Martin Lewis issues alert as unpaid carers warned ‘don’t trust’ | Personal Finance | Finance

People who have had to become unpaid carers for friends and family members may have unknowingly been missing out on a discount due to incorrect information online. It is believed that the error across parts of the country could have put millions of people off getting this extra support.

The team behind Martin Lewis‘ Money Saving Expert (MSE) conducted an investigation which potentially revealed councils in England and Wales could be ‘putting off’ millions of unpaid carers from claiming what they’re legally entitled to. Senior Money Writer for Marin Lewis’ MSE team, Kit Sproson, claimed that these online errors were “very likely to deter a decent chunk of up to five million unpaid carers from claiming”.

Dozens of councils across England and Wales appeared to miss off some of the most common disability benefits that could make people eligible for this council tax discount. At the time of publishing the investigation, 69 councils, including seven London boroughs, had incomplete criteria live on their websites, and a further 80 councils failed to include any easily available information online about the qualifying benefits needed to get the discount.

Since January 12, some have amended their online information to accurately reflect the requirements. Updates for the councils that are updating their websites can be found here.

The MSE probe found that carers most likely to be affected are those looking after someone who needs regular help and supervision, but not necessarily round-the-clock. In these cases, the person receiving care is more likely to be on the lower rates of the qualifying benefits – which were more often missed from councils’ eligibility information.

Martin Lewis commented on the outcome of the investigation and claimed “unpaid carers can’t trust councils’ information about Carers’ Council Tax discounts”. He said: “All Carers who thought they weren’t eligible after checking councils’ websites should check again (use Carers UK’s help pages).

“If you did miss out due to councils’ poor info, ask for a backdated discount to the point of first eligibility, though different councils have different rules. Thirty-five hours a week of unpaid caring is no small feat.

“This army of up to five million carers provides a silent and often un-thanked backbone that takes a burden off the NHS and care system – reducing the cost to the state. While it’s often done out of love, that doesn’t mean it isn’t hard. And while this discount isn’t means-tested, many who are caring, unpaid, for at least 35 hours a week, are almost certainly under a great deal of financial stress.

“So, the idea that they’re being misled about £100s a year in discounts from their own councils really sticks in the craw. This is made worse by the fact that the main Gov.uk pages about Council Tax don’t list the qualifying benefits for the discount – making it harder for taxpayers in England to work out whether they might be eligible.”

Martin added that the MSE team is writing to all the councils involved to request that they urgently update their websites and ensure their internal policies are compliant. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will also be made aware of this ” information lapse”, he said.

What is the live-in Carer Council Tax discount?

People may be entitled to a discount on their council tax due to their status as a live-in carer. The MSE investigation claimed that, for the discount, the live-in carer is often disregarded when it comes to Council Tax.

It explained: “So, if [the carer] were the only person in the house with the person they’re caring for, it’s as if there’s only one person resident, so that household would be eligible for the 25% single person discount.”

To qualify for the live-in Carer discount, applicants need to provide at least 35 hours of free care a week to somebody in their household who isn’t a spouse, partner or child under 18. The person being cared for needs to be receiving one of a number of qualifying benefits:

• Armed Forces Independence Payment – any amount
• Attendance Allowance – higher or lower rate
• Constant Attendance Allowance – increased amount
• Disability Living Allowance – care component, higher or middle rate
• Disablement Pension – increased rate
• Personal Independence Payment – daily living component, enhanced or standard rate

The information on the website relates to people living in England, Wales or Scotland. People in Northern Ireland might be eligible to apply for any rate relief here.