Wirral Carers Association

Wirral Carers Association Minutes of Meeting, 30th September 2015 Wallasey Town Hall, 10.00am

Present: Joan Stanley (JS) Edwin Stanley (ES) Jenny Ebbs (JE) Pam Sexton (PS) Peter Linnane (PL) Pat Ward (PW) Brian Donaldson (BD) Judith Varley (PS) Carolyn Allsop (CA) Linda Jones (LJ) Carol Fairbrother (CF)

In Attendance: Keith Farroll CAWirral Brian Buckley WBC Candice Jones Quality Solicitors David Roberts & Co

Minute 1. Welcome & Introductions

Joan Stanley chaired the meeting and welcomed all present.

2. Apologies

Gaynor Rowland, Judith Varley, Peter Samson

3. Minutes of previous Meeting

Agreed as true record

4. Matters Arising

5. Guest Speaker

5.1 Candice Jones – Wills & Trusts

Candice gave some background to her work and a brief overview of Wills and Trusts. The main points of this topic were;

- Covered Intestacy rules if no will in place - Step children are not included - Time and cost are something to consider

Minutes of the Wirral Carers Association – 30/09/2015 Page 1 of 3 Minute

- Consider family members who cannot deal (mental capacity) with inheritance

Sometimes there may be an impact on a person if they are in receipt of benefits. This could cause problems when they reapply for assistance from the local authority. Trusts; - Money or property - Trustees (up to 4) have control - Can include a letter to guide the trustees - Discretionary trust is when the trustees decide how the money is spent - Can have numerous people to receive money (class of beneficiaries)

Disabled Trust;

- DLA ‘High/Moderate’ – PIP - Primary person receives income- does not affect benefits - Has to benefit the disabled person- 3% or 3k max payment per award - Inheritance tax threshold £325k

Lasting Power of Attorney;

- Does not mean the person does not have mental capacity – just not able to deal with finances - GP has to sign agreement - Two types – Health & Welfare/Finance and Property

Free consultation available at Quality Solicitors.

Candice answered questions from members. JS thanked her for her time and presentation.

David Buckley Welfare Advice

Universal Credit is the Government Flagship to replace existing benefits however it does not combine all. It does bring some ‘means’ tested benefits together. There are the fewest number of people on Wirral receiving Universal credit than any other benefit at the moment. The main issue has been the rolling out of this new benefit. The current situation is that it may affect you in the future. There is no date as to when this will happen. Brian then discussed the following topics at length;

- Income support - ESA (Employment Support Allowance)

Brian explained the various requirements and scoring applied to the assessments to determine the individual’s ability to work. He talked about the ‘Support Group’ and also the Workplace related Activity Group’. ATOS are now called Maximus and undertake assessments for individuals with a learning disability. PIP replaced DLA 2013 for 16-64 year olds however some people over the age of 64 are still in receipt of DLA. - Only two rates of payment – standard and high - Still teething problems however it does identify problems with an individual much easier Minutes of the Wirral Carers Association – 30/09/2015 Page 2 of 3 Minute

- If an individual is on DLA they can telephone and ask to be put on PIP - Questionnaire assessment over the telephone (15 mins) - Sent to ATOS and a decision is made or a further face 2 face meeting is arranged - DLA is paid for a further 4 weeks after the decision to change to PIP - Local Authority Charging – it may be affected and subsequently changed if you start receiving this.

Brian mentioned the various rates for council tax discount and the criteria for this to be granted.

JS thanked Brian for his time today.

6 Group Business

6.1 Members Issues/Concerns

JS attended a meeting regarding All Age Disability on behalf of WCA.

7. Any Other Business

PS mentioned the Carers Partnership Board and that more carers are wanted on the Board.

ILF update – Anyone receiving ILF at present will not have any funding cut at the end of the financial year.

Date & Time of Next Meeting

October 28th, 2015, 10.00am, Wallasey Town Hall

Minutes of the Wirral Carers Association – 30/09/2015 Page 3 of 3