A Guide to Constant Attendance Allowance an entitlement for people who need constant care through an injury or disease
If the person your looking after is awarded CAA, you may be entitled to Carers Allowance if you meet the eligibility criteria.
Constant Attendance Allowance can only be paid if the person you look after is also claiming either Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit or a War Disablement Pension
If the person you look after is claiming Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit, they must usually be considered 100% disabled, but there are circumstances where the benefit is paid if disability is less than 100%. A medical examination will be carried out to determine the extent of the disability.
The person with the disability would also need to show that they need daily care and attention as a result of their disability, and that they’re likely to need that care for a long time. The daily help that you provide as an unpaid carer is counted for these purposes.
The type of care and attention needed must be connected to their disability or illness. Simply helping them with dressing, undressing or ordinary housework is not sufficient.
Constant Attendance Allowance if a War Disablement Pension is paid
To be eligible for CAA, the person you look after must need personal help for the same reasons that they’re paid War Disablement Pension. The War Disablement Pension would need to be 80% or more.
How much is paid
There are different weekly rates of CAA, which depend on the extent of the disability of the person you’re looking after and the amount of care that they need. See Constant Attendance Allowance rates
How to claim Constant Attendance Allowance
For industrial injury cases
Your entitlement to Constant Attendance Allowance will automatically be considered at the time of your medical examination for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit if a 100% assessment of your disability is being considered.
Contact Barnsley Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit Centre
Telephone: 0345 758 5433
Find out about call charges
For war pension cases
To claim for war pension cases, ask Veterans UK for claim form WPA 0003 (CAA).
Veterans UK
www.veterans-uk.info
Telephone: 0808 1914 2 18
Telephone: + 44 (0)1253 866 043 from outside the UK
Textphone: 0800 169 3458
Monday to Thursday, 7:30am to 6.30pm
Friday, 7:30am to 5pm
Constant Attendance Allowance – affect on other benefits
If the person you look after is eligible for CAA, they will not be eligible to receive Attendance Allowance or the care component of Disability Living Allowance as well. However, if those benefits would amount to more than CAA, the person can be paid CAA with a top-up to bring them to the same level.
CAA may affect means-tested benefits paid to the person you look after. These include, for example, Income Support, Pension Credit, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.
Remember that if the person you look after is paid CAA, you may be entitled to Carer’s Allowance if you meet all the other eligibility criteria.