Disability related expenses (DREs)
Disability related expenditure refers to the additional costs a person incurs due to their disability or illness; these expenses must be directly and solely attributable to the person's disability and may be offset against a person's charge.
The Care Act 2014 statutory guidance states that ‘where a person receives benefits to meet their disability needs that do not meet the eligibility criteria for local authority care and support, the charging arrangements should ensure that they keep enough money to cover the cost of meeting these disability related costs’.
The Council recognises that people with a disability will have additional costs associated with their disability and in order to ensure that these costs can be met, we ask about the disability related expenses a person has when we carry out a financial assessment.
Where a person requests an allowance to be made for disability related expenditure, evidence must be provided in the form of receipts or bills. Where costs are on-going, the receipts or bills should be sufficient to show a pattern of spending.
The Council can include the following, but this list is not intended to be exhaustive, and any reasonable additional costs directly related to a person’s disability may be considered:
- payment for any community alarm system or telecare equipment
- costs of any privately arranged care services required, including respite care
- costs of any specialist items needed to meet the person’s disability needs
- day or night care which is not being arranged by the council or NHS
- specialist washing powders and laundry
- additional costs of special dietary needs due to illness or disability (the person may be asked for permission to approach their GP in cases of doubt)
- special clothing or footwear, for example, where this needs to be specially made; or additional wear and tear to clothing and footwear caused by disability
- additional costs of bedding, for example, because of incontinence
- any heating costs, or metered costs of water, above the average levels for the area and housing type effected by age, medical condition or disability
- reasonable costs of basic garden maintenance, cleaning, or domestic help, if necessitated by the individual’s disability and not met by social care
- purchase, maintenance, and repair of disability-related equipment, including equipment or transport needed to enter or remain in work; this may include IT were necessitated by the disability; reasonable hire costs of equipment may be included, if due to waiting for supply of equipment from the council
- personal assistance costs, including any household or other necessary costs arising for the person if not met by social care
- transport costs necessitated by illness or disability, if not being met by social care or NHS that are above the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment, if in payment and available for these costs. In some cases, it may be reasonable not to take account of claimed transport costs – if, for example the council provides transport to a day centre, but this has not been used.
The care assessment and support plan provide a good starting point for considering necessary disability-related expenditure.
DRE is considered when the person is in receipt of the care component of Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment (Care) or Attendance Allowance. Disability benefits are designed to cover daily living expenditure so deductions for DRE will only be confirmed where costs are met entirely by the adult, exceed ‘normal’ cost of living expenses and specifically result from the person’s disability.
Disability Related Expenditure is calculated based on evidence of relevant spending, and local information, for example typical heating costs for different types of housing or regional area costs, and local costs for domestic help.
The following items may be considered everyday living expenses or lifestyle choices (this list is not exhaustive):
- food and beverages
- clothing/shoes
- accommodation costs such as rent, mortgage and maintenance
- accommodation related costs such as buildings / contents insurance
- fuel type / provider and water provider
- furniture and flooring (including carpets)
- household appliances
- household textiles, cutlery, crockery and cooking utensils
- personal transportation costs (fuel / tax / insurance / servicing)
- entertainment and media (e.g. TV, phone, internet and streaming services, computer or gaming hardware and software).
- domestic pet expenses
- short breaks and holidays
DRE exceptions may be made to avoid severe financial hardship or to prevent (or minimise the risk of) harm to the adult of their carer.
If an individual does not agree with the DRE amount calculated, an appeal can be made in writing to their Finance Officer, requesting a review and explaining why the amount in incorrect (providing evidence if appropriate).