Case Studies » Carers Allowance » Carers Allowance - Case from 2015 Annual Report (ref: 2015/12)

Background: The appellant applied for Carer’s Allowance in respect of care being provided for her grandfather, who resides with his daughter and her family.  He is in his late sixties and had been deemed to require full-time care.  The appellant lived with her parents and went to a rural area to care for her grandfather on a Monday to Friday basis.  This was confirmed in the report of a Social Welfare Inspector.  The claim was refused on grounds that the appellant was held not to be providing full-time care and attention as she was not resident with her grandfather on a full-time basis and the care was shared with her aunt who was living with him.  In her appeal, the appellant stated that she provides full-time care from Sunday to Friday and that her aunt looks after her grandfather on Saturdays only.

Oral hearing: The appellant advised that she was in receipt of Jobseeker’s Allowance and that she continued to live at her parents’ home.  She outlined the background to the current arrangement in which she provides care for her grandfather.  The appellant’s aunt continued to live with her parents after she married.  She has three children and is in full-time employment.  When the appellant’s grandmother became ill some years ago, the appellant went to live with and care for her.  She continued to visit her grandfather for a few days a week after her grandmother’s death in 2012, initially just to keep him company.  As his health declined, however, she began and has continued to care for him.  She referred to her grandfather’s diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, together with Angina and renal problems. 

The appellant stated that she used to stay with her grandfather from Monday to Friday, going home each Saturday and returning on Sunday and, more recently, going home on Sunday and returning around mid-day on Monday.  She advised that she travels by train and she submitted receipts for some of the weeks involved (a total of 19 return tickets), stating that she had not kept them all. 

The appellant reported that she gets her grandfather up in the morning, helps him to wash and dress and then gets his breakfast.  She advised that his Parkinson’s has deteriorated and that he is almost fully incontinent.  She administers his medications, collecting them and putting them in order.  Her aunt collects his pension and assists him in paying the bills and she has no knowledge or input to this.  She advised that she had completed a carer’s training course, which had helped her to cope, especially in relation to protecting her back, which had been taking a lot of strain.  She went on to say that she cooks for all the family, does her grandfather’s laundry and, while she does not drive, she accompanies him to all medical appointments, usually getting a lift from a neighbour or another family member, who lives nearby.

Consideration: The Appeals Officer noted that the appellant was fully unemployed and in receipt of Jobseeker’s Allowance, whilst her aunt and family were working.  She noted the circumstances in which the current arrangements had arisen and the fact that the appellant had undertaken a carer’s training course, with the intention of caring for her grandfather.  She had regard also to the fact that the other household members were absent during the day, returning only in the evening, and that the appellant was providing personal care on a daily basis.  She observed that the appellant’s account, given at the oral hearing, was genuine and credible and she noted that the provision of care now extends to part of each weekend.  On the basis of the evidence available, including the fact that appellant lives with her grandfather for the majority of the time and is his sole carer, the Appeals Officer was satisfied that she was providing full-time care and attention, despite travelling home at weekends.

Outcome: Appeal allowed