Latest news with #DisabilityLivingAllowance
Daily Record
26-05-2025
- General
- Daily Record
Older people on Attendance Allowance may be due an extra £331 each month
Low-income pensioners on disability benefits, or those providing unpaid care, may be entitled to extra financial support. Online guidance from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on explains that if someone of State Pension age on a low income receives Attendance Allowance or the middle or highest rate care component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Personal Independence Payment (PIP), or Adult Disability Payment (ADP), they may be entitled to extra Pension Credit. This will also include older people in Scotland claiming the new Pension Age Disability Payment (PADP). The disability element of Pension Credit is now worth £82.90 per week, which amounts to £331.60 every four-week pay period. Similarly, a couple claiming Pension Credit where one person is claiming a disability benefit, will also receive an extra £82.90 each week and if someone is paid Carer's Allowance they may be entitled to extra weekly Pension Credit of £46.40. Older people may also get this extra Pension Credit if they are entitled to Carer's Allowance but are not being paid it, or being paid it at a lower amount than normal, because they are being paid a higher amount by another, income-related benefit such as the State Pension - more commonly referred to as an 'underlying entitlement'. Nearly 1.4 million older people across Great Britain, including more than 125,000 living in Scotland, are currently receiving Pension Credit, which the DWP recently confirmed could provide an average of £4,300 in support during the year ahead. However, the latest figures from the DWP suggest there are still 760,000 eligible pensioners not claiming the benefit they are entitled to. Some older people think because they have savings or own their home they would not be eligible for the means-tested benefit, which can also provide access to help with housing costs, heating bills and Council Tax. Pension Credit tops up weekly income to a guaranteed minimum level of £227.10 a week for single pensioners or £346.60 for couples. It is a tax-free payment for those who: have reached Pension Credit qualifying age, which is State Pension age, and live in Great Britain Quickest way to check eligibility for Pension Credit Older people, or friends and family, can quickly check their eligibility and get an estimate of what they may receive by using the online Pension Credit calculator on here. Alternatively, pensioners can contact the Pension Credit helpline directly to make a claim on 0800 99 1234 - lines are currently open 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Expert help and advice is also available from: Independent Age Income Max Citizen's Advice Age UK Below is an overview of the benefit including who should check eligibility, how to go about it and how much you could get. Pension Credit in a nutshell Pension Credit gives people extra money to help with their living costs if they are over State Pension age and on a low income. It can also provide access to a range of other benefits. The benefit tops up income to a minimum of £227.10 per week for single pensioners and £346.60 for couples - more if a person has a disability or caring responsibilities. Other help if you get Pension Credit If you qualify for Pension Credit you can also get other help, such as: Housing Benefit if you rent the property you live in Support for Mortgage Interest if you own the property you live in Council Tax discount Free TV licence if you are aged 75 or over Help with NHS dental treatment, glasses and transport costs for hospital appointments Help with your heating costs through the Warm Home Discount Scheme and Winter Fuel Payment A discount on the Royal Mail redirection service if you are moving house Mixed aged older couples and Pension Credit In May 2019, the law changed so a 'mixed age couple' - a couple where one partner is of State Pension age and the other is under it - are considered to be a 'working age' couple when checking entitlement to means-tested benefits. This means they cannot claim Pension Credit or pension age Housing Benefit until they are both State Pension age. Before this DWP change, a mixed age couple could be eligible to claim the more generous State Pension age benefits when just one of them reached State Pension age. How to use the Pension Credit calculator To use the calculator on you will need details of: earnings, benefits and pensions savings and investments You'll need the same details for your partner if you have one. You will be presented by a series of questions with multiple choice answer options. This includes: Your date of birth Your residential status Where in the UK you live Whether you are registered blind Which benefits you currently receive How much you receive each week for any benefits you get Whether someone is paid Carer's Allowance to look after you How much you get each week from pensions - State Pension, private and work pensions Any employment earnings Any savings, investments or bonds you have Once you have answered these questions, a summary screen shows your responses, allowing you to go back and change any answers before submitting. The Pension Credit calculator then displays how much benefit you could receive each week. All you have to do then is follow the link to the application page to find out exactly what you will get from the DWP, including access to other financial support. There's also an option to print off the answers you give using the calculator tool to help you complete the application form quicker without having to look out the same details again. Try the Pension Credit Calculator for yourself or your family member to make sure you're receiving all the financial support you are entitled to claim. Who cannot use the Pension Credit calculator? You cannot use the calculator if you or your partner: are deferring your State Pension own more than one property are self employed have housing costs (such as service charges or Crown Tenant rent) which are neither mortgage repayments nor rent covered by Housing Benefit How to make a claim You can start your application up to four months before you reach State Pension age. You can claim any time after you reach State Pension age but your claim can only be backdated for three months. This means you can get up to three months of Pension Credit in your first payment if you were eligible during that time. You will need: your National Insurance number information about your income, savings and investments your bank account details, if you're applying by phone or by post If you're backdating your claim, you'll need details of your income, savings and investments on the date you want your claim to start. Apply online You can use the online service if: you have already claimed your State Pension there are no children or young people included in your claim To check your entitlement, phone the Pension Credit helpline on 0800 99 1234 or use the Pension Credit calculator here to find out how much you could get.
Leader Live
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Leader Live
Rose Ayling-Ellis thanks Claudia Winkleman for getting her a job on Doctor Who
The 30-year-old said her guest appearance in The Well episode of the BBC sci-fi series earlier this year, which was rewritten for her, was a dream come true in an interview with Big Issue. She said: 'Doctor Who was on my bucket list. 'I really wanted to be on it, I saw Russell T Davies at an awards ceremony and Claudia Winkleman forced me to speak to him. 'So it's thanks to Claudia that I got the job. 'It was already written, so they changed it to make her a deaf character, but that's great. 'I don't want every character to be defined by their deafness.' in the interview, Ayling-Ellis also shared her concerns over government welfare cuts to disability benefits announced earlier this year. She explained: 'My big issue at the moment is the cuts to disability benefit, that's such an important issue for so many people. 'There's a lot of fear around. 'Rather than making cuts, they need to support disabled people better. 'People making (benefit) assessments need to have better disability awareness. 'I remember mine years ago, they wanted a telephone call to assess my need for Disability Living Allowance. 'I'm deaf, I can't hear you on the phone, and if I'd talked through an interpreter, they would say I can live independently and I'd have got nothing.' The ex-EastEnders star is now preparing to take on the lead role in ITV detective thriller Code Of Silence, which she is also an executive producer on. Speaking about her new role, she said: 'I'm not doing the producer job because I'm famous or whatever, I'm doing it because I'm deaf and I do all this extra work anyway. 'Every single project I do, I have to be the one saying, 'can we make sure we do this?', I always get that responsibility. 'So I wanted to be involved from the beginning of the process and not leave it all until the first day on set.' The full interview with Ayling-Ellis can be found in this week's Big Issue, available from local vendors, and online at
South Wales Guardian
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South Wales Guardian
Rose Ayling-Ellis thanks Claudia Winkleman for getting her a job on Doctor Who
The 30-year-old said her guest appearance in The Well episode of the BBC sci-fi series earlier this year, which was rewritten for her, was a dream come true in an interview with Big Issue. She said: 'Doctor Who was on my bucket list. 'I really wanted to be on it, I saw Russell T Davies at an awards ceremony and Claudia Winkleman forced me to speak to him. 'So it's thanks to Claudia that I got the job. 'It was already written, so they changed it to make her a deaf character, but that's great. 'I don't want every character to be defined by their deafness.' in the interview, Ayling-Ellis also shared her concerns over government welfare cuts to disability benefits announced earlier this year. She explained: 'My big issue at the moment is the cuts to disability benefit, that's such an important issue for so many people. 'There's a lot of fear around. 'Rather than making cuts, they need to support disabled people better. 'People making (benefit) assessments need to have better disability awareness. 'I remember mine years ago, they wanted a telephone call to assess my need for Disability Living Allowance. 'I'm deaf, I can't hear you on the phone, and if I'd talked through an interpreter, they would say I can live independently and I'd have got nothing.' The ex-EastEnders star is now preparing to take on the lead role in ITV detective thriller Code Of Silence, which she is also an executive producer on. Speaking about her new role, she said: 'I'm not doing the producer job because I'm famous or whatever, I'm doing it because I'm deaf and I do all this extra work anyway. 'Every single project I do, I have to be the one saying, 'can we make sure we do this?', I always get that responsibility. 'So I wanted to be involved from the beginning of the process and not leave it all until the first day on set.' The full interview with Ayling-Ellis can be found in this week's Big Issue, available from local vendors, and online at
Powys County Times
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Powys County Times
Rose Ayling-Ellis thanks Claudia Winkleman for getting her a job on Doctor Who
Former Strictly Come Dancing champion Rose Ayling-Ellis has said she got her role in Doctor Who thanks to The Traitors presenter Claudia Winkleman. The 30-year-old said her guest appearance in The Well episode of the BBC sci-fi series earlier this year, which was rewritten for her, was a dream come true in an interview with Big Issue. She said: 'Doctor Who was on my bucket list. 'I really wanted to be on it, I saw Russell T Davies at an awards ceremony and Claudia Winkleman forced me to speak to him. 'So it's thanks to Claudia that I got the job. 'It was already written, so they changed it to make her a deaf character, but that's great. 'I don't want every character to be defined by their deafness.' in the interview, Ayling-Ellis also shared her concerns over government welfare cuts to disability benefits announced earlier this year. She explained: 'My big issue at the moment is the cuts to disability benefit, that's such an important issue for so many people. 'There's a lot of fear around. 'Rather than making cuts, they need to support disabled people better. 'People making (benefit) assessments need to have better disability awareness. 'I remember mine years ago, they wanted a telephone call to assess my need for Disability Living Allowance. 'I'm deaf, I can't hear you on the phone, and if I'd talked through an interpreter, they would say I can live independently and I'd have got nothing.' The ex-EastEnders star is now preparing to take on the lead role in ITV detective thriller Code Of Silence, which she is also an executive producer on. Speaking about her new role, she said: 'I'm not doing the producer job because I'm famous or whatever, I'm doing it because I'm deaf and I do all this extra work anyway. 'Every single project I do, I have to be the one saying, 'can we make sure we do this?', I always get that responsibility. 'So I wanted to be involved from the beginning of the process and not leave it all until the first day on set.'
Sunday World
15-05-2025
- Sunday World
Brazen benefits cheat bodybuilder goes on TV to moan about surgery waiting list
Kerry Hayes illegally claimed incapacity benefit while also winning bodybuilding contests A benefits cheat who illegally claimed tens of thousands of pounds of incapacity benefit while also winning bodybuilding contests went on TV to moan about NHS waiting lists this week. Brazen Kerry Hayes, formerly Kerry 'Muscles' Boomer, shocked those who know her past when she appeared on the local BBC news to complain about being on a waiting list for eye surgery. But we can reveal Hayes was once ordered to pay back almost £50,000 in fraudulently claimed Income support, Incapacity Benefit, Housing Benefit and Disability Living Allowance (DLA). Hayes at court in 2015 Staggeringly, while she was claiming she was unfit to work and claiming DLA she was working as a personal trainer and competing in bodybuilding competitions – finishing runner-up in the prestigious Northern Ireland Championships the year before she was convicted at Downpatrick Crown Court of benefit fraud. Hayes also loved the high life and was a keen yachtswoman who competed in races across Ireland while she lived in a plush cottage in sought-after Cultra on Northern Ireland's gold coast - all while claiming benefits. She was jailed for 12 months but a judge decided to suspend the sentence for three years. However shortly after that case she was taken to court by the family of an elderly millionaire who had gifted her a luxury city centre apartment before he died. The married millionaire, who she met at a yacht club in 2010, had showered glamorous Kerry with gifts including a Rolex watch, jewellery, gym membership and sunshine holidays. Benefit fraud in Northern Ireland is estimated to cost more than £163m a year, according to Department for Communities figures released in February – that's about 2pc of total Stormont expenditure. That's money that could be spent on vital services like the NHS. Sources who remember Kerry Hayes when she was Kerry Boomer told the Sunday World they couldn't believe the 'cheek' of her appearing on TV to complain about NHS waiting lists. 'We honestly couldn't believe she had the cheek to go on television and whinge about NHS waiting lists,' said one woman who knew her. 'She a total liar for a start – I wouldn't trust a word that comes out of her mouth. She was always playing the victim and it looks like nothing has changed. 'But to be moaning about the NHS when you took thousands of pounds from the state which could have been used on the NHS and helping those people who really needed it, is shocking.' Kerry Hayes News in 90 Seconds - May 15th Kerry was introduced in a news piece about Health Minister Mike Nesbitt announcing he planned to take advantage of a £215m cross-border scheme which would allow patients waiting longer than two years for an operation to claim back money if they pay for a procedure in the Republic. She told the BBC she has been on a waiting list for eye surgery for almost eight years after experiencing sudden vision loss in 2016. She told BBC News NI she is in pain and feels very limited with her vision and what she can do. 'My biggest worry is losing my driving licence if I don't have the surgery early enough because my driving licence is my independence and means everything to all three of us,' she said. She said she also fears she would be 'at risk of losing my children' as she would not be able to care for them. Kerry Hayes She said her son is severely disabled and cannot use public transport. 'I already struggle a lot but I would be totally housebound. I don't know how I could cope caring for him. I don't know what would happen,' she said. The Department of Health said patients would require prior approval before accessing the scheme. Other measures include using NI's private healthcare providers to target anyone waiting longer than four years on a hip or knee replacement, colonoscopy, hernia or gallbladder surgery. Nesbitt said full details of the plan have yet to be outlined and the full range of eligible procedures covered by the cross-border scheme are not yet known.
