We know how worrying it can be to hear about changes
to benefits, but not get all the details. That’s why we’ve put
together this pack, so that everyone we support knows what is
happening when and where to get more support.
Inside you’ll find out about the four biggest changes affecting everyone:
• Changes to Housing Benefit (also known as the ‘bedroom tax’).
• What is happening to Council Tax Benefit.
• The end of the social fund.
• The beginning of Personal Independence Payment, replacing DLA.
We hope that with this information, you will feel more confident about the changes
coming and more able to press for what you need. Remember you can:
• Get more information about all benefits at http://www.rethink.org. If you want information
and don’t have access to the internet, please call us on 0300 5000 927 and we can
post information to you.
• Talk to others about your experiences at http://www.rethink.org/talk
• Phone our specialist advisers – now open for longer, Monday to Friday, 10am to 2pm
on 0300 5000 927.
This is just the start. As well as extending the hours that you can call our advisers, we
are also producing information about Universal Credit and changes to the appeals
system. Go to http://www.rethink.org to sign up for emails and you will receive all this
information as we produce it. Universal Credit is only being piloted in a few areas and
won’t be rolled out across the country until late 2013.
And we are campaigning for better benefits tests so that people with mental illness get
fair assessments from benefits staff.
I hope this information helps you, your family and friends to get the support that you
all need.
Paul Jenkins
Chief Executive
Introduction
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Changes to Housing Benefit –
‘the bedroom tax’
The changes in a nutshell
If you live in a local authority or Housing Association house or flat and you
have more bedrooms that the Government thinks you need, your Housing
Benefit could reduce from April 2013.
But if you rent a flat from a private landlord, your Housing Benefit will stay
at the same rate. If you are over the pension age, then your Housing Benefit
won’t change.
You are most likely to be affected if you:
• Are single and live in a house or flat with 2 or more bedrooms.
• Have adult children, who have moved out.
• Have a child who visits but doesn’t permanently live with you.
• Are in a couple and you have a ‘spare’ room that you use when one
of you is ill.
The rules say that:
• All adults and couples need a bedroom to themselves.
• Boys under 16 should share a room.
• Girls under 16 should share a room.
• Boys and girls under 10 should share a room.
• Disabled people who need someone ‘extra’ to stay overnight to provide
care need an extra bedroom for this person.
If you have more bedrooms than the rules say you need, you will be classed
as ‘under-occupying’ and your Housing Benefit will be reduced.
How much will my benefits go down by?
If you have one more room than the rules say you need, your Housing Benefit will
reduce by 14%. If you have two or more rooms than the rules say you need, your
Housing Benefit will reduce by 25%.
On average, people living in local authority housing will lose £14 per week. People
in Housing Association housing will lose £16 per week.
This is a lot of money for someone living on benefits to lose.
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Example
A mother with a history of mental health problems has raised two
children in a 3 bedroom house and lived there for 30 years. When
the adult children move on, the woman will be only entitled to one
bedroom under the rules. Her Housing Benefit will reduce by 25% as
the rules say she is under occupying the property by 2 bedrooms.
What can I do?
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has suggested that you could:
• Move house.
• Take in a lodger (check your tenancy agreement, likely to need permission from
the landlord).
• Increase hours of work or look for work to increase your income.
• Apply for other benefits, if you can.
• Pay the difference out of any money you have if you can.
• Borrow from friends and family.
• Apply for a Discretionary Housing Payment.
You can read the Department for Work and Pensions guidance at
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/a4-2012.pdf
What are Discretionary Housing Payments?
If you claim Housing Benefit and you can’t pay your housing bills and your tenancy
is at risk, you can ask for extra financial help to meet these costs. Local councils
administer Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP). Each local council has a fixed
pot of money for each financial year.
Each local council decides who to give a discretionary housing payment to.
Usually councils will only give you a payment for short period, for example up to 6
months. We don’t know how easy it will be for people with mental health problems
to get these payments, but it could be worth checking.
Will the local authority find me a new house?
National Government has said local councils should consider finding new homes
for people who are ‘under-occupying’. Each local council will decide how to do
this in practice. In some areas there may not be any smaller accommodation
available. Finding a new home may not, in reality, be helpful. The local council
could suggest that you move to a completely different area, far from friends and
family. The local council could also find you a place in the private sector – this
could mean that you are responsible for more maintenance issues than in local
council or Housing Association homes.
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What should I do if I am affected?
Try and maximize your income
You could apply for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or, depending on where you live,
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) if you haven’t already. DLA or PIP would help
to increase your income and help you pay any extra rent you need to pay because of
Housing Benefit reducing.
If you already claim DLA, you could check to see if you are eligible for a higher rate.
Applying for a higher rate though will mean a new assessment, which could leave you
with a higher or lower amount – it is impossible to tell which. So you should consider
this carefully before applying.
Check that you are receiving all other benefits and tax credits you may be entitled to.
Take in a lodger?
If you are thinking about taking on a lodger in the future to increase your income, you
could see if you have a family member or a trusted friend who is looking to move in the
near future. This could make looking for a lodger much less stressful. You should also
check your tenancy agreement and ensure that your landlord agrees.
Use other money if you can?
If you have any other money available to you, such as a trust fund, contact the Trustees
of the fund and tell them about these changes – you could send on this information to
them. You could then ask them to give you extra funds to help you cover the extra rent
you need to pay.
Work out your budget?
If your local authority or Housing Association has told you that you will need to pay extra
towards your rent we would recommend you complete a personal budget sheet listing
all of your income and essential outgoings, including the amount you are being asked to
pay towards your rent.
Rent is a priority payment as you risk losing your home if rent arrears build up. So it is
important to budget for the extra you are being asked to pay. This might mean looking
at what else you spend your money on and seeing if you can make savings.
8 Rethink Mental Illness.
Council Tax Benefit changes
The changes in a nutshell
From April 2013 Council Tax Benefit will no longer exist. Instead your local
authority will run a ‘Council Tax Support’ scheme, but the budgets for these
schemes is 10% less than the previous budget for Council Tax Benefit.
What is Council Tax?
Council Tax is a tax which households have to pay to local councils. People receive the
bills each year, but usually pay the tax in 10 chunks, starting in April. How much you pay
will depend on how much your property is worth and the number of people living in it.
Usually councils assume that at least two people live in each property. If you live alone
or with someone who is seen as exempt from the tax, then you can pay less council tax.
How has Council Tax Benefit worked up to now?
Until now, if you were on a low income you could make a claim for Council Tax Benefit.
Depending on the level of income, capital and savings that you and people living with
you had, you could receive some Council Tax Benefit to reduce your council tax bill. As
a result, you might not have paid any council tax at all or you might have paid a smaller
amount. Usually people made a claim for Council Tax Benefit through their local council
at the same time as applying for Housing Benefit. National rules set out who could
receive Council Tax Benefit and how much people could receive.
What will happen now?
As they are all getting less money than previously, all councils will be trying to save
money and so will be looking at different ways they could do this.
Some local councils have already said that they will charge everyone of working age
some council tax even if under the previous system the person would have been
received full Council Tax Benefit and therefore didn’t have to pay any Council Tax at all.
Other councils may change the thresholds for capital and savings when assessing
for Council Tax Support so people who have less than £16,000 savings and
previously received Council Tax Benefit may have to pay something or more towards
their council tax bill.
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10 Rethink Mental Illness.
Some other councils may look at your income differently when they decide how
much support to give you. For example, in the past, they ignored some benefits when
adding up how much income they thought you had. Now they might think that these
benefits are ordinary parts of your income and decide to give you less Council Tax
Support as a result.
Check with your local council to find out how they will run the Council Tax Support
Scheme in your area.
Is this affecting everyone?
These changes will only affect you if you are of working age. If you are above the
‘Pension Credit qualifying age’, you will still get Council Tax Benefit as you have up
to now.
When is this happening?
April 2013.
How can I find out what is happening in my area?
Your local council may already have contacted you to tell you about the changes and
ask for your opinion on their new scheme.
If you have access to the internet you can check what system your council has decided
to use on their website.
If you do not have access to the internet you could telephone your local council and
ask to be put through to the team who can tell you about the new Council Tax Support
scheme in your area.
How important is paying council tax?
Council tax is a priority payment. If the local council can prove you are wilfully refusing
or neglecting to pay your council tax you could be sent to prison, however in practice
this is quite rare.
More commonly, the local council will pass any council tax debt to local bailiffs who
will try to collect the debt from you directly. As long as you don’t let them in to your
home they can’t break in, however being visited by a council tax bailiff can be scary and
upsetting.
What is the difference between Council Tax Benefit/Council Tax
Support and Council Tax Exemption?
If you currently receive Council Tax Benefit (or will receive some Council Tax Support)
you are still liable to pay council tax at the property you live in, however the amount you
pay is either covered in full or in part by Council Tax Benefit/Council Tax Support. In
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practice you may pay nothing at all towards your Council Tax bill but only because the
amount you should be paying is covered by the benefit.
If you are exempt from Council Tax you have no legal liability to pay it. This means you
are not billed and your council cannot ask you to pay any Council Tax. You do not need
to apply for Council Tax Benefit or Council Tax Support because you don’t have any
Council Tax to pay.
Could my property be exempt from Council Tax liability?
If someone (or many people) who are ‘severely mentally impaired’ or students only live
in your property, you will not have to pay Council Tax on your property.
Being severely impaired means you have ‘a severe impairment of intelligence and social
functioning (however caused) which appears to be permanent’. You would need your
GP or another doctor to confirm you have a severe mental impairment.
You also need to be receiving one of the following benefits:
• Incapacity Benefit.
• Employment and Support Allowance.
• Severe Disablement Allowance.
• Income Support (with a disability premium paid because of incapacity for work).
• High or Middle Rate Care Component of Disability Living Allowance.
• The Daily Living Component of Personal Independence Payment or
Attendance Allowance.
Most local councils have a form you can fill in to apply for one of these exemptions.
I am going to be affected by the changes, what can I do?
If you find out that you are going to have to pay more for council tax because of these
changes and you are worried about this, you could check:
if you are exempt from council tax liability altogether?
• If you have a severe and enduring mental illness and you receive some welfare
benefits you may be exempt from council tax liability under the ‘Severe Mental
Impairment’ rules. You can find out more in our ‘Welfare Benefits and Mental
Illness’ factsheet.
if you can get a discount on your council tax bill?
• If you are the only adult living in your property you should get a 25% ‘single
person’s discount.
• If you are living with someone who is either a student or is exempt from council tax
because they have a Severe Mental Impairment (see above) then you should receive a
25% discount on your council tax bill.
• If you are a care and:
– provide 35 hours of care on average per week,
– live in the same property as the person you care for,
12 Rethink Mental Illness.
– are not the partner of the person you care for,
– are not caring for a child who is under 18 and
– the person you care for gets either the Care Component of Disability Living
Allowance at the Highest Rate or the higher rate of Attendance Allowance
then you may also be eligible for a discount on your council tax bill.
The rules are complicated so you may want to speak to a local welfare rights adviser
if you can increase your income
• You may want to check that you are getting all the welfare benefits, tax credits and
discounts that you are entitled to.
• You should be able to get a ‘welfare benefits check’ at your local welfare rights
service, such as your local Citizens Advice Bureau.
if you can change the way you spend your money
• You could complete a personal budget sheet and include council tax in this. Council
tax is a very important payment to make.
• Our factsheet ‘How to Deal with Debt’ explains how to draw up a personal budget
sheet and also gives options for dealing with any debts you may have.
What if I fall behind with my council tax?
You should seek the help of a money adviser as soon as possible. They will be able to
advise how to deal with any arrears or any action the local council are taking against
you. You can find advice and how to find a money adviser in our ‘How to Deal with
Debt’ factsheet.
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The changes in a nutshell
At the moment JobCentre Plus can give people interest-free loans, grants and
payments to help people get through emergencies or pay for long-term costs like
new furniture or kitchen or disability equipment.
From April 2013, Job Centre Plus will help fewer people with emergency loans and
it will take repayments from your future benefits payments. Local councils will
have to help other people with emergencies and with longer-term grants instead
of Job Centre Plus.
Changes to the Social Fund
How has the discretionary Social Fund worked until now?
The discretionary Social Fund has helped people on low incomes manage large items
of expenditure and cope with emergencies. It includes crisis loans, community care
grants and budgeting loans.
Until now, if you needed money in an emergency, you could get an interest-free
Crisis Loan from Job Centre Plus. You could get one if you needed help with
‘emergency costs’ like food, rent, electricity or gas or travelling expenses. You did not
need to be claiming benefits to get one of these loans, though many people claimed
them if their benefit payments had been delayed.
Community Care Grants (CCGs) are not loans, but grants and they are only for people
receiving income-based benefits. They were available to help people:
• Move from hospital / prison or community care.
• Avoid a stay in hospital, prison or community care.
• Move to suitable accommodation.
• Visit someone who is unwell.
• Attend a funeral.
Budgeting Loans were interest-free loans for people receiving benefits to help pay for
big items over a longer period. People often used them to help pay for: Furniture and
household items, like fridges or cookers:
• Clothing.
• Rent in advance and other removal costs.
• Some travelling expenses.
14 Rethink Mental Illness.
What is changing?
Crisis loans, budgeting loans and Community Care Grants will end. Instead there will be
three options:
1. If you are waiting for a benefits claim to come through, you can apply
for a Short-term Advance.
If you have just claimed for benefits, but you haven’t received them yet and you need
money for essentials like food or rent, you can ask for a short term advance. You can
also do this if your circumstances have changed and you expect to get more benefits
as a result, but your claim hasn’t been processed yet. Your future benefits will then
go down by the amount of the loan – we are not sure what the rate will be yet. The
Government says they want people to pay back this money over 3 months or 6 months
in exceptional circumstances.
2. If you have an emergency for any other reason, your local council will
decide how to help you.
There are no rules about what support a local authority should provide, how to organise
it or who should receive it. There has been some discussion on how local councils
might develop local services that will replace Community Care Grants and Crisis Loans,
but the information we have is minimal.
Local councils could:
• Give cash grants as Job Centre Plus does now.
• Offer goods instead of cash (e.g. referral to food bank).
• Give vouchers or coupons.
• Do a combination of all three.
3. If you have a big ‘one off’ cost, you can apply for a Budgeting Advance.
If you claim Universal Credit on the lowest income, you can apply for a ‘budgeting
advance’. This is an interest free loan from the Department for Work and Pensions.
The Government wants people to be able to use these interest-free loans for essentials
instead of getting loans at high interest rates.
We don’t yet know how big these advances can be. It will depend on whether you are
claiming the benefits above yourself or as a couple and whether you have children. It will
also depend on what savings you have. You will not be able to get a Budgeting Advance
if you already have one that you haven’t yet paid back.
You could use the money to pay for:
• Furniture and household items.
• Clothing.
• Rent in advance and other removal costs.
• Some travelling expenses (for employment).
• Some maternity costs.
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If you get a Budgeting Advance, then your benefits will go down by the amount of the
advance. Government say they want people to repay these advances in 12 months or
18 months in exceptional circumstances.
You can still apply for the old style budgeting loan if you are receiving:
• Income Support.
• Income related Employment and Support Allowance.
• Income based Jobseekers Allowance.
What should I do if I need emergency financial help
after April 2013?
If you need money because you are waiting for some welfare benefits to be paid to
you, you should apply for a ‘Short Term Advance’ from JobCentre Plus. Otherwise, you
should contact your local council and ask what help they can offer.
Where can I find information on my local ‘Food Bank’?
Food Banks can provide 3 days worth of food. You usually need your GP, CAB staff the
police or a social worker to refer you. They will give you a food voucher which you can
exchange for a food parcel. You can search for a local ‘Food Bank’ on the following
website: http://www.trusselltrust.org/map
16 Rethink Mental Illness.
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Changes to
Disability Living Allowance
The changes in a nutshell
From summer 2013, you can no longer make a new claim for Disability Living
Allowance. Instead, if you are aged 16 to 64 and you need to claim benefits to
help with disability costs, you will have to claim Personal Independence Payment.
This could include a face to face assessment.
But if you already receive Disability Living Allowance and your circumstances stay
the same, nothing will change for you until 2015.
How DLA worked in the past
Disability Living Allowance (DLA) gave people extra money to be able to pay for extra
things they needed because of disability, including mental illness. You could apply for
DLA if you were 16-64 and you received a different amount depending on how much
care you needed and how mobile you were, up to about £150 per week. To apply,
most people had to complete a paper application form but not go to a face to face
assessment. You could get DLA no matter how much money you earned or had saved.
What is different about PIP?
More people with low care needs probably got DLA in the past than will get PIP in the
future. More people will also be asked to go to face to face assessments instead of just
completing a paper form. Atos and Capita will conduct the face to face assessments
and report the results to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
I’m already on DLA – what should I do?
You do not need to do anything different from usual. If your circumstances change –
either for the better or worse – you should tell DWP so that they can see if you need
more or less DLA. In 2015, DWP will contact you to arrange an assessment for PIP
instead of DLA. We will produce more information at that time when we know exactly
what you’ll need to do.
If you have a child under 16 who receives DLA, they will still receive this until their
16th birthday. Then they can make a claim for PIP instead.
If you are 65 years or over (or above pensionable age whichever is higher) or you
claim Attendance Allowance you will continue to receive this as normal. You do not
need to do anything different.
18 Rethink Mental Illness.
How will Government decide if I can get PIP?
To work how much you will get, benefits assessors will look at different activities and
how able you are to do these. If you are unable to do some of them, you will get points.
If you get 8-11 points for either daily living or mobility activities, you will get the standard
rate. If you get 12 points or more, you will get the enhanced rate. You will get both daily
living and mobility payments if you have 8 or more points for both. These are similar
rates to DLA, though for DLA there was also a third, lower rate for daily living.
Daily Living activities are:
• Preparing food.
• Taking nutrition.
• Managing therapy or monitoring a health condition.
• Washing and bathing.
• Managing toilet needs or incontinence.
• Dressing and undressing.
• Communicating verbally.
• Reading and understanding signs, symbols and words.
• Engaging with other people face-to-face.
• Making budgeting decisions.
Mobility activities are:
• Planning and following journeys.
• Moving around.
To decide this, the Department for Work and Pensions can look at:
• The answers you put on the application form (PIP003).
• Any evidence provided by the health and social care professionals who work with you.
• A report produced from a face-to-face assessment.
Will I have to travel to an assessment centre?
You may have to attend a face to face medical assessment with a healthcare
professional who you don’t know. Depending on where you live in the country, these
assessments could be carried out by healthcare professionals working for either
Atos or Capita.
The assessment may take place at a centre or in your home. An assessment in your
home is more likely if you are unable to get to the assessment centre because of your
health condition. You can have someone with you for support and they are allowed to
take an active role in the discussion.
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How much will PIP pay me?
You will get a different amount depending on how much the Department for Work and
Pensions thinks you need to help you with daily living and mobility.
If you receive PIP, you will get the money every 4 weeks directly into your bank, building
society or post office account.
Is PIP for people with mental illness?
Yes. It is just as much for people with mental health problems as for physical health
problems. People can get it for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, personality disorders,
severe and ongoing depression, anxiety or phobias.
My illness is different on different days – can I still get PIP?
When deciding how many points to give you in the assessment, the benefits assessor
should consider if you will be affected in this way on more than half of the days over
one year. They should also think about whether you can do each activity safely; to a
necessary and appropriate standard; repeatedly; and in a timely manner. They also have
some flexibility to give you points even when you can do more or less on some days.
How do I apply for PIP?
If you need to make a new claim for PIP, go to http://www.rethink.org to read our full
information on it. Or phone 0300 5000 927 and ask for a free copy through the post.
From April to June 2013, only people in some areas will need to apply for PIP – everyone
else will continue to apply for DLA. The places where you will need to apply for PIP
before June are:
• All postcodes beginning with: BL, CA, CH (not CH5, CH6, CH7, CH8), CW, DH, DL
(not DL6, DL7, DL8, DL9, DL10, DL11), FY, L, LA, (not LA2 7, LA2 8, LA6 2, LA6 3), M,
NE, PR, SR, TS (not TS9), WA.
After June, everyone who needs to make a new claim for disability support will need to
apply for PIP, not DLA.
For mobility, you could receive:
• £21.00 weekly, the standard rate.
• Or £55.25, the enhanced rate.
For daily living, you could receive:
• £53.00 weekly, the standard rate.
• Or £79.15 weekly, the enhanced rate.
20 Rethink Mental Illness.
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