ESA New claim

Stumbled on this forum by accident as I was trying to find out if I should apply??
never claimed any benefits except child tax and child benefit.
Recently separated and 2 youngest in inetrim care facade, been a carer to my dad for 20+ years and not claimed anything for his care as my ex partner worked ever.
As a carer I do not know that much about benefits and now am facing hardship on my own with no income.
I was placed as my dads employer for only 5 months by his social worker as he was proving difficult to care for,but due to my own health issues and him having a stroke in April changed this, and ended in May 2017.Although I was relieved as I really struggled and took a toil on my own health , prior to this i was worked for BT for 10 years until1996 and since been a carer and homemaker.
My father suffered a stroke and his care was handed over to a residential agency but I still do my bit now by visiting him and just keep him company and help advocate for him as he has lost his capabilities and do some really basic caring task like phone calls and queries to do with his care.

I myself have had a long term health progressive condition (Behcets)and am under a special clinic for 14 years now and this has lately flared up due to stress from my personal situation and I also suffer from anxiety that has put me off applying for any benefits but I am facing my fears. I made the initial call and I have been given ESA. I have been given a sick note by my GP until 25 September and Have received the Capability of work ESA50 it is daunting!!

I applied for PIP on the 14 July 2017 and on 17th July applied for ESA, who have back dated my interim payment from 14 June 2017. Does the Capability ESA50 be used to assess both PIP and ESA.
I struggle to do some basic tasks for myself and have limited mobility due to pain threshold and also have a mental disorder that I struggle to keep a handle on.

I am on medication that also has an affect on my active concentration levels, makes it hard for me to understand information and often get confused.
I don't think I able to maintain any type of job due to my own health conditions, and pain management, Would I still be eligible for ESA if I still can say that I am a carer for my father, and would I be able to apply for carers allowance or carers credit on top of my ESA.

As a carer I would only involve keeping my dad company, making him understand, talking to health professional on his hospital and Gp appointments and relaying back to him, making tea etc so really basic care that may not require strenuous energy.
I have been uncertain about this aspect and due to me not being able to find a clear answer to this type of question have hesitated to apply for any benefits, I would like some advise before I attempt the daunting task of filling my ESA 50.

Hi and Welcome to the forum, you might want to have a look at the following FAQ which explains where everything is

Welcome to Benefits and Work

In case you are not aware, your real name appears to be showing in the forum, if you want to change this then follow the instructions in the following FAQ

My full name is showing, how can I stop it?

The ESA50 is for ESA only, there is a separate form for PIP. Have a look at our ESA guide, it explains the criteria against which you will be assessed and gives examples of how to phrase your replies.

www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/esa1

Then you can return with further questions.

ESA and Carer's Allowance cannot be paid together - although you might get a little extra ESA if you have an underlying entitlement to CA (is your father getting the care component of DLA, PIP or AA?). You would not get this is you were on contributory ESA only. However, as you have not worked for some years, you will probably only be entitled to claim income-related ESA.

May I suggest that you bookmark/favourite this on your web browser now so that you can find it easily in future? This will allow you to return with further questions or comments about your ESA without having to start a new topic each time. We ask members to keep everything relating to the same claim in one topic as it helps us enormously - and I hope you will find it useful too

Thank you,
I have changed my name after a lot of struggle i found following the instruction confusing, anyways managed it.

Yes my father gets attendance allowance of 87.61 at the higher rate has to pay contribution for his care of £54 approx a week back to LA.

would it be better that I get assessed on ESA without mentioning my caring role? I have tried handing over my responsibilities to other siblings but my dad care tends to suffer, I do mostly advocacy work which I am also finding hard to understand now and find it difficult to retain any information.

I will have a look on the info links you have suggested. and take it from there and contact you. many thanks

I certainly wouldn't mention the caring unless it was really necessary, there is no point in confusing the issue.

My deadline for returning the ESA claim is 18 August 2017, I contacted the Behcets Specialist clinic as soon as I recieved the form, as they only do a clinic on fridays only managed to see them on 4th August 2017 when they agreed to get the support worker to call me asap to make an appointment, without sounding too anxious gave it week, and called the support worker on 10th August 2017, who could only offer me the 17th August 2017! A day before the deadline, and advised me she could help me only that day and then had annual leave until 2nd week in September.
On 11th August 2017 I spent 2 and half hours with ESA team who claim that they were not able to extend as it was with the private company Maximus, they even gave me the number 0800 2888 777 to call them to explain. I called them and they said the same thing saying they couldn't and referred me back to DWP who made a note and told me that Maximus were the only ones that can extend as the case was being handled by them, So I called Maximus, spoke to Jackie, by this time my anxiety was really bad and I was frustrated and brain froze. I still managed to get my point across but she was only saying she can not extend and I should write my reasons for the late submission, since 10th August 2017 I am trying to get a control of my anxiety and keep getting complete mental block! At present I have an impending family court proceedings going on, my kids are in social care since May 2017 and I have separated from my husband due to this personal situation, and can not cope at all with anything but my own health that has worsened due to the stress.
I'm really feeling stuck, Iv been reading the notes on this site and its just so daunting, and I know I have to claim something before my money I have runs out.

I have tried to go on the link to the ESA guidance and it does not seem to be going anywhere, Is there a problem with the links today?

If so can I get the booklet note from any other site.

Hi Sam,

I'm afraid there is, in law, no extension for the returning of the ESa50 forms. If your advisor cannot see you in time, I suggest you return a partially completed form and a written explanation that you will send in more information when you have been able to access help. There are considerable delays in assessments in some areas, so I would expect you to have plenty of time to do this!

I am not aware of any problems with the links. You can access the guides via the following link, or by clicking on 'Members Only Guides' to the left of the forum.

www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/esa1