DRE – Costs to Offset against Contribution

Why might it be of interest?

It can come as a surprise to families that their young person who only receives benefits will probably have to make a contribution towards their care package.  And the amount they have to pay often seems like a lot – and it is.  However, LAs are allowed to make a charge and nearly every local authority does do this.

Apart from government set allowances (the minimum income guarantee) and an allowance that some local authorities make a person can look at their expenditure and see if they have any disability related expenses (DRE).  These are expenses a person incurs because of their disability and they can be offset against their contribution.  For example, if a young person can demonstrate that they spend £30 a week on things directly related to their disability – things that non-disabled people would not be spending on – then this amount can be added to the allowances to set against their benefits before they need to make a contribution.

I hope it goes without saying – but I’m saying it anyway – any expense included in the support package cannot also be used as a disability related expense to reduce the contribution.   So, if an activity, for example, is being paid for via the support package you cannot also claim it as a DRE.

Not all local authorities are open to this and will try to deny a person’s disability related expenses so it might be an uphill battle.  You will need to be able to evidence the expense – the cost and potentially evidence as to why you need to spend the money.

At the end of this document you will find a link to a DRE calculator designed to help you work out what expenses are disability related and to build your case to have them offset against your contribution.  It should be noted that if your DRE exceeds your contribution you get to keep all your benefits but the LA doesn’t owe you any money!

Broadly speaking a contribution will be required once a person’s benefits go above a certain amount.  The amount they are allowed to keep is based on the Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) – set by the government – and usually an amount set by the Local Authority for disability related expenses (DRE).

The MIG for a single person in 2023/2024 is:

• Under 25: £82.15
• Over 25: £103.65

Additionally a young person may be entitled to one or both disability premiums:

• Disability premium: £45.75 per week
• Enhanced: £22.35 per week

The disability related expenses amount will vary from LA to LA.  In LBRuT it is £20.

As an example, a young person under 25 living in LBRuT who is entitled to both disability premiums would be able to keep £170.25 of their benefits before making a contribution (£82.15+£45.75+22.35+£20).  A young person over 25 would keep £191.75 of their benefit income before making a contribution.

A person’s disability benefits will vary depending on their disability so it is difficult to say how much any person will have to contribute.  As an example, a young person in receipt of ESA (a legacy benefit) which includes 2 disability premiums plus enhanced rate PIP will be required to make a contribution of £60+ per week.  The same would apply to a young person in receipt of Universal Credit (UC) and in the Limited Capability for work and work related activities (LCWRA).

There is no definitive list of Disability Related Expenses or other costs that you can offset against the contribution.  What is certain is that if you want to claim DRE over the LA allowance you will have to evidence the costs.

(These figures change year to year so the above are only approximate examples)

The amount of contribution:  the contribution is not related to the size of the care package – it is a calculation of the amount of their benefits and the allowances that enable them to keep enough of their benefits income to live on.  So, a young person receiving a small care package of a few hours a week will pay the same amount as a young person with a 24/7 package (assuming their income and allowances are the same).

For some people the amount they pay towards their care package will be almost as much as the amount they receive to pay for their care.  If this is the case each individual will have to decide whether to go with the care package or to pay for their own care as they go.

Disability Related Expenses

Broadly speaking the expense will only be considered disability related if it is over and above what most people would need for their health and wellbeing.  If you choose to buy more costly items/services where there is a cheaper alternative that meets the need or if something is provided by the NHS for free – or should be provided by the NHS for free – you will not be able to claim the cost as a disability related expense.

Disability Related Expenditure costs usually fall into one of these three categories:

• Specialised items and services: you may use things that are made especially to help you with your disability, such as a wheelchair or care support.  These things may have additional costs such as repairs and insurance
• Increased use of non-specialised items and services: you may have to use things more because of your disability, such as transport or heating
• Higher cost non-specialised items and services: you may have to use things that cost more than the average, such as home delivery

Equipment/sundries: 

• Certain medication and health-related purchases (including creams, pressure relief pads, etc)
• Incontinence pads/goods
• Personal Protective Equipment costs
• Chargeable aids and adaptations (which are not covered under a disabled facilities grant)
• Equipment for monitoring and communication (including smartphone/tablets)
• Accessible vehicle costs
• Special bedding such as incontinence sheets and anti-allergenic sheets
• Special equipment you have to buy yourself

Services:

• Healthcare (massage/physio/osteopath/acupuncture/chiropractor treatments, etc)
• Gardening, cleaning, online shopping delivery fees – if you cannot go to the shops because of a disability
• Taxis if public transport is inaccessible – if you receive mobility allowance or have a motability car you will have to explain why you are incurring these costs
• Internet connectivity – if needed for wellbeing, monitoring or for disability aids to connect
• Subscriptions such as personal alarm, app subscriptions
• Laundry collection and delivery/service washes
• Prescriptions if you pay
• Cost of care not provided by the local authority

Substitutions:

• Ready meals vs ingredients to cook with
• Washed and chopped vegetables etc
• Specially adapted clothing/shoes

Hidden costs:

• Laundry (extra washes due to incontinence or specialist washing powder)
• Water if metered (for toilet use/personal care). This is if someone’s condition requires an above average water level in the home, ie, more washing due to incontinence, sweating etc
• Heating – if someone’s condition requires an above average temperature maintained in the home for example
• More frequent replacement of clothes due to wear and tear

Nottinghamshire CC has this on their website:  https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/media/dfyj2dz1/what-is-disability-related-expenditure-guidance-2023-24-v01.pdf

It is a document about DRE but includes thresholds and costs that they work with to establish whether a person’s expense is higher because of their disability.  These are figures from a year or so ago.  Our local LAs may work with different figures but as I can’t find those this might be a helpful guideline!

If you pop ‘disability related expenses’ into google you will come up with a list of local authority websites and their policies – it can be worth a quick read through to see how other local authorities manage disability related expenses

Further potential options for DRE

As we have said, there is no definitive list of disability related expenses and it is likely that different LAs will allow different things – regardless of what their website says (if anything!) or your social worker says.  These are further things you might want to consider:

• Additional costs when you go on holiday – you may need a carer or to rent specialist equipment
• Therapies – if you pay for private therapies that will not be paid for or provided by the NHS
• Social activities – if you have costs that relate to social activities to help with mental health issues or you need to pay extra to take someone with you
• Internet access or technology – if the need arises from your disability
• Assistance dogs – food and vet bills, insurance
• Painting, decorating, DIY – if you are unable to do them yourself
• Parenting costs – if these are higher because of your disability

The important points here are that these costs are NOT being met by your social care package or the NHS; these costs are directly attributable to your disability; they are costs over and above what other people without a disability would incur.

Provision in an EHCP:  if a therapy, eg music therapy, is in a young person’s EHCP they cannot claim the cost of the therapy as DRE – even if it is not actually being provided.  You could request a personal budget from the EHCP budget to source and pay for the therapy yourself.  Or you could have it removed from the EHCP to claim as DRE – but you would still have to show evidence that the therapy is needed.

Calculating costs

• If you are making regular payments for care, gardening, home delivery, etc you can directly include these costs
• If you have annual costs, such as wheelchair insurance you need to work out the weekly or monthly cost
• If it’s a one off payment you need to work out the likely lifespan and divide the cost by the number of weeks/months. Eg a special mattress costs £480 and it will last 2 years:  £480 / 24 (months) = £20 per month
• It can be difficult to demonstrate that you incur higher costs for things like electricity, gas or water but comparisons from the utility website or others might help

Other costs you may be able to offset

There are not a lot of other costs you can offset against the contribution.  For example, if your young person lives at home and you charge them rent they can’t offset that amount.

• If your young person is living at home you can allocate a share of your council tax bill to them, eg if there are 3 adults in the house including your young person you call allocate a 3^rd of the bill to them
• If your young person is in supported living and a part of their rent is not covered by housing benefit you can offset that amount
  • It is likely that bills and council tax are covered by housing benefit so these amounts cannot be offset

Inclusion London DRE Calculator

Inclusion London have teamed up with another organisation to develop an app to help people determine what their disability related expenses are and to support them through building their case and providing evidence:  https://www.inclusionlondon.org.uk/chat-bot/