiving Income Support, Pension Guarantee Credit or income based Jobseeker's Allowance may get all their rent and council tax paid. Housing benefit does not cover fuel costs or some service charges. It doesn't cover mortgage interest payments but these may be covered by Income Support instead.

Claim from your local authority (the Council) Housing and Council Tax Benefits Office. If you are making a claim for income support at the DWP, you will be given HB and CTB claim forms to complete. These will be sent to your local Council. You can find the details of your local Housing and Council Tax Benefits Office in your phone book. Ask for leaflets RR2-A Guide to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit for more information.

If your partner dies, you may qualify for some financial help. To collect any of these bereavement benefits, you must either be married or a (same sex) civil partner of the person who has died. If you have been living together but are not married or civil partners, you can't claim. The benefits available are

• A one off, bereavement payment of £2,000
• Bereavement Allowance, paid for 52 weeks to a surviving spouse (or civil partner) aged between 45 and pension age if there are no dependent children
• Widowed Parent Allowance if you have children under 20 for whom you get child benefit

Both allowances are taxable. The bereavement payment is not.

Bereavement Allowance varies in amount depending on your age when your partner died. The 2011/12 rates allow £30.21 per week if you are age 45 up to £100.70 per week if you are between 55 and pension age.

Widowed Parent Allowance is £100.70 per week for the basic rate.

Each UK country has separate guidance about health charges. Prescription charges have been abolished in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

From April 1st 2009, cancer patients in England do not have to pay prescription charges for any medicines. This applies to people having treatment for cancer, having treatment for the effects of cancer, or having treatment for the effects of current or past cancer treatment.

You apply for a five-year prescription exemption certificate, which can be renewed as many times as you need. Application forms are available from GP surgeries and cancer (oncology) clinics. They must be countersigned by your GP or hospital doctor. You can make appointments with your GP to apply for the certificate.

Age UK helpline
Age UK was formed from the merger of Age Concern and Help the Aged.
Phone 0800 009966

Attendance allowance or disability living allowance enquiry service
Warbreck House
Warbreck Hill Road
Blackpool
Lancs
FY2 0YE
Phone: 0845 712 3456 Monday to Friday, 7.30am to 6.30pm
Textphone 0845 722 4433.

Benefit Enquiry Line
0800 882200 (textphone 0800 243355)
On-line at www.dwp.gov.uk.

DWP Carer's allowance enquiry service
Disability Carers Service
Palatine House
Lancaster Road
Preston
PR1 1HB

Phone 0845 608 4321
Textphone: 0845 604 5312
Website: www.direct.gov.uk/carers

Citizen's Advice Bureaux
There is no longer a single national number. Look in your local Yellow Pages or Thompson's Directory.

DWP medical examinations complaints, contact
Medical Services Customer Relations
Wing G, Block 1
Government Buildings
Lawnswood
Leeds
LS16 5PU
This service is now subcontracted to a private company called Atos Healthcare, so that is what they will say when the answer the phone - you haven't got a wrong number!

Phone 0113 230 9175
Textphone: 18001 08002888777 (This is a BT Text Direct number)

Job Centre Plus Benefits claim line
This is a DWP freephone line for people wishing to claim Income Support or Employment Support Allowance.
Phone: 0800 0556688 (please note, this is free from BT landlines. If you use a mobile or other service, you may have to pay).

National Insurance enquiries
HM Revenue and Customs
Longbenton
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE98 1ZZ

Phone 0845 302 1479 (personal enquiries)
Employer's Helpline - 0845 714 3143 (Provides general advice and information about National Insurance contributions and employer paid benefits.)

NHS Direct
For all kinds of information on health related issues, ring 0845 4647

Pensions enquiries
For UK residents aged 60 and over: 0845 606 0265

For pension and benefit enquiries if you live overseas:
International Pensions Centre
Tyneview Park
Whitley Road
Benton
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE98 1ZZ
Phone: 0191 218 7777

Pension Credit enquiries claim line
Phone: 0800 99 1234

Prescription and NHS charges enquiries
Health Benefits Division
Sandyford House
Archbold Terrace
Jesmond
Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
NE2 1DB
Phone 0845 850 1166