Category Archives: benefits

£200,000 secured for 98 unpaid carers

A West Cumbrian charity has managed to secure £200,000 extra benefits for carers in the last 12 months.

Gillian Walker, carers benefit support worker for West Cumbria Carers, which have helped secure £200,000 extra benefits for 98 local unpaid carers thanks to their monthly clinics.

West Cumbria Carers has helped 98 people to claim the cash they are entitled to, thanks to its clinics, which provide free information on benefits.

Gillian Walker, the charity’s carers benefit support worker, said: “Navigating your way through the benefits system understanding entitlement and completing paperwork is complicated and time consuming.

Benefits assessment led to woman’s suicide says watchdog

The way a woman was assessed for benefits led to her suicide less than a month later, according to a mental health watchdog.

The Mental Welfare Commission looked at the case of a woman who killed herself after an Atos assessment

The woman had a history of depression and was on significant medication, but scored zero points in a Work Capability Assessment (WCA), carried out by Atos.

New online Carer’s Allowance application system

The new online Carer’s Allowance application system has launched today, replacing an “outdated” and “difficult to complete” online system, the government has announced.

02.12.14

The new system for England, Scotland and Wales has been developed by the Government Digital Service and the Department for Work and Pensions, aimed at simplifying the process for busy carers and “built around the needs of the users”. The government says that one of the many improvements for applicants is a new way of verifying that the person they care for understands the claim – removing the need for them to sign a paper declaration.

Early trials show most people claiming the allowance (54%) are using the updated online process instead of asking for a form to be posted to them. More than 125,000 digital claims have been submitted since trials began in October 2013, with a user satisfaction rate of 90%.