Attendance Allowance/Carers Allowance

Ian wrote: Hi, can anyone advise me if I can claim Carers allowance whilst receiving DLA, my father has just been awarded attendance allowance and I am unsure if I can or not.

There is no legal reason why you should not providing you are able to provide the required 35 hours of care a week, however, you should consider whether your doing so will be at odds with your own claim for DLA, for example; if you are receiving Lower Rate Care and will be cooking meals for your father, then this would be contradiction.

You should also check whether your father is receiving the Severe Disability Allowance as this would no longer be payable if you claim CA.

You can apply online and a CA claim can be backdated up to 3 months if applicable. Also, CA entitles you to claim Income Support as a Carer, again if relevant.

Gordon